Cry-Baby

An energetic and hyperactively hormonal romp through '50s kitsch from trash-master Waters. In Baltimore, 1954, the town's youth are divided into Squares and Drapes, the latter presided over by gang-leader Wade 'Cry Baby' Walker (Depp), orphaned son of the electrocuted Alphabet bomber. When Cry Baby ('That's Mister Baby to you!') falls for lithesome daughter-of-wealth Allison Vernon-Williams (Locane), she is sucked into a world of 'coloured' music, skin-tight slacks and reckless driving, from which her erstwhile companions seek to extract her forthwith. Replete with a thumpingly good soundtrack mixing old standards with modern pastiches, this is Waters' finest film to date, a worthy successor to Hairspray which exudes teen angst and young lust from every pore. Cameos from notable degenerates Iggy Pop and Traci Lords beautifully complement Depp's spunkily hollow-cheeked performance, while Patty Hearst plays the American middle class nightmare to a tee. Seriously sexy stuff.