
Whorror Icon
Whorror Icon is your queer playground for all things scary, sexy, and stupid. Join drag babe CryBaby and their guests as they celebrate the horror genre and examine it through a queer lens.
Whorror Icon
Bride of Chucky
💍 She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll stab you in the face.
Franchise Friday is back! And this week we’re diving headfirst into Bride of Chucky—the goth-glam, blood-soaked horror-comedy that redefined the franchise and gave us one of the most iconic killer couples in horror history.
Join CryBaby and Donnie as they discuss the rampant queer coding of the film, the true meaning of camp, and the Jennifer Tilly of it all.
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Intro music by ERK2 (thanks a bunch, dude!) catch his Soundcloud here
Special thanks to Chel B Lockie, Michael Lamarra, Julia Maldonado, Jeff Gorcyca, Raymond Corrado Knutsen, Paige Vice, and Donnie Cianciotto! With out y'all, I would lose my damn mind.
Wait, which movie are we doing?
CryBaby:And Chuckie,
Donnie:Okay. I
CryBaby:What'd you think we were doing?
Donnie:but we're doing bride
CryBaby:Oh my God. Yeah, we're doing Brad and Chuckie.
Donnie:great. Great. Hold
CryBaby:This is so funny.
Donnie:got it. Okay. I'm ready.
CryBaby:You ready?
Donnie:so ready.
What is your book of Well, hanging out with your Smartest and Funniest Friend. You know me, I'll kill anybody, but.
CryBaby:Hi, sweet face and welcome back to Horror Icon, your queer playground for all things scary, sexy, and stupid.
Yep, that's me. I bet you're wondering how I got here. as it turns out, this silly little bitch didn't realize that her microphone settings had reset themselves. And so the microphone right in front of her face is not on. we live and we learn. We're gonna enjoy this show.
CryBaby:You know me, I'm crybaby the spooky slut from your wettest Nightmares. And we are finally back with our Uber extra special guest host. Say hi, Donnie.
Donnie:Hi everybody. I'm Donnie. Donnie, cia. It is great to be back. I feel like it's been years since we've done this.
CryBaby:It has been, pretty much almost that long. It's, we, uh, the last one we recorded was September,
Donnie:Oh, yeah. I mean, that was,
CryBaby:something like that. It's been, it's been a full baby since the last time we recorded this.
Donnie:Indeed had a baby since the last time we did this.
CryBaby:Okay. before we begin, I wanna say hello to all of our returning listeners and viewers and to our new listeners and viewers. It's about time that I do that YouTube thing where I tell you to like, and subscribe and follow and rate us on Apple Podcasts and all that usual stuff. This is new for me. I'm getting used to asking you to do it, but it really does help Mama's trying to grow, So if you like what you see and if you like what you hear, give us a follow, give us a like, with all that said, hi Donnie. Welcome back to the show.
Donnie:I'm always thrilled to be here. And today, uh, everybody gets to join me in my inner sanctum in my actual bedroom today, not, not my outer sanctum, which is a totally different thing. This is the inner sanctum
CryBaby:where the true magic happens.
Donnie:Happens, and I'm sure you will all get to see my cat at some point because he likes to be on film. He is, is he is his fathers son. and
CryBaby:honestly, I genuinely hope we get to see some cat. I really hope we see some cat.
Donnie:cat in his bedroom.
CryBaby:Perfect. Well, also, I'd be remiss to not say happy pride. Happy pride. Month.
Donnie:Happy pride month. Indeed it is. It is June. Here we are.
CryBaby:It is June. Here we are. And
Donnie:Right.
CryBaby:honestly, yeah, just now more important than ever Be fucking be queer, be trans, be full of joy, be full of rage. You're allowed to be full of rage. I'm full of it.
Donnie:So
CryBaby:find healthy things. Yeah, find healthy things to do with that rage, of course. But also it's not sustainable to not allow yourself to find joy in these times. So
Donnie:Yeah.
CryBaby:month go fucking crazy. Mama's gonna be doing it, and I hope you are too.
Donnie:Mm-hmm. Yeah, you're right. You're right. It's not sustainable to only have rage. you've gotta also find those moments of joy, even if the, the moment involves watching a horror movie and eating popcorn,
CryBaby:That's exactly it. Yeah. It's, you know, I'm gonna be fully honest'cause you know, I lost my job back in, in February and there was a little pocket of time where I just felt myself sitting in just doom and dread and anger and rage. And it got to a point where I'm just like, this is exactly what they want. And I cannot allow that to happen. Like, I can't just let myself become paralyzed because I am so angry and I don't know what to do with it.
Donnie:Right.
CryBaby:Um, yeah. So I am.
Donnie:outta spite, know, like completely and totally outta spite. If that's the only reason that you are still going
CryBaby:Yeah, that's, that's my game plan. Also. I am planning on being as queer as possible, even more so than I would under normal circumstances. Y'all are gonna be sick of me.
Donnie:super queer. Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:Sick. Yeah. Sick of me. Speaking of queer, we're covering, a super queer franchise. We're returning finally to Franchise Friday. Everybody.
Donnie:Woo.
CryBaby:Yes, yes, yes, yes. And Bride of Chucky is the one that we're gonna be covering, which has, for me, it's been long awaited. Has it been for you
Donnie:Tremendously long awaited, since September,
CryBaby:since September? Yes.
Donnie:technically since about 10 minutes ago.
CryBaby:since That's fair. Yes. Since about 10 minutes ago. pulling back the curtain, Donnie thought that we were covering seed of Chucky today.
Donnie:I, I was so prepared. I, I've got so much material, so much good stuff. And right before we started, I confirmed what we were doing and, uh, no. That is why as of about 10 minutes ago, I'm, as I'm, this is gonna be new for me. new as it is for you. I can't wait.
CryBaby:Listen, I'm not gonna lie, the chaotic gremlin that lives in my heart really wishes that that realization happened live It's okay. It's all gravy. But yes, we're here to talk about bridal Chucky, but before we do that, it's been a minute since we've been together. So just to recap, we've talked thus far about the first child's play, the og, the original.
Donnie:og?
CryBaby:Yes, with Mama Karen, whom we miss and love so much. And then we, of course, cover child's play two, where Andy finds himself in the foster care, uh, the foster care system with his cool and very attractive, uh, older foster sister Kyle.
Donnie:Hi Kyle. Miss you.
CryBaby:Donnie misses you, Kyle, come hang out with us. And then the last episode we did together was, for child's play three, the often proclaimed like runt of the franchise, the, the least liked, if you would.
Donnie:Yes. Yes. The one with
CryBaby:yeah.
Donnie:school.
CryBaby:The military one. Yes. So we have evolved beyond the child's play titling, and we are now officially in the era of Chucky. He
Donnie:it's like a whole new genre of movies. It might as well be an entirely new series.
CryBaby:1000%. Yes. as we get into it, I'm, I'm gonna point out an elephant that's going to be in the room, everybody. We're gonna do things a little bit differently from here on out, previously Donnie and I would go through in detail the entire plot of the film, and we're gonna experiment with other methods of covering this movie. A little less, focused on detailed, recapping, and more just having a conversation about the movie.
Donnie:That
CryBaby:I think it'll be fun.
Donnie:tremendously convenient for me today.
CryBaby:I know.
Donnie:wait. I can't wait to try this new format.
CryBaby:Yes. Like we, oh, it was so lucky with that. It's so lucky. Oh, I'm tickled. All right. let's go ahead and get in. So we're covering Bride of Chucky mama Crybaby wrote A little synopsis, if you would. this came from me. I did not pull it from IMDB, nothing like that. This is from the heart, so everybody, I hope you enjoy it. Love is dead. Literally one month after getting hacked up by Andy Barclay. Chucky is stitched back together and resurrected by a relentlessly romantic Tiffany Valentine, his former lover, accomplice and Martha Stewart, loving mama's girl. After an argument, Chucky kills Tiffany and transfers her soul into a bride doll, giving Tiffany no other choice but to team up with him to become human again. Campy terror ensues as they hitch a ride with forbidden and stupid lovers, Jesse and Jade, on a murder filled road trip. To find the heart of Dambala, the never before mentioned amulet that will allow them to return to flesh once more.
Donnie:The never before mentioned amulet yes.
CryBaby:The never before mentioned amulet, which apparently, yeah, apparently the heart of Alah was like in the original script of like the first movie. Maybe not the original script, but like in earlier iteration of the voodoo script and it just got nix. So like they brought it back. But it's like, mama, come on. We've never heard of this before.
