Three reviews in one. John Waters headlines with two revolting satires featuring off-putting characters that you’ll love. The third review, a documentary revolving around the culture and community of World of Warcraft and a persons secret life hidden from his family.
Cry-Baby (1990)
Cry-Baby is a satirical take on the high school dynamics of the 1950s cinema (not reality) and taking these characters archetypes to extremes. The bad boy and good girl romance dynamic including a disapproving mother, and flipping the bully dynamic sideways with the rich brats being the bully. Johnny Depp as cry-baby is a great piece of casting, even if he’s a bit flat. The aesthetic is all they needed. The music numbers are reminiscent of 50s pop culture: Elvis, jail-house rock, candy bar music, etc. Some of it good, some of it corny. Waters utilizing a musical structure allows him to be as weird as possible. That’s where Hatchet-Face (Kim McGuire) comes into play and his rag tag group of friends. It takes all the nostalgia of the 1950s and Waterized it in the goofy look of the film, how the characters act and how the world operates at large. It’s not his funniest or most insightful film but it’s got enough juice to make it worth a watch
☆☆☆½
Serial Mom (1994)
John Waters being a brilliant FIlmmaker that he is, brings this story of a “serial mom” on the loose into the Waters sphere and zaps it with a cartoony tone and the story comes to life unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Kathleen Turner is so God damn incredible in this role, gleefully killing at the most inconvenient times, not giving a shit about the possibility of being caught. Her charisma is palpable and it makes her slapstick villain presence that much better, as we nearly root for her on a killing spree. The rest of the family is just as good. Lilliard as the flippant son that finds her mom as a murderous cool as he likes horror films. Mary Jo Catlett as the daughter makes this world even that much weirder. Her murderous intent is all based on small infractions, like not liking someone or a teacher giving her kid a bad grade. The way she speaks about murder is fantastic too, as if she’s doing everybody a favor.
It’s a perfect storm of Waters eccentricity as a director hitting with a story asking for that type of zaniness. The tone brings out the best of the satire and the jokes follow. The best is it’s all out in the open for anyone to see, but it’s just sort of ignored. The trial scenes where Turner represents herself and convinces everybody she’s innocent is one of my favorites in Waters filmography. Twisted humor that’s poking fun at all involved. White picket fence suburbia being deconstructed and satirized. It’s not the first time but one of the best examples. Moreover, we get scenes like Turner prank calling and saying out loud, “someone really needs to kill that broad.”
I love how fast she goes from innocent to murder mode and in the next scene, that person dies. I love this movie and it might rank at the top of my favorite John Waters films
☆☆☆☆½
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024)
I do love taking a modern day story that revolves around real people living life the best they can and finding community. Some of the directing choices merit another look but it’s nice to see Ibelin’s story unearthed to give us all hope about what’s possible and what it means to live. The film doesn’t necessarily dive deeper into the World of Warcraft side and found that dissapoitning. Nonetheless, I’m glad I watched as someone with a similar upbringing in games and meeting people online.
☆☆☆
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