If the city of Baltimore were to ever become a kingdom, then filmmaker John Waters truly deserves the crown of “King of Baltimore”. Based in the capital of Maryland, Waters has been a filmmaking force for nearly four decades. He is known to many as the “King of Bad Taste”. However, he has proven he is a true auteur, with all of his films shot and set in Baltimore.
While he will be best remembered for the madness that is MULTIPLE MANIACS (1971), FEMALE TROUBLE (1974), and the notorious PINK FLAMINGOS (1972), perhaps it was the mid-1980’s where Waters made the transition film cult filmmaking icon to true Hollywood legend. This special end-of-year retrospective takes a look at three of the films that would make Waters a true Hollywood legend.
HAIRSPRAY (1988, New Line Cinema) was Waters’ take on 1962 Baltimore. Dance shows were popular amongst teens and the one that brought the “nicest kids in town” was the Corny Collins Show. Plump teen Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) has had a dream to go on the show. Despite negative pressure from old school mom Edna (Waters favorite Divine, in his final film), Tracy finally lives her dream and decides to take it a step further.
At a time where Baltimore was segregated by white and black, Tracy, along with the help of her new boyfriend Link (Michael St. Gerard), best friend Penny (Leslie Ann Powers), and Penny’s crush Seaweed (Clayton Prince), she decides to do whatever it takes to make sure that Baltimore has integrated dancing. Dance show host Corny Collins (Shawn Thompson) even wants his show to be integrated, but the station manager (Divine…did I mention he had two roles? Oops.) will not allow it. Furthermore, Tracy’s arch nemesis on the dance floor, Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick, later to be known as pop star Vitamin C), will do anything to make Tracy’s life hell.
This was the first breakout film for Waters to a real mainstream audience, despite the film being released by New Line Cinema, an independent label (at the time) best known for releasing horror films like the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series. Waters pulled out all the stops for this film, which surprisingly is his most “family-friendly” film. With Waters being the “King of Bad Taste”, what would be the inspiration for this very film?
The answer is clear and simple. In the late 50’s to early 60’s, there was a dance show out of Baltimore called THE BUDDY DEANE show, which like HAIRSPRAY, featured a committee of the most popular dancers on the show. Yes, the show was also segregated with one day a month given only to African-Americans. All of what occurred during that era is basically seen in the film, of course the only way John Waters could do it.
First, Waters breaks the stereotype of dancers and their physiques with the introduction of the film’s main protagonist, overweight teen Tracy Turnblad. Ricki Lake was perfectly cast as the young teen who was not only willing to make her dreams come true, but perhaps those of Baltimoreans who wanted equal rights. Waters brought out not one but two positive messages with his breaking the worlds of segregation and weight discriminations through the world of dancing.
Joining the young fresh cast were veterans of the entertainment industry. The late Sonny Bono and BLONDIE lead singer Debbie Harry were seen as antagonists Franklin and Velma Von Tussle, the parents of teen priss Amber. Ruth Brown played the very vocal and music lovin’ “Motormouth Maybelle”, who happens to be Seaweed’s mother. In his final film, Waters favorite Divine turned out a spectacular performance or performances as both Edna Turnblad and WZZT manager Arvin. Jerry Stiller played joke store owner Wilbur Turnblad, Tracy’s dad who couldn’t be more proud of his daughter and her amibitions.
HAIRSPRAY proved to be so popular that it would be made into a Broadway musical (with Waters’ approval) and a 2007 remake based on said musical. The remake featured John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma, Christopher Walken as Wilbur, and Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle. The film, like Ricki Lake in the original, introduced newcomer Nikki Blonsky in a welcome debut as the new Tracy with Amanda Bynes as Penny and Zac Efron as Link.
Following the success of HAIRSPRAY, Waters worked on his next film, a musical set in the 1950’s, where it was about social class. Instead of the separation of black and white like HAIRSPRAY, CRY BABY (1989, Universal/Imagine) would pit juvenile delinquents, the “Drapes”, against the upper class snobs, the “Squares”.