Donnie:Ah, Hollywood. Hollywood Magic
CryBaby:Yes, we love acon, don't we? Yes. I love plot devices and McGuffin. It's great.
Donnie:That's true,
CryBaby:So, uh, yeah, so here we are with Bride of Chucky. It is, I, I know a lot of people will say that this is their favorite one and I don't blame them. it's a lot of fun.
Donnie:to be honest with you i think it's my favorite one,
CryBaby:it is. You know what? I don't blame you.
Donnie:Yep, it is. You don't blame me. Good. There are
CryBaby:I.
Donnie:ones that certainly come close and have super redeeming qualities, but this one, I, I just, and I'll, I'll give you one guess as to why, and it's got two names.
CryBaby:Jennifer Tilley,
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:Jennifer Tilley baby. Of course. we cannot begin to talk about this movie without embracing and celebrating the introduction of Jennifer Tilley to this franchise.
Donnie:truly, it's remarkable. It changes everything. it lends something to the franchise that has not been there before, which is a little bit of camp, a little bit of sexuality and, or at least kind of blatant sexuality. it would be remiss for me not to say that she's just so hot.
CryBaby:Uh, yeah. A thou, yes, she is one of my two favorite Jennifer's.
Donnie:Who's your other? Oh, Jennifer Coolidge.
CryBaby:Of course I'm queer. Of course it's Jennifer Coolidge. Are you kidding me? But Jennifer Tilley is at the top of that list for a million reasons. yes, the overtly sexual because how awkward would it be if child's play one and two were overtly sexual? I.
Donnie:Would be totally different movies,
CryBaby:this one, this is very up there for me too. I, I love this movie. It's directed by Ronnie Yu, who has a very, like stylized, visual palette, especially when it comes to like color and lighting. He directed Freddy versus Jason. Um, I think it was like, what, five years after this came out is when he moved on to do Freddy versus Jason.
Donnie:I just
CryBaby:Um.
Donnie:Yeah. And it, it is very cool. It's got a lot of great visuals in it.
CryBaby:The only thing I don't like is like the choppy, slow-mo kind of effects, but whatever. It's, it's early offs of it, you know, what do you expect? kudos for a swing. I would much rather somebody like take a swing and like try something new and different than just sit on the same shit that, and, and not trying anything new,
Donnie:Right.
CryBaby:is why I love Don Mancini so much,
Donnie:am impressed
CryBaby:so
Donnie:that
CryBaby:much.
Donnie:it.
CryBaby:I've been sitting on it for nine months.
Donnie:Yes, yes. Don Mancini. Tell us about Don Mancini.
CryBaby:Oh, what is there to say about Dom Mancini? He's an absolute baby. He's an absolute genius, and he is very smart. And here's why. So this movie after Chow's play three, right? It, it made money like it was a financial success, but nobody liked it. Everybody thought it was stale and tired. And it just as timing works out, this was a, as the, the slasher genre was becoming less cool. So they kind of put Chucky off to the side until what movie comes out in the mid nineties that changes everything.
Donnie:Scream.
CryBaby:Scream, yes. The meta funny, sexy, cool slasher. And that's like the perfect. landscape for this movie to come back is in that meta self-aware landscape. So of course, Don Manini, comes out with Bride of Chucky, which is a huge tonal shift in the franchise. It becomes so self-aware and I just think it's really smart that he capitalized on the sensationalism beyond Scream.
Donnie:He saw what
CryBaby:I
Donnie:and said, I can do that. You know, and,
CryBaby:exactly.
Donnie:reason this movie lends itself to it, it's, first movie in the series that's aware that it's a movie If you had tried that with another slasher like Freddy or Jason, that NEC wouldn't have necessarily really worked in the same way that it does with Chucky, and I think that's because of how clever and creative Don Mancini is,
CryBaby:Exactly. Well, and I think also, I mean,'cause Freddy and Jason have both had, if not films moments where there was some meta stuff, right? Like, I remember in Friday part six, somebody makes a reference to a horror movie, right? And there's like little winks to the audience. and of course we have, we West Craven's New Nightmare, which is, um, I feel like West Craven's New Nightmare, is probably a little bit more responsible. Well, I mean, they're both West Craven, so whatever. But without West Craven's new Nightmare, I don't think we would've gotten to scream.
Donnie:You don't think
CryBaby:You know, I think, I think New Nightmare Walked so Screen could run because Wes took Freddy into the real world and really explored this self-aware movie within a movie. This is what horror looks like translated in the real world. And I think that that is what put him on the docket to direct Scream. And I don't know if Wes, if Wes didn't direct Scream, would it have been the same? We don't know. You know?
Donnie:don't know, but we think we know.'cause I would say no.
CryBaby:Yeah. I would say no. Obviously I'm not a scientist of any of this, but I,
Donnie:A
CryBaby:um,
Donnie:yes,
CryBaby:Gosh, if I can get a, a scientist degree or whatever they're called in the horror movie,
Donnie:that's what they're called. A scientist.
CryBaby:a scientist degree, absolutely. Uh, PhD, a pretty poor doctorate or whatever
Donnie:that was
CryBaby:degree diploma. Thank
Donnie:A
CryBaby:you.
Donnie:doctorate. Yes,
CryBaby:it has to be pretty, of course. yeah, all that to be said, you are right. This is exactly, Chucky is exactly the kind of character that thrives in this kind of narrative,
Donnie:Oh, absolutely. And I, is that because it's easier for us to, laugh at the ridiculousness of it because he's a doll maybe. but it just, as soon as it becomes self-aware, the audience is there for it and just along for the ride.
CryBaby:At that point, it's like you're in on the joke. You get to sit back and relax and enjoy You know, when I think about things that are just innately just campy and, just fun, there's a level of whimsy and exaggeration, and there's like an earnestness to it that I think, this film does pretty well, you know? Was that a complete sentence?
Donnie:was a complete sentence. Yes. We,
CryBaby:Okay.
Donnie:and a B and we got to a C. It
CryBaby:Yes. And now we have a PhD.
Donnie:that's right. Oh, it's all about
CryBaby:Uh,
Donnie:the, the letters. This pride month.
CryBaby:yes. The Algebra Qua community.
Donnie:Oh, I, I enjoy the fact
CryBaby:Um.
Donnie:movie is the first one where it really acknowledges the fact that we've been watching a murderous doll for three movies,
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:it almost is, it's a wink and a nod to us in a way to say, isn't this silly?
CryBaby:Yeah, exactly.
Donnie:silly things this whole time
CryBaby:It does.'cause you know, I guess to like, start touching on the movie itself, like one of the first things we get is like Meta Central. cause we're in that police depository with you have Freddy's glove and you have a chainsaw and you have Jason's mask and the Crate from Creep Show, which is such a deep cut.
Donnie:really is, uh, that movie scared the crap outta me when I was
CryBaby:I fucking love creep show.
Donnie:It's so good.
CryBaby:So good.
Donnie:it doesn't, um, pull any punches right from the get go. It lets you know exactly what kind of movie it's gonna be.
CryBaby:Exactly. And it carries through like this whole opening sequence with, the glorious introduction of Jennifer Tilly killing that cop and like the needle drop of living dead girl. And it's like, you instantly know we're in a new world right out of the, right out of the gates.
Donnie:This, this isn't your typical child's play movie. This is something that's gonna be a little different.
CryBaby:Yeah. It's a little different. And I dare I say, I feel like there's a lot of whimsy to it, especially as we get into Tiffany's trailer and we see all of the dolls and that glorious bathroom.
Donnie:Right. Tiffany's trailer is such a phenomenal set. It, as you mentioned earlier, the color palette is just fantastic and it's got this like style kind of esque to it that's like mixed with a little Victorian burlesque. you know, it's a, it's a trailer, but it's still much bigger on the inside. I mean, to have that bathroom I would kill for that bathroom in my apartment.
CryBaby:Yeah, I would kill for that bathroom too. Everybody this bathroom is oh my goodness. It's so big. The bathtub is luxurious. It's just really, it's fun and stylized, like you said,
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:if I had to think of a real life human being that I could imagine naturally living in this trailer, I think of Deida. Vti.
Donnie:I could see that deice,
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:That like, it's a very sexy, sensual, but still like heretical, subversive kind of vibe. It's, it's really cool.
