The Johnny Depp Experiment

[Gabriel]

In my boredom one afternoon, I decided that it would be a cool idea to group a bunch of movies together, watch them in chronological order, and give my thoughts. A friend suggested that I do the Johnny Depp filmography, and as many of you know, I make no attempts to hide my love for Johnny Depp.

So, the idea is to watch every Johnny Depp film in the order they were released... from his very first film, to his most recent. Don't read any further though, if you haven't seen certain films and don't want anything spoiled. You've been warned.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

-Depp plays Glenn Lantz, the boyfriend of central character Nancy Thompson. This is his big screen debut, and he wasn't the protagonist, so to expect too much screen time would be silly... but Glenn has a good share of time on film here, and he does a good job of being a secondary character, and helping actress Heather Langenkamp to really excel in her role as the heroine of the film.

Nancy concocts a plan to capture the nightmare man, Freddy Krueger, and Glenn plays an integral role in the planned demise of the villain. Unfortunately for Nancy, Glenn's parents cockblock her, and Glenn falls asleep. Depp meets his end in this film by being sucked into his own bed, followed by his television and his record player, which he'd fallen asleep to. Blood erupts from the bed, and there's nothing left of Glenn except that which, as one of the officers in the film so eloquently put, "you need a mop" for.

An excellent debut, but definately not one that would make anyone ever think that he would go on to do the things he has. Depp would go on to make a guest appearance in the sixth installment in the Elm Street series, but we'd be getting ahead of ourselves if we talked about that now.

Movie: 7/10

I thought about giving it a 6 because of how dated it has become, but it's still a fairly good film, and I'd have no problem suggesting this as film for a first time horror experience. Langenkamp, Depp and Englund put in good performances while being surrounded by a supporting cast that was extremely lacking. The underachieving supporting cast though, did help to put emphasis on the characters of Nancy, Glenn and Krueger, which in turn made for a much better film.

Next update to this should be within the next day or two, depending on when I get around to watching the next film: Private Resort.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Gabriel

[Skummy]

I did this with the films of Roddy Piper. You've probably got the better deal.

[Gabriel]

Private Resort (1985)

-Following in the footsteps of Porky's, and paving the way for American Pie more than a decade later, Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow are guests at a very private resort (hence the title), but they're young, carefree, and just want the pussy.

From the first minute to the last, the two young stars are chasing tail around the resort, getting into all kinds of trouble with the head of security, a jewel thief played by the guy from Monk who isn't Tony Shalhoub, and all sorts of women.

It's definately not the best movie, and it doesn't hold up well to the test of time, so I'd only advise it if you enjoy looking back to the 1980's and laughing about what people thought was cool at the time. It's not the worst thing you could do with an hour and a half, but it's not the best thing either.

Movie: 4/10.

I laughed, and it's good retro fun. If you're just looking for a teenage grossout comedy though, Van Wilder would be my suggestion to you.

Next on the agenda is Platoon. I should get a chance to watch that tomorrow I hope. I love me some Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen, so I've got some pretty big expectations, despite my general lack of enthusiasm for war flicks.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Gabriel

[Mick]

Lots of good looking 80's women, not enough T&A.

If only those horny pills worked...

[ROC]

Depp wasn't in Private School? Boo. That's the best of the horribly shameless R-rated 80s sex comedies with "Private" as the first word in the title.

[Mick]

I don't know if I'd call Platoon a Johnny Depp movie. I mean, yes, it HAS Johnny Depp in it, but he's not exactly critical to the plot.

[EndOfAnEra]

It's Johnny Depp filmography. He was in the movie.

[Gabriel]

Platoon (1986)

-As has been the topic of debate here (well, not really, but we'll say it has), this film does not feature Johnny Depp in a starring role, and his screen time may add up to a grand total of five minutes... BUT, this is the Johnny Depp filmography, and the only thing I may stay away from is documentaries.