The film followed a star-crossed forbidden romance between bad boy Wade “Cry Baby” Walker (Johnny Depp) and rich girl Alison Vernon-Williams (Amy Locane). “Cry Baby” is the leader of a local group of Drapes who love to drive fast cars and play rockabilly music, while Alison lives with her grandmother (Polly Holliday) and is all about charm, beauty, and brains. When Cry Baby asks Alison to hear him sing, this draws the ire of not only her grandmother but Alison’s boyfriend Baldwin (Stephen Mailer).
Cry Baby gets the support of his gang, which include pregnant sister Pepper (Ricki Lake), Milton (Darren Burrows), Hatchet Face (Kim McGuire), and Wanda (Traci Lords).
When Cry Baby goes to the local charm school to pick up Alison, he temporarily gets the approval of her grandmother. However, Baldwin is more than angry and decides to crash the party that night after Alison and Cry Baby belt out a terrific duet.
The chaos that ensues results in the arrest and incarceration of Cry Baby. Meanwhile, Alison is given a choice to help Cry Baby or stay with the Squares and Baldwin.
Meanwhile, local bad girl Lenora (Kim Webb) attempts to make sure the romance is still done when she fakes a story saying she is having Cry Baby’s baby. When everything is finally out in the open, Alison finally makes her decision and does whatever it takes to make sure she is with the one she really loves (and we all know who that is).
What some may not know about John Waters is that he is not only a filmmaker but he is a true music aficionado. With HAIRSPRAY, he belted out the perfect music from the early 60’s, a combination of dance and R&B hits from the likes of Lesley Gore to the Five Du-Tones. With CRY BABY, lightning strikes twice as Waters this time gathered classic rockabilly hits and combined it with some original material from Dave Alvin and legendary R&B crooner Doc Pomus.
Another factor that made CRY BABY a hit film is the lead actor, Johnny Depp. Depp, fresh off his hit TV series 21 JUMP STREET and right before becoming Tim Burton’s actor of choice, gives a terrific performance as titular character Cry Baby. He brings charisma to the role of the lead Drape. While he is seen to many as a typical delinquent, he does have a heart of gold and shows it when it comes to the young Alison, played by Amy Locane. He even reveals why he must do bad things and cries a single salty tear after each action.
The music is truly a delight and while Depp can really sing, he does not sing in this film. None of the cast sing and are dubbed. However, their lip-synching is truly well done and the songs drive the film. James Intveld provided Cry Baby’s singing voice while Waters veteran Rachel Sweet (who sang the theme song to HAIRSPRAY) provided Alison’s singing voice. The chemistry not only is well done in the acting, but in the music as well between the star crossed lovers.
For Waters’ next film, he paid homage to two favorite obsessions: horror films and his love of going to trials. Combining them against the backdrop of suburban life, SERIAL MOM (1994, Savoy) is truly one of Waters’ best mainstream films thanks to the performance of Kathleen Turner as the titular character.
Turner plays Beverly Sutphin, an ordinary housewife with a tight knit family. Husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) is the local dentist. Daughter Misty (Ricki Lake, in her third film with Waters) works at the local flea market while son Chip (Matthew Lillard) is the assistant manager of the local video store and a high school student. However, there is more to Beverly than everyone wants to believe.
Beverly lives under a code of morality and goodness. Should anyone interfere with Beverly’s “code of morality” will have something in store for them. She has a secret obsession with serial killers and her obsessive behavior begins with prank calling neighbor Dottie (Mink Stole) for stealing her parking spot one day at the local store. However, she goes full steam ahead when one of Chip’s teachers berates him for his obsession with horror films at a PTA meeting. Beverly, unhappy with the teacher’s words, runs him down in her station wagon.
When Misty is stood up by her “crush” Carl (Lonnie Horsey), Beverly learns that Carl has a girlfriend (Traci Lords) when she sees the duo at the flea market. When Beverly’s friend Rosemary (Mary Jo Catlett) buys a fire poker, Beverly uses the poker and stabs Carl while is in the men’s room. She goes as far as killing a local couple after the husband refuses to listen to Eugene’s orders to stay away from sweets. When Chip’s friend Scotty (Justin Whalin) gets suspicious and witnesses another murder at the hands of the crazy wife and mother, he is on his way to becoming Beverly’s next victim.