Donnie:And Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany just perfect for it.
CryBaby:Yes.
Donnie:you even know too much about the character, you know that this is her place and, uh, you
CryBaby:Oh
Donnie:her
CryBaby:yeah.
Donnie:dolls and all the weird stuff that she's got going on there
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:of her, the way they costume her and her nails. I mean, just, it was all perfect. cohesively beautiful.
CryBaby:the, the part was written for her. So like, it was, it's the perfect storm. And we, we get such fun imagery. I can't help but think of that meme that I see online of Jennifer Tilly on her knees with the pentagram on the floor and Chucky laying down. And it's always just like me and my hot goth girlfriend. Like that's, that is, this is me and my hot goth girlfriend. it's a wonderful establishing moment for sure. And again, it's whimsical.
Donnie:the whimsical is a great word for it.
CryBaby:I think a lot about our lost time in this movie.'cause we end up having to spend some time getting to know that other shitty couple, like the neighbor Jesse and his, his girlfriend Jade,
Donnie:the straits.
CryBaby:the Straights. Yeah.
Donnie:to any straight people watching, but my goodness, be a little bit more
CryBaby:Um, I think about how queer people are so drawn to couples like Chucky and Tiffany, and it's because they are subversive. They are the antithesis of heteronormative living. Even if they are like a, from an outside perspective, a straight couple,
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:there's still this queer undertone to how they navigate the world and there's a queerness to their otherness. Yeah.
Donnie:Yep. Yep. you're entirely correct. You know, I, I don't even necessarily think of them as a straight couple because they. Resonate such queerness by being so different,
CryBaby:mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, and I mean, Tiffany is bisexual, like, or pansexual. She has a manic sexuality to her.'cause later on in the series, you know, there there's an evolution with another character that happens. I think that's one of the, because I've been thinking a lot about like, am I being too mean about Jesse and Jade? Like, am I just being a bitch about this, this straight couple that thinks a thousand dollars is gonna start them a new life? And half of me says yes, like they totally deserve it. But then the other half of me is just like, it's difficult for me to go from this couple that I identify with so much as a queer person and go to a couple that I do not give two shits about. And they're also just not a good couple together. They're not a good relationship. I.
Donnie:it's a bad relationship. They're young and stupid, but not in like an oh, this is endearing kind of way. They're like you said, they think a thousand dollars is gonna get them, you know, out of town and, and begin. They begin this whole new life together. It, it's
CryBaby:Yeah. It,
Donnie:not, it's, I don't wanna say it's not what written, but it's such a, you know, slamming on the brakes, then veering off into this suburban storyline when we are having so much fun watching Tiffany and Chucky and then all of a sudden we're in, you know, Mr. Rogers neighborhood. But it's really boring I don't know if it's there to draw counterpoint to how much fun we're having. but when you are looking at Chucky and Tiffany or Mickey and Mallory or Bonnie and Clyde and you're really excited by this, couple that's and different and kind of crazy, and then all of a sudden you have like Jesse and Jade.
CryBaby:The most
Donnie:even
CryBaby:vanilla.
Donnie:yeah. Why even wanna waste your time on them? It's like, no, no, no, no. Go back to the good stuff.
CryBaby:Yeah. And, to expand, you know, elements of the film. Like even when we do go to Jesse and Jade, there are some gems we get John Ritter,
Donnie:We do get Cho,
CryBaby:thankfully, uh, the John Ritter's, like the shitty uncle to Katherine Hegel's Jade. Um, and that shitty is shitty is, I mean that positively. He's, he hates her. And I wonder why.
Donnie:not like her. And he, you know, he's known for playing such likable, wonderful characters. so
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:being kind of a dick and a cop, uh, you're, you're like, Ooh, you know, alright. For me, I'm like, get it, John, know, chew on
CryBaby:Uh,
Donnie:those acting chops, you know, but
CryBaby:yes.
Donnie:it's, it's a little jarring to see him be like the bad guy.
CryBaby:Yeah. But that's what I love about it. I really do. And you're right, it's, it's fun. And we also, we do get some, we get the first like confirmed. Like openly gay character in this, in this movie with David I feel like they threw, a handful of gay stereotypes and a blender
Donnie:This
CryBaby:which in the nineties.
Donnie:that's what they did.
CryBaby:And to let you all know what I'm talking about with David. And if there's anything I forget, Donnie, please let me know. But first off, he has frosted tips, which is like, uh, it's not inherently homosexual, but paired with pierced ears in the nineties.
Donnie:pretty.
CryBaby:You know, they're pretty gay. Um, what else? He, um, he knows a lot about flowers. He knows how to keep the, the, the corsage alive. A figure skater, he's going to college on an athletic scholarship for figure skating. Um, I feel like I'm missing something. Is there anything else?
Donnie:Oh, the only thing that I can think of is what comes later where we find out that his mother is not supportive of his relationship.
CryBaby:That's right. That's right. We, the, the one moment of like authentic queer experience that we get for him. Yeah.
Donnie:And it's like,
CryBaby:Yeah. He's.
Donnie:poor, sad. David can't write a happy gay character.
CryBaby:gay people only exist to have plot lines about being gay.
Donnie:Right? And, and usually those plot lines are there to benefit the straight characters. And that's
CryBaby:Yeah. It's like
Donnie:is. He is, you know, the wingman for Jade pretending to date her so that her stupid uncle doesn't know that she's actually dating the bad guy. But he
CryBaby:Exactly.
Donnie:frosted
CryBaby:And obviously
Donnie:skatings, like, it's pretty, pretty obvious, you know?
CryBaby:yeah.'cause they immediately get caught up with that fucking pencil. Neck ass. A needle nose cop
Donnie:right.
CryBaby:pencil neck. basically all you need to know with Jesse and Jay, Jesse loves, it's like a Romeo Juliet thing. They're star cross, stupid lovers. Jesse loves Jade. Jade loves Jesse. Warren hates Jade. Does not want her to be with Jesse.'cause Jesse lives in a trailer park next to Tiffany
Donnie:Mm-hmm. And therefore
CryBaby:and.
Donnie:man. cause he lives in that trailer park.
CryBaby:Are we about to hit a thesis on classism in the child's play franchise? Is that where we're going with this? I mean, we had Karen, the working mama from one. We have the Suburban, uh, well to do, adopters that should not have been parents. And two, we have the predatory nature of the military industrial complex in three, and we have trailer trash in four, or private Chucky, sorry, not four.
Donnie:for right. Object. Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:don't know. There's something to be said about all of those things, so whether they were trying to make a statement or made one accidentally in hindsight, I, I don't know.
CryBaby:And here's another, uh, not so secret third thing. I can justify anything I. I can, you can hand me a bag of peas and some soccer cleats and I'll find a way to make them work together. Like that's just how I operate.
Donnie:Well, I know what I'm getting you for your birthday,
CryBaby:Oh, please. Oh, oh, thank you. Oh my God, everybody. My birthday. My birthday was two days ago. Everybody.
Donnie:Amazing. Happy birthday. You're 18.
CryBaby:Yeah. I am so fresh and young and naive and new bile
Donnie:right. New bile for sure.
CryBaby:and horror icon is officially 1-year-old.
Donnie:Really?
CryBaby:Yeah, because we launched it on my birthday last year.
Donnie:launched it on your birthday. That's Well,
CryBaby:launched it on my birthday.
Donnie:everybody.
CryBaby:I know. And it's so funny'cause like I think we're at five episodes.
Donnie:I know, right?
CryBaby:Which is fine. Like I'm not mad. Life happens. I know Donny's, you've had, you've had your shit going on, so I'm just happy to be here
Donnie:in the past one year
CryBaby:to tell me about it. Uh oh. Yeah. Where were we? Oh, we were with those fuckers. Jessie and Jade. thankfully we get to go back to the trailer park and we get to learn a little bit more about Tiffany and how she loves murder. She's dating, a wannabe murderer, played by the late great Alexis Arquette.
Donnie:also in and of itself very queer to have had
CryBaby:Yes, it's.
Donnie:yeah. The obsession with murder and death is, is pretty apparent.
CryBaby:Yeah, it almost is borderline kink,
Donnie:Oh, I think it's totally kink. the, they're,
CryBaby:It
Donnie:they don't just love it for the sake of it. They love it for like the sensuality, this power control the sexuality.