That being said, yes, he was only in the film for five minutes (at most), but Pvt. Gator Lerner is a member of the platoon that speaks Vietnamese, which comes in handy in one particular scene where Tom Berenger's Sgt. Barnes goes apeshit and takes part in the killing of innocents. Pvt. Lerner is forced into the middle of a conversation between a pissed off and crazy Barnes, and the partner of a woman that Barnes had just shot. Depp isn't given too much of a role, but plays it perfectly, standing out by showing his sympathy for the Vietnamese man and his peoples, and helping to push the controversy from something that you're seeing little bits of, to a major plot point.

The Vietnam War is still a hot debate topic, more than 30 years after it ended. War is brutal, but it was never designed to be a place for people to rape, murder and torture innocents without punishment. The stories of such acts became much bigger points than what was being accomplished.

Movie: 9/10

-I'm not a very big fan of war movies, but this one was just oustanding. The escalation of the issues throughout the film was done perfectly, as at the beginning, there were little nods to the things that were wrong, but by the end, the issues were more powerful than the characters. All of the actors in the film did a good job, with a special nod to Kevin Dillon of Entourage fame. This movie may not have featured Johnny Depp in a large role, but it was an essential one, and it was a great movie. Recommended for viewing all across the board, no matter what you like.

Cry Baby is up next... fuck, that's a huge difference... from campy roles in his first two features to the depressing Platoon...and then to another campy role in a musical starring Iggy Pop.

[Toe]

I love what your doing in this thread, it's really entertaining.

Platoon is one of my favorite movies. If I remember correctly, Depp actually had a larger role but most of his role was left on the cutting room floor.

[Gabriel]

Cry Baby (1990)

-Despite not lending his pipes for use as the musical voice of Wade "Cry Baby" Walker, there's no doubt that this role is Johnny Depp's. Depp would go on to actually be the voice of a character in a musical, when he worked on Sweeney Todd, and just like that film, he would own the character of Cry Baby in non-musical scenes. The choreography was really fun too, and watching him swing his hips like The King of Rock n' Roll, or fight with the jail guards was a blast.

Cry Baby and his friends are drapes, a lifestyle that separates them from the normal people in town, known as squares. This isn't a movie to be taken seriously... it's all good fun from the first moment when Cry Baby and Allison lay eyes on each other.

You see, Allison is a square, and that just doesn't work... but she's so tired of being good. Allison's boyfriend Baldwin doesn't take too kindly to Cry Baby, and the squares attack the drapes at a party. Of course, when the law gets involved, it doesn't matter who set fire to what, or who started the fight... all that matters is that Cry Baby is the head of the drapes, and the drapes must be punished and made to see that they need to be squares.

Cry Baby gets sent to a juvenile detention facility, where we get a kickass cameo from Willem Dafoe (who starred with Depp in Platoon.) "God bless my probation officer."

The climactic on the roof of the car, game of chicken lends for a pretty cool scene, with a kickass song (Highschool Hellcats), and the film ends as campily as it began.

Movie: 5/10

-It's not the best musical, and it's not the best parody of older types of films... but it is ridiculously fun if you're into what it's offering. Being that I love a lot of 1950's style stuff, this movie is just a blast for me to watch.

The next movie on the agenda is Edward Scissorhands. I might be a day or two with this one, mostly because I'm still looking for a copy of Nightmare on Elm Street 6, which follows that. I think I've found one though, so hopefully it isn't a big delay.

[Lint]

I've always liked Cry Baby myself..its a good comedy/parody of other musicals I think

[Guest Grapehead]

Cry baby is the first johnny depp film I saw, and I seriously loved that film. It's been years but I remember how fond I was of it in my younger days and I now am searching for a copy again.

[Gabriel]

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

-The role of the title character almost went to Tom Cruise at the urging of Twentieth-Century Fox. In retrospect, while Cruise has turned in an amazing career, it is extremely unlikely that he would have been able to portray the character of Edward the way that Johnny Depp did. Almost eighteen years after the release of the film, Edward Scissorhands has become a cult figure, ranking up there with others such as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and another Depp character, Jack Sparrow.

Sorry... Captain, Jack Sparrow.

