This is the movie that introduced Johnny Depp (and it’s not Tim Burton)

1990. Johnny Depp, then star of the TV series 21 Jump Street, is pinning all his hopes on an irreverent film called Cry-Baby, in which he will play the male lead, and in which he wants to be seen in ways other than television. hero. But nothing will be so simple.

A cross between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, directed by John Waters, known for his “trash” cinema, Cry-Baby tells the love story between Wade Walker, a gang leader in Baltimore (Depp) and Allison Vernon-Williams. Daughter of a Good Family (Amy Lockein). Their environments clash, but luckily, the music softens the morale…or not!

Why was Johnny Depp fired from the first Pirates of the Caribbean?

This Cry-Baby is a strange film made by fans of the unclassifiable John Waters, who criticize it for its sanitized and “sold-to-Hollywood” side, and support Johnny Depp fans and those who appreciate the mockery aspect of comedies. . It is also inspired by films such as Le Rock du penal with Elvis, Rock Around the Clock or La Blonde et moi.

It was submitted out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, ten years after Waters’ previous film, Heroes or Villains, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Jack Thompson. The press reviews were good, but the box office didn’t follow.

Well received in France (567,260 receptions, Waters’ biggest success in our cinemas), Cry-Baby was a failure on American soil, the public was confused by this film, which mixes the filth and the disturbing of the pink world: it brings only 8.2. A million dollars for a budget of 10 million.

With his Marlon Brando look in The Wild Team, Depp is still recognized as a film figure of the early 1990s after becoming a teen idol with 21 Jump Street.

The actor will immediately shoot Edward Scissorhands with Tim Burton, which will be a huge success and will surely launch him into the big leagues.