CryBaby:The primal nature, the excitement of it all spicing things up.'Cause Tiffany gets mad turned on when she thinks that Damien killed somebody, and then as soon as she realizes that Damien didn't kill anybody, it's like,
Donnie:A cold shower.
CryBaby:yes, But, this is where we find out that Chucky actually does come back to life and he kills Damien.
Donnie:Out of jealousy, who wouldn't over? Jennifer
CryBaby:Who wouldn't?
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:Yeah. Let's talk about that lap dance. There's a lap dance. Everybody,
Donnie:There is a lap dance
CryBaby:well, maybe not like lap, lap dance. It's a tease dance.
Donnie:Yeah, more like a teeth dance,
CryBaby:I mean, Damien Shane to the bed and Chucky's sitting on Damien and it's just she knows how to get Chucky riled up. She knows exactly. Not only is she flaunting her goodies, but she is talking the talk and Chucky gets jealous, kills Damien. And a graphic, uh, graphic hill. Well, like graphic to me.'cause I have lip piercings.
Donnie:I guess
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:be a little close to home. Yeah.
CryBaby:Yeah. I, because I don't, I don't have my piercing in right now. You can't see in everybody, but trust me, it's there. Um, I have bolts. I have so many holes. Um. Have I have a lot. but yeah, Chucky rips out, uh, Damien's like lip ring and suffocates him and stuff, but it's a cute little pillow talk moment where they're catching up and he ends up, Chucky, ends up disappointing Tiffany'cause he doesn't want to be with her long term the way that she thought he did. And she goes from zero to 16 and starts taunting him like crazy. I love a bitch that can like flip on a dime as a Gemini.
Donnie:as a Gemini. Yeah, of course they do.
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:Yeah. And she does, she is mad that he did not actually wanna get engaged, which is what she thought was gonna happen. And, uh, she finds out. And what does she end up doing? She locks him in a, it looks like a crib, a little box type crib thing. And,
CryBaby:It is. Yeah.
Donnie:I don't know why she had a locking crib. Is that something that was, I don't think it was mentioned, but hey, she did. And
CryBaby:I bet you it was for Damien.
Donnie:so too.
CryBaby:I'm, I'm not even kidding. I can, I can almost guarantee it was for Damien actually. Very clearly, Tiffany was a, a big time dom in that relationship
Donnie:Oh yes.
CryBaby:Well, and they hadn't had sex up until that point. I, I don't think. Right. yeah. Mm-hmm.
Donnie:Damien for what she wanted.
CryBaby:Well, yeah. And it's just like a placeholder until like, she wanted Chucky, you know? That's it. and then when she realizes that Chucky doesn't want her the way that she wanted him, yeah, she locks him up. She gives him that little bride doll, the, the bride, bell doll, with the voice box that's voiced by Jennifer Tilly as well.
Donnie:You know, again, we're, we're leaning into the goofiness of it, you know,
CryBaby:Yep. And then Chucky's pissed.
Donnie:rightly so. Where, remind me where the heart of Nala comes into all of this.
CryBaby:So what happens is obviously Chucky's pissed, he ends up killing Tiffany and he does so in the a wonderful scene
Donnie:so
CryBaby:Tiffany's taking that bath, watching the bride of Frankenstein, which this movie heavily influenced by. And he pushes the TV in and Electro keeps her. It's my favorite of the movie. It's so good.
Donnie:I think it's
CryBaby:Um.
Donnie:just, it, it goes on for so long, and when you're kind of ready and expecting it to be done, she's still screaming and kicking bubbles all over the place, and you're like, this is pretty good.
CryBaby:There are bubbles everywhere. It's almost like a, a raven in Brooklyn. There's flashing lights, there's bubbles everywhere. Like
Donnie:blonde,
CryBaby:tripping on something. Yeah. There's a naked blonde. Exactly. Um, but the heart of Alala comes in.'cause Tiffany of course, is pissed. Uh, I love her reaction when she wakes up in the Bell Doll. the way she screams and like punches the shit outta Chucky. It's so good. Chucky lets her know Hey, if you want to get back into your body, you're stuck with me. We gotta go to Hackensack New Jersey and get this, uh, heart of Dambala that I say I was wearing that night. But records show I wasn't.
Donnie:Right, right. We know that you weren't, and I mean,
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:get the heart of Dambala, I automatically think, Hackensack, that's
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:go.
CryBaby:ev everything happens in New Jersey.
Donnie:Well, yeah,
CryBaby:Of course Jersey is the land of wonder. no, it's funny though'cause there is kind of a goof here.'cause I think they say that he, Charles Lee Ray was shot and killed in Hackensack, New Jersey. But we know that to be not true.
Donnie:right. They, they were in
CryBaby:'cause the first whatever. I don't care. But they do have to go to Hackensack, New Jersey. And this is where those stupid lovers come in, Chucky and Tiffany need a ride. So that's why they bring Jesse and Jade.
Donnie:where they
CryBaby:I.
Donnie:Jesse and Jane. Right? Right. They need to catch a catch a ride with, cross lovers who are running from and Uncle Warren.
CryBaby:Yeah, they just want to elope. as soon as Tiffany says, Hey, I'll pay you a thousand dollars to take these dollars to New Jersey, he is just like, Jade, we'll put you through college. I'll put a down payment on an apartment. You won't have to work. I'll get a job. And I'm like, girl, a thousand dollars. Like
Donnie:before you even get hack.
CryBaby:a thousand percent.
Donnie:like economics in school. Again, we should be math classes about like how much things actually cost and how to pay bills and how to be responsible for yourself.
CryBaby:That would make us all like too good at being adults.
Donnie:and we
CryBaby:And it's hard to, it's hard to control people when they know what they're doing. Like, let's be real here.
Donnie:That's, that's
CryBaby:Uh.
Donnie:So he really thinks that he is gonna begin this new life with a thousand dollars. Now, I'm not saying I don't want a thousand dollars if somebody wants to send me a thousand dollars, but I know I'm not gonna put somebody through college on it.
CryBaby:but they still try. They run off, they grab the dolls. John Ritter, knows, and he tries to plant. Oh, he successfully does. He puts a weed in the back of, Jesse's van, and in the process gets killed by Tiffany.
Donnie:John Ritter get killed with a nail gun is extraordinary.
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:should experience it at least once. It, is, that's not my favorite death.'cause Gentilly death is my favorite, but I think it's my second favorite death.
CryBaby:I feel like as we go through these, you're gonna remember deaths and you're gonna be like, wait, this one's my favorite too. And there's one,
Donnie:death.
CryBaby:there's one specifically in my mind. And when we get there, I'm just expecting you to be like, well, um, but no, you're right. Uh, and this, we get like that fun little, it's, it's, it's, the subtext is very sex, obviously, but where Tiffany's just like, don't stab him to death. that's so eighties. Like it stabbings went out with Dahmer and Bundy, and they just have this fun little banter about how Tiffany wants the death to be creative, which is why they do the nails on the fucking, airbag to like launch into his face. And it does look good. I always think about how his one lip is like. Like it's, it's, it's, uh, nailed to his face. It's nailed up. If you're not watching the video, everybody, it looks, uh, un my, my finger is in my mouth right now in case you couldn't hear it. My finger is in my mouth.
Donnie:Yeah. He does have his, his nip le nailed to his own face.
CryBaby:he ends, yeah, he gets nailed and they put him in the back of the van and Jesse and Jade run off to start their new life with a thousand dollars and immediately get pulled over by that fucking needle, nose ass bitch.
Donnie:mm-hmm. The cop who
CryBaby:That motherfuck. Yeah. I'm so glad he gets blown up.
Donnie:You know, I'm, uh, that's okay. So I, it's not my favorite death, it's a good one. You know, the, the big explosion at the, convenience store, gas station, drive-in diner, whatever the hell they stop at. It's one of those things where it's like, what small
CryBaby:Or
Donnie:bullshit is this? Every single person from the high school is there.
CryBaby:Yeah. It's, it's very public. Surprisingly. Nobody else dies. Just the cop Chucky's the one that does it. He turns the cop car into a Motov cocktail, which I appreciate.
Donnie:appreciate that
CryBaby:Um,
Donnie:should know how to do that.
CryBaby:And also I just have to say, I love, there's a line read where like this guy, he's a stoner and he sees Chucky crawling past him and Chucky flips him off and this guy's like rude fucking doll. It's so funny. But this is after the cop dies. This is where we find out how truly shitty Jesse and J are.'cause they immediately blame the other person for blowing up this cop.