I watched this plenty of times as a child, but watching it again and realizing the impact it had on my life, the way the film still pulls at my emotions and draws similarities to situations and feelings that I, and my other people, have experienced throughout my life... it's no wonder that the film is still considered one of the top films of the 90s. It's a classic tale that is part horror (Frankenstein), part romance (Beauty and the Beast) and part comedy.

Tim Burton did an amazing job on the film, and by cranking up the color in the suburbs (where there was no black or white, and everthing seemed to be done in pastels), he made you realize just how much Edward didn't belong. Not just because he had scissors for hands, or because he'd been hidden away from society for so long. The character was a beautiful and horrifying image of the growing number of children, who because of their differences from what society had deemed the norm, were to become outcasts in their own homes and driven away. Unfortunately, that means that the Hot Topic teeny bopping group of kids who think that life is over when a girlfriend of one week breaks up with them, well it means that those kids have looked to this movie and this character as an idol of sorts. For some people, that tarnishes the memory and reputation of what is an amazing film, but it shouldn't.

Movie: 9/10

-It does everything right. There are a few issues with things that just look unintentionally silly, but almost two decades later, that was bound to happen. This is a movie that at times is funny, dramatic, horrifying and beautiful... but in the end, it turns out to come together as a whole to form one of the top tragic love stories of the modern era.

The supporting cast is great, with Diane Wiest heading the troupe. You'll also find Kathy Baker as a dead ringer for Peggy Bundy, Berta from Two and a Half Men, Anthony Michael Hall as a jock type asshole, and the absolutely gorgeous Winona Ryder as the woman who fell in love with a beautiful monster, only to be separated, while each of them goes on with their lives, never forgetting or falling out of love.

I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy at least most parts of this film. I think they did a tremendous job incorporating enough of each different aspect of the story to keep comedy fans happy even when romantic stuff is happening, and to keep the romantics happy while the movie takes a horrifying turn.

Should you watch it if you haven't? Hell yes. Even if you've seen it before, watch it again. It's that good.

Next on the list is Freddy's Dead, the Final Nightmare. Depp only has a cameo in it, but it's an enjoyable enough film that I will be happy to watch it again. Again, it might be a day or two extra, because I'm hunting down a copy of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but after that is Benny and Joon, which I already own... so we should get rolling here soon.

[Mike Ockizitchy]

Great job with this Gab, very enjoyable to read. I've seen all of these movies but Platoon and Private Resort. I've alwasy been told to see Platoon and as a movie fanatic I know my day will come. Actually I'm going to get a movie later tonight, but I'm not sure it's what I'll buy. I'm a wierd guy like that.

But anyways I'm a fan of Cry Baby, I saw it on late night television back in the day. I LOVE Edward Scissorhands, fucking love it. Great flick. Looking forward to more, keep up the good work.

[Skummy]

Cry Baby's brilliant - caught it on ATP TV at last year's ATP Nightmare Before Christmas, first time I'd seen it in years, and it was just the perfect film to wake up to in a surreal environment - it's just one of the most pure fun films I've ever seen, and criminally under-represented as far as Depp's career goes.

Edward Scissorhands is a life-long favourite of mine. I remember being enthralled by it as a kid, and it still really gets me now - "Hold me." "I can't" - makes me cry a little bit every single time.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

The best thing about Edward Scissorhands is Vincent Price. (Y)

[Skummy]

The best thing about anything with Vincent Price is Vincent Price.

[Gabriel]

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

-In all of my reading about this film, Johnny Depp's character is referred to as "Glenn", despite no evidence in the film that he is revisiting, post-mortem, the character he played in the first Nightmare on Elm Street film. While his role is limited to a thirty second cameo, Depp makes the most of it with a play on those old "This is Your Brain on Drugs" television ads. After demonstrating the effects of drug use with his egg and frying pan to Breckin Meyer's character, Depp gets cold clocked by a frying pan wielding Freddy Krueger, who then proceeds to "trip out" with Meyer's stoner character, Spencer.

