Getting back from holiday I had to watch three Riverdale episodes at once, yes I know, torture, but thankfully, they keep referring to the same movies, so I think I can get away with grouping them.  This season we have a two-part story structure: Archie/Veronica and Hiram very contentious triangle, with Archie having to survive juvenile detention. And Betty and Jughead's hunt for the Gargoyle king with the parent's backstory and the cult of Evernever looming.

Prison movies, well there's a Pandora's box worth opening, and Riverdale has them all come flying out at breakneck speed. First, the TV shows; Luke Cage's illegal boxing ring, Piper's desperate ploy to bring inmates together by playing a game, Revenge's Alexander Dumas escape plan. Or even more plain as day: Prison Break.
We will have a lot of prison tropes to get through, but the most significant influence right now seems to be Cry Baby by John Waters.
It all starts with the summer and Archie and his friends driving around in that car. John Waters was inspired by a boy in his street who drove the same type of Hot Rod to make Cry Baby.
So with Archie going to prison while innocent, it sets the stage for a whole lot Cryyyy-ing. No wonder really, Waters cult hysteria seems to fit right in Riverdale hyperbolic pace.



At the start of the nineties, a young TV star was held in a prison of his own making, playing a heartthrob on 21 Jump Street, desperate to start of his career and become a real actor. So Johnny depp took the controversial offer of king of trash John Waters, and added his name of the cast which included former porn star Tracy Lords, future TV star Ricky Lake, Rockstar Iggy Pop, old kidnap victim Patricia Heart, and unfortunately not gay icon and person who once ate in dog poop in Pink Flamingos, John Water's cult masterpiece, Divine.
Johnny plays Wade Cry-Baby Walker, who is named for the ability to shed a single tear, even after both his parents end up on the electric chair. Wade falls for good girl, Allison, a square, and due to her ex-boyfriend goes to jail, while innocent. Where they try to cut his glorious hair, he sings, loses his pants, and has to escape among rats.
The scene where Veronica gathers her fellow Vixens for a hot Jailhouse dance at the gates is straight out of Cry Baby's book, where Allison purrs a "Please Mr. Jailer let my man get free" on top of her car.
This scene results in one of the best prison visit scenes ever recorded.
And I can't wait for Riverdale to top that one. Impossible!



Cry Baby ends with Johnny and his girl reunited. Hopefully, Archie and Veronica will have that same ending.
And in honor of my previous post, let's hope, that when Archie gets out of jail, we will go all Wild at Heart, and weird on top.

Next time let's delve in the gargoyle king...