Donnie:Yeah.
CryBaby:And they still decide to get married.
Donnie:I think if I really had any suspicions that my teenage partner had just murdered someone and, and blew up a, a rest stop, I, I might be a little turned off. That's true. But if I really thought about I feel like it would be a topic of conversation, whereas these two just suspect the other, but never say anything about it.
CryBaby:Not really. Well it's all like, what did you do? I thought you went to grab snacks. I did go to grab snacks. Well, I thought you did this Well, I did do that. It is nonsense. Is this how
Donnie:of
CryBaby:it does? And it just, it, it makes me think a lot about this heteronormative pressure to be in a domestic partnership, even if it's with somebody that you don't trust or that is not in line with the way you wanna live your life or anything like that. And again, it goes down to that lack of communication. It's just like jumping into this, because this is what we do as, as Cshe people, we get into these relationships and we do that. We get married
Donnie:We get
CryBaby:even if we think that they may have blown somebody up.
Donnie:Right. We, we don't have any communication skills yet because we're 18 and 17 or however old they are, but we're
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:and get married because that's what you do. And like, maybe you should wait a little bit, learn, let your frontal lobe fully develop, know, before leaping into something like that. But you're right, it's very like, this is what we do and you know, if there's something that we're uncomfortable about, we don't necessarily talk about it,
CryBaby:And it's like, again, it's even more weird to me that they immediately go to Niagara Falls to get married. it is like, this will fix the relationship. This'll fix us.
Donnie:that,
CryBaby:Yeah. but it's so funny, watching this couple's relationship dynamic fall apart while we're watching Chucky and Tiffany's get stronger. they bond and like they're smoking weed together. They're spending time with each other again. Chucky is so turned on with like how Tiffany is killing people. Like, it's, it's really interesting to see how those, two things slide past each other.
Donnie:Yeah. You find yourself really rooting for them from the get go. I remember seeing this movie when it came out and I was What year did it come out?
CryBaby:Uh, 1998.
Donnie:Okay, so I was pushing 18 you grow up surrounded with. whether it's in literature or television or movies, you know, you always see straight people, even if it's in what I would consider a, a good movie like screen, you know, it's still all about straight people. when you eventually get something that's a little bit different, for me, I clung to it. Even if it was watching a movie like Trick or a movie about gay men. I had to translate that into my brain to lesbianism because I was a teenage lesbian. yet it was still more satisfying than watching some of these straight heterosexual romances. that's just how I
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:You know, it's just like I have nothing in common. I don't understand what you're doing. Tiffany and Chucky might be these murderous dolls, but I feel like I have more in common with them than I do with the kind of. Ozzy and Harriet Heterosexual couple. it was just such a thrill to me to be able to see something a little bit different and go, oh yeah, why? I don't know exactly why I feel compelled to, you know, root for Chucky and Tiffany.'cause I'm not a killer, but knew I was queer. I just don't think that I understood that they were queer coded at the time. And now I'm like, oh, that makes sense.
CryBaby:Yes. It, it makes so much sense Jesse and Jade really are as white bread as white bread can get, They are a laqua water, the faint thought of a relationship. Like it's, they're, they're so boring. being so closely compared to Chucky and Tiffany, it's impossible to not favor Chucky and Tiffany, especially like you said, with the queer coding, with the Jennifer Tilly of it all, even like Brad Dorf and Jennifer Tilly's, chemistry. It's just way more exciting to listen to. We don't even see it. It's fucking puppets.
Donnie:what's
CryBaby:The, The puppets have better chemistry than these two straight people. I'm sorry.
Donnie:I don't, they're never on screen together. It's the two of them in a studio, and they are so electric that it's Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of that studio while they recording.
CryBaby:Oh, I know Don Manini had this brilliant idea for like, when they were recording these, he had them in the same studio facing each other so they could play off of each other. And I think that was a wonderful call. And that led to a lot of improvised stuff. Like with, the, like with the doll sex scene. and we're about to get to that, everybody, what happens after people get married? I've never been married, so I don't know, but
Donnie:I've been married one and a half times.
CryBaby:one and a half times.
Donnie:because once it was legal and once was before gay marriage was legal.
CryBaby:Uh, yes. Yes, yes.
Donnie:times, once was a marriage and once was a domestic partnership.
CryBaby:Okay.
Donnie:As far as I can tell you, after people get married, they go to Stonewall, get drunk, go home and fall asleep.
CryBaby:The answer I was looking for was they fuck. But I will accept that They go to Stonewall. It's the same thing.
Donnie:Yeah. It was
CryBaby:No. Yeah. Well,'cause Jessie and Jade, they end up getting married and there's these swingers next door whom are also queer coded.
Donnie:Yeah,
CryBaby:honestly feel like Jesse and Jade are the only straight people in this movie.
Donnie:almost like they're there, just so you can compare everybody else to them, you
CryBaby:Yeah,
Donnie:excited about all the other characters, just because you have these basic bitches that you can compare them to.
CryBaby:Yeah.'cause we have, I think their names are Diane and Stu, these swingers. I'm sorry, I understand that they're crooks or whatever, but they're hot. I would say yes.
Donnie:It would be hard
CryBaby:I would say yes. If they came into my room and said, Hey, you're freshly married. We're here to have fun. Do you wanna have fun? I would be like, fuck yeah.
Donnie:I'd probably hide my wallet first, but then I'd be like, yes.
CryBaby:Good call. Good call. Well, I wouldn't leave my money out there like that.
Donnie:that is kind of weird.
CryBaby:yeah,'cause they come in, they steal money from Jesse's wallet, of course. And Tiffany clocks it and she also sees that, Diane stole the ring, the wedding ring. And so Tiffany being the self-righteous woman that she is,
Donnie:Yeah.
CryBaby:goes and she kills them in a really fun way.
Donnie:Okay. So I love this step, but it's not my
CryBaby:I know it's not your favorite. Okay.
Donnie:you know, talk to me on a different day. Maybe it will be, it's a wonderful death. but right now I'm just really fixated on Jennifer Tilly in the bath, But no, this is a, a fantastic death. It's a really cool scene, really cool effect. with the mirror breaking over the bed and all the mirror shards falling down on this. I think it's a heart-shaped water bed. Maybe it's a circle in.
CryBaby:one of those,
Donnie:yeah, it's definitely not your average water then. And, you've got water shooting up and blood all over the place and the, you know, metal raining down and it's just very satisfying to watch.
CryBaby:It is. And this one is done by Tiffany throwing a champagne bottle up in that mirror and Chucky sees the whole thing and he, this is dead at like, I am not editing this at all. They die and he turns to Tiffany and he's just like, I love you. He went from six to midnight. Chucky is Chubb and so hard.
Donnie:Little do.
CryBaby:Yeah.'cause he is anatomically correct. We, we discovered
Donnie:We do discover that also, they both,
CryBaby:'cause they talk, boy do they have tongues.
Donnie:nice.
CryBaby:We get a wonderful, and, and I, you know what I love about this is. How earnestly this doll sex scene is played. It is played as if we are watching Nicole Kidman and, uh, what's as fuck it is being played so straight, in every way
Donnie:That's
CryBaby:and it's just it.
Donnie:you know, like
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:believe you're seeing this because they're taking it seriously. It's like improv comedy, improv. If you go on stage trying to be funny, you're gonna be that guy that nobody thinks is funny because you're trying too hard. But if you go on
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:and you just try to be real. What you do is gonna be funny. And the way that they do it is by taking it so real and realistically that it becomes this hysterical thing that if they were intentionally trying to make it campy or, you know, trying to drop one liners and be silly, we'd be like, eh, this is, is too much. But because they
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:mean it and they're earnestly and enthusiastically portraying this doll sex, it's a brilliantly well done scene.
CryBaby:I'm glad that you mentioned that because thinking about the successful execution of camp, it is very difficult, if not totally impossible to be campy by trying to be campy.
Donnie:Oh.
CryBaby:In order for camp to be successful, there has to be that earnest quality to it. And we get that with the little tasteful touch of doll butt crack and the silhouette of them and, the doll sex noises, the moaning and the banter. Like that's all coming from a very real earnest place. And that's why it succeeds at being one of the campiest points of this movie. And this movie is Campiest Fall,
Donnie:Right. can't, you can't force campaigners. You can't be campy by trying to be campy. It's a, and that's
CryBaby:I mean, look,
Donnie:can do it. That's why comedies are so hard to accomplish. You know? I wanna say anybody can be dramatic, but not everybody can be funny. I mean, Brad Dora has already proven to us what a terrifying person he could be, and now he's showing us that he can be charmingly hilarious as well.