When Beverly is finally caught and tried for murder, she decides to defend herself. While her family is at first shocked, Chip and Misty are more than ecstatic at their mom’s actions, attempting to gain popularity. Meanwhile, Beverly must do whatever it takes to ensure she stays out of prison or face the death penalty.
Out of the John Waters films reviewed in this retrospective, SERIAL MOM is definitely my favorite of the bunch. As a lover of cult and low budget horror of old, I loved Waters’ tribute to the “King of Gore”, Herschell Gordon Lewis. Lewis was responsible for the insane 1963 film BLOOD FEAST (which only cost $24,500 to make) and the insane TWO THOUSAND MANIACS in 1964. While some of BLOOD FEAST’s infamous death scenes are shown in the film by Chip and his friends, one of the deaths in the film pays tribute to Lewis. Let’s put it this way. It involves a fire poker and a liver attached to it with Beverly grossed out at the sight of her macabre action.
Speaking of Beverly, Kathleen Turner is perfectly cast as the suburban housewife/serial killer. She brings a healthy combination of her charm, comic relief, and insanity to the role of Beverly. The charm comes when she is with her family. The comic relief comes in the form of the prank calls, which can nearly make one fall off the couch. It is so great to see the reaction of Waters veteran actress Mink Stole when Turner unleashes her comical tirades, unsuccessfully attempting to keep her morality in check.
Those who may wonder why veteran Sam Waterston is in this film will see that any good actor would try something new. Here, Waterston succeeds in the role of Eugene, Beverly’s husband who gets worried about her obsession only to support her the best he can. He brings that Ward Cleaver style of acting in the role and goes as far as get involved with getting people surfed in the concert sequence. Waterston proves here that even the best can appear in a John Waters film and succeed. Ricki Lake and Matthew Lillard are great in their roles as the teenage kids who support Beverly and attempt to gain popularity from their mom’s insane actions.
John Waters is truly a filmmaking genius. I hope within the next year, I will be able to see some of Waters’ more classic cult fare. However, his mainstream works are truly a delight to watch. If you’re in the mood for a good time set in Baltimore, definitely check out the original HAIRSPRAY, CRY BABY, and SERIAL MOM. It is apparent that Waters brings his “favorite things” to you and it is all in good fun yet good and sometimes, bad taste. Not that he would have a problem with that. All three are available on DVD.
In addition, I personally would like to recommend a book to read when you have a chance. To learn more about John Waters, check out CRACKPOT: THE OBSESSIONS OF JOHN WATERS. The book is a series of personal essays and interviews all from the man himself. It is available from Scribner Press and it is recommended to find the 2003 edition, which features additional “bonus features”.
AlbertV’s Ratings:
HAIRSPRAY: A
CRY BABY: A
SERIAL MOM: A+
HAIRSPRAY: Written and directed by John Waters. Produced by Rachel Talalay. Cinematography by David Insley. Edited by Janice Hampton. Choreography by Edward Love. Starring Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Divine, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Deborah Harry, Ricki Lake, Leslie Ann Powers, Clayton Prince, Michael St. Gerard, Jerry Stiller, Mink Stole, Shawn Thompson, Alan Wendl, Ric Ocasek, Pia Zadora.
CRY BABY: Written and directed by John Waters. Produced by Rachel Talalay. Cinematography by David Insley. Edited by Janice Hampton. Choreography by Lori Eastside. Starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Iggy Pop, Stephen Mailer, Polly Holliday, Ricki Lake, Darren Burrows, Kim McGuire, Traci Lords, Mink Stole, Joey Heatherton, Patricia Hearst, Joe Dallensandro, Troy Donahue.
SERIAL MOM: Written and directed by John Waters. Produced by John B. Fiedler and Mark Torlov. Cinematography by Robert Stevens. Edited by Janice Hampton and Erica Huggins. Starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Justin Whalin, Scott Morgan, Walt McPherson, Mink Stole, Mary Jo Catlett, Lonnie Horsey, Traci Lords, Suzanne Somers, Patricia Hearst.
Another year down...I hope everyone has a wonderful 2011!!!
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