Movie: 6/10

-It's still an Elm Street movie, so it's still fun, but it's hardly the best in the series. The main character in the beginning of the film is a dead ringer for Rider Strong of Cabin Fever fame, we get cameos from not only Depp, but also Roseanne and Tom Arnold and the ever awesome Alice Cooper. To add to this, the cast is rounded out by Lisa Zane, who takes over from Rider Strong-lite shortly after the midway point of the film as the protagonist...which was a nice swerve.

The movie is a fun watch, but constant retconning of Freddy's past, adding things in that are just unnecessary, and the even more amped up level of ridiculousness, really just seems to hurt Krueger more than it does help him. He's awesome as a wise-cracking horror icon, but he should still be terrifying, and this movie did not display that. This was supposed to be the last film in the series, hence the title... but Wes Craven came back to Elm Street with what many people (myself included) believe is the best, or second best, installment in the series, with Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

What's that? Oh, Dr. Maggie was played by Lisa Zane. Yes... Zane. No, it's not a coincidence... she is actually the older sister of the greatest actor in the history of cinema, Billy fucking Zane.

Watch this movie if you like Freddy, picking out cameos, deaf people having Q-tips shoved through their ear cavities, or Rider Strong and Billy Zane, who despite not actually being in the film, make it that much more awesome.

Next up is What's Eating Gilbert Grape... on deck is one of my favorite romantic comedies, Benny and Joon, and in the hole is Arizona Dream, which I went to extensive lengths to get my hands on, so it had better be a damn fucking good movie.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Benny & Joon is fucking awesome.

[Gabriel]

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)

-Gilbert is a young man in the small town of Endora, Iowa... but he's not just any young man. Gilbert has two sisters and a brother, his father hung himself years earlier, and his mother is five-hundred pounds. Wait a second, I think I forgot something... oh yeah, one of his sisters likes to antagonize him too.

Anyways, there's just something wrong with Gilbert... he doesn't seem to emote, and is visably just sleeping his way through life. Oh fuck... yeah, his brother is retarded. Just a side here, but Leonardo DiCaprio was awesome in his role as the mentally challenged Arnie.

So again, Gilbert seems to be just waiting for his ticket to get punched, all the while caring for his family and stepping into the role as the man of the house. Enter a young lady named Becky, played by Juliette Lewis. Becky manages to break Gilbert free from his shell, but doing so makes Gilbert walk a very fine line. He loses his relationship with Betty Carver (MILF), whom he'd been having an affair with... he realizes that he's ashamed of his mother, but they manage to fix that through the magic of speaking to one another about it... and worst of all, he loses his patience with Arnie, and smacks him around.

All of this sets him off, and Gilbert runs to Becky, who makes a comparison between he and his father, who had hid his emotions within himself for so long, that the only time anyone ever knew what was going on with him was when he was hanging, tongue out, in the basement of the family home. Gilbert realizes that she's right, and goes to set things straight... in the end, the mother dies after the exhausting trial of having to walk up the stairs, and this free's all of the kids. The eldest sister moves to a bigger city to be a school cook, and I can't remember what the younger sister did. I think she went with her.

Gilbert and Arnie end up with Becky and her grandmother, travelling the roads and whatnot.

I might have missed the point of the film, because I was sitting there afterwards thinking to myself how morbid it felt that their mother dying was the catalyst for them all to actually move on and enjoy their lives... and that they knew that all along... maybe I missed the point, like I said... but in the end, there's nothing eating Gilbert Grape, who is free from his shell, with a woman he loves and his brother, whom he showed the utmost affection for throughout the film.

Movie: 6.5/10

-It was a good movie, with a lot of good acting. Depp and DiCaprio were great, Mary Steenburgen was very good, as was John C. Reilly and the ever creepy Crispin Glover.

I enjoyed the movie, but I don't think I got out of it what I was supposed to. Maybe you might be able to, and if you can, please fill me in. It's worth a watch if you haven't seen it, because the performances were all great, and it's a fun movie at times.

Moving on, we have Benny and Joon coming up, and then Arizona Dream. I have to return Dream by Monday night, so these next two updates should be coming at you pretty quick.