CryBaby:he is a romantic lead,
Donnie:He is.
CryBaby:and to further prove our point, everybody, all I have to say is take a look at the Met Gala from a couple years back when the theme was camp, and you'll know exactly what we mean
Donnie:yep.
CryBaby:because girl, they set themselves up for failure.
Donnie:Yeah. Most people didn't get it.
CryBaby:I feel like the people that got it are the people that would have been campy anyway, no matter the theme. sorry. I had this conversation like five days ago with, a bunch of friends, so it's like very hot on my mind.
Donnie:Met Gala specifically?
CryBaby:Well, just the idea of them trying to emulate camp in an environment that is the majority, almost the antithesis of camp because the MET Gala cares too much about how it's perceived. And I feel like the thing with camp is there's a reverence in being irreverent and knowing that, you are celebrating something that is in bad taste and doing it anyway, and doing it genuinely. And an institution like the Met Gala is not a place for that to really come alive, in my opinion. But I'm just a 36-year-old cross-dressing homosexual in Brooklyn. What do I know?
Donnie:What do I know about camp?
CryBaby:they're intense. That's what camp is.
Donnie:They're intense.
CryBaby:Anyway, doll sex scene can't be as fuck.
Donnie:That's good.
CryBaby:I love when Tiffany asks if he has a rubber and he's like, look at me. I'm all rubber,
Donnie:rubber.
CryBaby:which is also like, not to show my ass on the internet or anything, I've already done that. But another thing that I think about because obvi, like, I'm on prep, I'm on doxy pep, I get, I get tested so regularly that it's not. As much of a thought on my mind to have a condom because a lot of the partners that I have operate the same way as me. Like we are all very informed, responsible, stuff like that. So I'm just like, oh yeah, that's like a whole thing that people have to think about which is funny too.'cause I also know from experience a lot of heterosexual people that do not get tested
Donnie:Yeah, I, I think
CryBaby:at all.
Donnie:group of people that I know who get tested the least are straight people. But I do
CryBaby:Yes.
Donnie:out here that as a, as a transgender guy, I have to worry about condoms because of pregnancy. I'm on prep. I have pep. It's always like, hmm, now I'm getting a little old to get knocked up. But who wants to take
CryBaby:that's fair.
Donnie:know who wants to do that?
CryBaby:Honestly, no,
Donnie:most
CryBaby:not at all.
Donnie:44-year-old pregnant man anybody had ever met.
CryBaby:Pregnancy does play a game in this movie? Well, I guess more so the next one, but Oh, we get another queer moment with Kathy Na Jeanie cameo.
Donnie:I almost forgot about that cameo. Yeah. What a great
CryBaby:Oh, dare I,
Donnie:a movie.
CryBaby:Mary Sanderson comes in and finds the dead swingers. How, how gay is that? Come on.
Donnie:That's
CryBaby:Yeah. It's pretty algebra quo.
Donnie:Yeah. Yeah. She is also, I a queer coded I, as far as I know, heterosexual, but.
CryBaby:That character or just having the genie as an actress?
Donnie:about her, you're like, oh yes, welcome to the family Kathy. And
CryBaby:Yeah, she does very much across that way.
Donnie:but we just embrace her everything she does is a little queer.
CryBaby:I agree. There's just some people like Jennifer Coolidge for example, who simply by existing the community's just like, yes you You know? I also think of Sarah Michelle Geller because of her state on Buffy and Is Daphne and Scooby Doo. So Kathy is definitely one of those queens. Those icons loved seeing her in this scene. and I hated that we cut away from her to go back to this stupid fucking couple because they think that they did it again.
Donnie:Yeah. So now they each think that the other person has killed the couple you know, couples will do anything but go to therapy.
CryBaby:Honestly. And but what they do is they go to their gay friend who tries to play therapist and like mediate the whole thing cause he, I guess they had like a phone call the night before. He ends up showing up and driving with them towards Hackensack and he's just like, well, you both think that the other did it. So that tells me that neither of you did it. Which is not sound logic, but it's at all. Um,
Donnie:to you, but it, it doesn't make sense to the rest of us.
CryBaby:it, it made sense to Jesse and Jade'cause they're like, okay, it's fine. And then he fucking finds, Jason Ritter in the back of the car and immediately they go back to, did I say Jason Ritter?
Donnie:who by the way, is really hot and wonderful and we should all appreciate Jason John's son. But John Ritter
CryBaby:Yeah,
Donnie:dead. You thinking about Jason Ritter?
CryBaby:a little bit. Uh, John Ritter. He finds John Ritter in the back of his van and they immediately jump on each other again.
Donnie:Yeah, well,
CryBaby:missing a beat. They're like, I knew it was you.
Donnie:if I saw somebody who had been killed with, a nail gun, I would obviously think it was my significant other.
CryBaby:yeah. Absolutely.
Donnie:mean, obviously think it was my significant other more so than the nail gun wielding murderous doll that I was unaware was alive.
CryBaby:We all learn, we all grow, we all evolve. but yeah. Gay boy dies. David dies.
Donnie:Because
CryBaby:gets final destinations.
Donnie:he get, yes, he does get final destination, which go see bloodlines if you haven't.
CryBaby:Everybody go see bloodlines. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna second that.
Donnie:Tony Todd.
CryBaby:fucking fun.
Donnie:May he rest in peace. what one of the things about being queer in cinema, if you haven't ever watched it or read it,'cause I think there's a book, check out the Celluloid Closet talks about how, queer and gay people in film are represented in that. we die. We, we often die in horrific ways. And David, even in this movie in the late nineties about goofy murderous dolls, still can't live through a horror movie. but even if it hadn't been a horror movie, he probably would've been often some other way, because
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:kind of just how things were. so of course he does,
CryBaby:And not only does he die, he dies in a very public way. It's not like he dies in the back of a truck and he's murdered by some dolls. No. He gets splattered on this highway for everybody to see. It's so public, it's very gruesome. Like we all knew he was gonna die,
Donnie:Of course,
CryBaby:unfortunately.
Donnie:being there and being queer,
CryBaby:Yes.
Donnie:faithfully say not my favorite death.
CryBaby:I can safely say that as well. but at this point, Chucky and Tiffany out themselves, they come outta the closet and they're just like, we are here to take your bodies, you guys, and we're gonna go kill this old couple, drive a Winnebago to New Jersey, and Tiffany and I are gonna be fun. We're gonna be married. And then we get into that lover's coral.
Donnie:hell hath no fury. Like Jennifer Tilley's sport.
CryBaby:No, you are right. Well,'cause we establish, she's a mom, love and mama's girl, a Martha Stewart, love and mama's girl.
Donnie:Yes. She loves that. Martha Stewart.
CryBaby:And Jesse takes advantage of that by convincing Chucky to treat Jennifer Tilly, AKA Tiffany like shit.
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:And it turns into a fight.
Donnie:Yeah.
CryBaby:girls are fighting
Donnie:the girls are, the dolls are fighting, the girls are fighting. It's a, it's a
CryBaby:the
Donnie:sequence in the back of this Winnebago that they, how did they get the Winnebago?
CryBaby:They just stole it. They killed, we don't see it on screen. They just like
Donnie:There's an old,
CryBaby:baking cookies.
Donnie:she Right. Opens the mm-hmm. we see the dead couple,
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:I'm making that up completely.
CryBaby:You're 100% accurate.
Donnie:I've
CryBaby:Yes.
Donnie:movie 113 times, so you think I would have it nailed down by now?
CryBaby:Just like John Ritter's face. Oh.
Donnie:maybe it's long COVID, maybe it's age. I just don't remember things the way that I used to.
CryBaby:Girl, you're not alone.
Donnie:yeah. And then, Winnebago ends up that getting run off the road
CryBaby:it's this weird thing where like Tiffany gets picked in the oven, Chucky shoots at Jesse. Jesse pushes him out the window, crashes the Winnebago, and then there's fire,
Donnie:there's lots of fire. Yes. And
CryBaby:left. Fire.
Donnie:kicked in the oven, you know, that's a big deal. She was baking
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:she's baked.
CryBaby:and she's in the oven and she's got something in the oven too.
Donnie:See, this is what happens when you don't wear a rubber.
CryBaby:That's true. Very, very true.
Donnie:There's something about the idea of him shooting out like little rubber sperm that's just really gross,
CryBaby:That's actually, I didn't even think about what his sperm would look like.
Donnie:it would be a little pieces of rubber. Right? So
CryBaby:we do see some Chucky juice in seed of Chucky and it looks pretty standard issue.
Donnie:it does look.
CryBaby:Yeah. Very sperm me. So whatever. Unfortunately no rubber sperms on this one. Dammit. This is where this is our third act thing. I'm not a big fan of this whole third act.'cause like they go to the cemetery. The only thing I like is when Chucky and Tiffany get into a fight, a physical fight,
Donnie:That part's cool.
CryBaby:after she betrays him because plot twist, Tiffany is the reason why Chucky doesn't get to do what he wants to do. She stabs him in the back, literally.
Donnie:Literally. Yeah. They're at the cemetery. They go to his grave get the heart of Alala, which was around his neck, but it wasn't. and the goal is for them to take over Jade and Jesse's bodies, so that they can live again as human beings, but like what a boring existence that would be. They're both so boring. You could pick better bodies than
CryBaby:Honestly.
Donnie:Go to the
CryBaby:Yeah,
Donnie:and go to Hot Topic and find too much more interesting people.
CryBaby:listen, the fact that this didn't work out is a blessing in disguise. You guys, trust me, you'll be happy.
Donnie:Yeah.
CryBaby:100%
Donnie:you
CryBaby:spoiler blood.
Donnie:bodies? Ugh.
CryBaby:Absolutely not. No, no, no, no, no. I'm glad, I'm glad that Tiffany and Chucky die in this movie. I never thought I'd say that. I'm glad that they don't succeed. yeah, this whole third act as a whole is just, it is what it is, it gives us a pregnancy. And a jump, a jump scare ending with a little baby Gigi coming outta Tiffany and killing the cop.
Donnie:Mm-hmm. The
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:up and is like, we've been tracking you, Jesse and Jade, and you're wanted for murder, and then is like, you know what? Everything's cool.
CryBaby:Yeah. He sees the, the, he sees Chucky running around. He's like, Jesse and Jade, they're good.
Donnie:guys
CryBaby:Now you two get going. He says something along the lines of like, you two, get out of here and stay put. And I'm like, which one do you want, sir? where are we going?
Donnie:mean? Yeah. better
CryBaby:Um, yes, be more direct. It's like you run a department with that mouth. Really? Okay, sure. but yeah, that's like, that's all in all the whole thing. I would definitely, if you haven't seen it, watch it.
Donnie:course.
CryBaby:I. It's very accessible. But I am curious, Donnie, on your perspective, and I think I already know the answer because you said this was your hundred and 13th time watching it, but,
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:um, you know, I, I rewatch movies a lot. How would you feel, how do you feel about the rewatch value of this movie?
Donnie:Well, I think it's pretty substantial having watched it 113 times, but it's brain candy, when you wanna put something on that you don't really necessarily have to focus on a hundred percent. And maybe you already kind of know the story, but you don't really remember it. This is something great to watch. It's pretty to look at,'cause the color schemes and the sets are so great. It's funny. It, has really exciting, enjoyable kills in it. it's not something that like, oh, I put that on and it took two hours of my life. For me. It's like, oh. benefited two hours. I think if you've seen it, especially if you haven't seen it in a while, there are so many little nuances for you to catch the next time you watch it, that I absolutely think that it's got rewatch value,
CryBaby:Yeah.'cause it's the first time you watch it, it's kind of hard not to get lost in the novelty of it, So it's like I, it's definitely one of those movies that I think you benefit revisiting from time to time again with space in between, of course, like any good rewatch. And you'll see a lot more of that nuance'cause I think. A lot of the queer coding is buried so deeply in the subtext and in your personal relationship with queer identity and with horror, that you need that time to reconnect with it and to digest it.'cause I never, I don't think, up until this year, I would've thought of Chucky and Tiffany as being queer coded.
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:It took me a couple rees to be like, oh yeah, of course.
Donnie:I agree. I mean, when I first saw it, that was quite a long time ago, and then I watched it several times, you know, throughout my life and then started re rewatching it when I knew we were gonna do this. So I don't know how much time had passed, maybe, maybe 10 years between the last time I'd watched it when I watched it for this, series. And was eye-opening in a way. I was like, wow, look at all of this stuff that I didn't catch, didn't recognize, didn't clock, just because I was so young and I've evolved as a person. But the movie has evolved because society has evolved. Like it, it takes all of those things for you to now be like, oh, wow. Dunno how I ever didn't notice that they were queer coded, you know, And then there's things like having Alexis Arquette in it, who, I didn't know who that was
CryBaby:There's layers that there's layers to that performance that would not have been apparent until much later because of how things played out.
Donnie:and that's, that's
CryBaby:agreed.
Donnie:the movie itself didn't change. When you are watching the movie, you're like, oh, that's still the same actor who played this part. But because they changed and society changed, we're able to like, see it differently from, in our own perspective that it, it queers that role even more.
CryBaby:And it's already a very queer role. Damien Blaylock I agree with you. Every time I see Alexis in that role now, something special happens in my heart, I feel like, um, a bit more connected to this film as, as a queer person. And I also just love that how much the queer community has just embraced this movie. You know, it's every Halloween, throw a stone, you're gonna find somebody dressed as Tiffany.
Donnie:Oh yeah, absolutely. you know, part of that is, is Jennifer Tilly and her body of work, but it's also her embracing us. she took chances with her career by playing a lesbian, That took courage to do in the nineties, and she did it anyway. And she is always been an outspoken ally and advocate. And so the support that she gives us, we give back to her. it's this beautiful relationship. as a result, this role that she played is kind of a queer icon. And if that role had gone to somebody else, Julia Roberts, Gina Davis, anybody else who was big in the nineties, you know, we wouldn't have the same, first of all, they would've been bad. even though they, they're still celebrities and probably would've done the role justice to some extent. It's not the same as having somebody like Jennifer Tilley play that role. queer coded herself by doing the work that she did,
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:just kind of said, oh, we agree.
CryBaby:I feel like, her work is the reason why Tiffany is later to be revealed as queer, I don't know if this story, and this is of course, we're kind of getting in the spoiler territory. Everybody, there's like, what? We have what, three more movies after this. At some point in those three movies, Tiffany starts swinging another way or starts swinging every way, if I'm being honest.
Donnie:there's a lot of
CryBaby:Yeah,
Donnie:and, and a lot of
CryBaby:it's a very,
Donnie:that go into the swinging, but like
CryBaby:it's, it's. A very manic, pansexual vibe. And I think thinking about the, the nature of Tiffany in this movie being that hopeless romantic, it totally makes sense that Tiffany would evolve to be so in love with love. That love has no boundaries. So she would love anybody that's, that infatuate her really.
Donnie:Yeah. That's
CryBaby:Oh, I love that.
Donnie:What is, your favorite, is there a favorite pill for you? Did you mention this?
CryBaby:Oh, it's hands down. Jennifer Tilley in the bathtub. Like, there's
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:what I will say though, revisiting our initial conversation on rewatch value, I, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, got even 20 years ago, never would have blinked an eye at Jennifer Tilley's death in this movie. I wouldn't have thought about it. I would have been so enamored of the, the waterbed with the mirror that that's all I would've been able to see. It wasn't until I started rewatching it for this podcast where I was like, this is a beautiful ass scene. It's very impactful. It's very queer, it's very whimsical. It's very fun. it is a new favorite of mine, like that, that, that.
Donnie:our perspectives shift about things as we get older and experience more, Because it's not a bloody death. But it's so good. And for, for me, from the perspective of an actor, if I were naked in a bathtub or mostly naked in a bathtub, and they were like, action. And you've gotta scream your fucking head off. So they say cut, and then they're like, okay, we're gonna move the cameras and do it again. Ready? Action. You know, how long was she
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:did she do? losing her mind in this, in this bathtub, you're watching a masterclass performance of how to be electrocuted in a bathtub.
CryBaby:Yes. It's so dynamic and I didn't even think about all of the angles. You're right. There's so much to it. if you're not gonna watch the movie, everybody, just watch this scene.
Donnie:it
CryBaby:If not for Jennifer Tilly. Watch it for the bathtub, for the bathroom, for the homage to Bride of Frankenstein, which bride of Frankenstein also innately queer.
Donnie:Oh, for sure.
CryBaby:The no heard around the world. Well, and also James Whale was like a raging homosexual and very out about it, capital G gay, and was not quite about it. And this is in the thirties. very tragic story, James Whale, I don't wanna get into it here. Very sad. But yeah, bride of Frankenstein is a very, we have Dr. Pretorius who's a queen.
Donnie:Right?
CryBaby:the bride herself is, also queer coated,
Donnie:The
CryBaby:you know.
Donnie:the world. I love that.
CryBaby:Yeah. so we share the bathtub death. That's our favorite one. Huh.
Donnie:that's so good.
CryBaby:And I also think we're both aligned that the best set piece is that bathroom.
Donnie:The bathroom, I mean the whole trailer is is lovely, but any bathroom that has a bathtub that deep
CryBaby:I am such a sucker and such a slut for a, a clawed tooth bathtub in the middle of a space that is just so, that's luxury. That's cty. That's like, I'm thinking saltburn. I'm thinking like,
Donnie:Yes.
CryBaby:I just love the luxurious, almost voyeuristic nature of being in the center of your bathroom, just soaking. And it's, I I love that bathroom. I love it so much.
Donnie:into that trailer.
CryBaby:I would too. And this is, as somebody who grew up in a trailer, I'm telling you Trailers don't come like that. I wish, I wish if my trailer looked like that, I never would've left. I mean, it wasn't my choice. It was my mom's, but is there any last thing that you want to say
Donnie:My, my parting thoughts on the bread of Chucky is, it is such a wonderful jumping off point for the next movie for Seed of Chucky that, it, even though it doesn't seem cohesive with the first three movies, it's such a big departure from the way that those were filmed. This movie turns the franchise on its head, but sets the tone for the next several flicks. if you haven't. Watch this because you're like, oh, I like the child's play movies. I don't know about the Chucky movies. I think you're missing out.
CryBaby:I would agree. I, I will. And this is not a hot take at all, but this movie, single-handedly saved the franchise.
Donnie:Yeah. Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:we would have no continuation of the Chucky series. We would have never gotten the TV series, which also so queer, so, so
Donnie:as gay as
CryBaby:queer,
Donnie:be, you know?
CryBaby:they really went all out.
Donnie:Bu
CryBaby:Um,
Donnie:that got canceled. It, it shouldn't
CryBaby:uh, I know, I'm hoping that it comes back one way or the other Also, this is such a far left field thing, but I'm just gonna say this, I. Have very mixed feelings about horror movie franchises that are like, well, we have nothing else to do, so let's go into space. I really want to see Chucky in space. I don't care how they make it happen. I feel like it will be so fun. I'm just gonna leave that there. Don Mancini, if the series doesn't get picked back up. Make the Chucky and Space movie. You're gonna Revit.
Donnie:watch it.
CryBaby:We're revitalizing the Ulta franchise yet again.
Donnie:Yeah. Don, are you watching? Are you watching Don? At Don Mancini? We're talking to you.
CryBaby:at real Don Manni.
Donnie:I don't know who the other Don
CryBaby:yeah.
Donnie:but I guess we're talking to you
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:Random Italian man.
CryBaby:Do you know how much I would shit myself if Don Mancini ever watched this?
Donnie:you'd lose your
CryBaby:I would.
Donnie:don't even think
CryBaby:I would.
Donnie:of doing anything else. I think you would just explode.
CryBaby:I, I would go nonverbal hands down. Like there's, if, if, and if I just even thinking about it, I can't even just like thinking about the possibility of that, like my body shuts down. Um, oh my goodness. Okay. Before we go, I did get some audio. I wanna start doing this thing. I wanna get people involved. So I threw a little thing on the horror icon Instagram story, and I just asked for some people's hot takes or their opinions about bride of Chucky. I got a couple of responses, so I wanna give some shout outs and, and read these. So, first one, this isn't a hot take. I think this person just read Bride of Chucky and was like, ah, uh, this is our mutual friend Lena Ney,
Donnie:Oh, all
CryBaby:and it. Yes, she said that she won a DVD and a t-shirt, on the radio that the summer, that bride of Chucky came out. I'm guessing she won the bride of Chucky DVD and T-shirt. And I'm like, jealous
Donnie:That is so cool.
CryBaby:God. So that's Lena's hot take.
Donnie:I love it.
CryBaby:Getting free merch is the hottest of hot takes.
Donnie:I wonder if she still has the t-shirt.
CryBaby:I, you know, I have to ask her Now here's another one. This is from, a friend and collaborator, Joshua, Pang Barn. huge horror fan does it makes his own horror movies. He said. Pretty much it aligns with what we were just talking about, about how, bride of Chucky finally allowed the franchise to fully embrace its queer audience. And it's something that the franchise I probably wanted to do through it. Its entire run with Don Mancini being a gay man himself. But being able to see, the, the full realization of like, no, this movie is queer and we are embracing our queer fans.
Donnie:Yes,
CryBaby:Joshua, we both agree with you on that one.
Donnie:Mm-hmm.
CryBaby:Now the final one is, from Kiki, from LA Hi, Kiki. She says, and this I, I do agree with, she says, Tiffany was too much woman for Charles Lee. Ray.
Donnie:Uhhuh. He can
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:her.
CryBaby:Listen, listen, I like Chucky. I do like Chucky, but this movie I am just like, you don't know how to handle that woman. You don't know what you're doing. Uh, so yes, Kiki, we agree with you on that one.
Donnie:absolutely.
CryBaby:Kiki also said something interesting, I forgot to write it down so I can't quote it verbatim, so if I'm wrong, I'm just gonna cut this out. But she said that obviously like they're a toxic relationship. We know that there's this whole fixation on control and power and obsession and stuff like that. But she said that that toxic relationship benefited Gigi Glen and Glenda in Cedar of Chucky. So I would like to put a pin in that and I think we can talk about that next, next episode.'cause of course there's so much to talk about with gender identity and all like that's like the main focal point, And I, I mean, I guess parenting is a, a huge theme in that as well.'cause it is a family drama, but I never thought about how that parenting benefited Glen and Glenda, so I, it'd be really interesting to explore that. So we're putting that in our brains, right? Donnie?
Donnie:we're putting that in our brains. And just as a quick aside, you should have heard me trying to explain to my therapist today the, the plot of Seed of Chucky. And because I was like, and there's a, there's a non-binary character. She was like, is there? And I was like, well, kind of. then to try to ex explain what Glen and Glenda was. And she was just like, a trans woman. And she was like, huh?
CryBaby:Uh,
Donnie:And I said, uh, you gotta watch it. You gotta, you gotta watch it.
CryBaby:Yes.
Donnie:I
CryBaby:You gotta watch.
Donnie:pimping out the, the Chucky series to my therapist.
CryBaby:As you should listen, if, if my therapist hasn't seen the Chucky series, they are not my therapist.
Donnie:She
CryBaby:Not for me, no.
Donnie:destination series, so
CryBaby:Speaking of final destination, why not? Let's go a little bit off book. So you saw bloodlines, Zach,
Donnie:did see Bloodlines, I saw it while I was in Tucson and, a movie theater that had one of those like four D chairs that like shakes and moves while you're
CryBaby:you taught in 4d.
Donnie:done that before. It was my first time.
CryBaby:my mouth dropped so far open. I literally got a cramp under my tongue. Hold on. I forgot that that was an option for this movie. How wild.
Donnie:I, I
CryBaby:How wild?
Donnie:It was like, there were times where I thought it was almost a little distracting. Like I just wanted to watch the movie. But I, I really enjoyed it. I feel like it was very much a family drama that happened to be a final destination movie. But I, I still really liked it. I really, and I, the opening sequence is a make or break for me, and I, I thought it was a make.
CryBaby:Oh, a big make. So I, I did a whole video on, I ranked all of the deaths of the final destination movies. Uh, it's on YouTube now, everybody. Give it a listen, give it a watch. Show me some love. But, uh, I'm with you. I think it was a wonderful way to bring the franchise back. The family element brought so much heart to it that I think, some of the earlier final destinations were missing, specifically, like final Destination four, where it's just like, we don't care about any of them. This family I cared about and that opening. Set peace. That opening scene is genuinely a contender for my favorite. it is very up there for me. I think it was so well done.
Donnie:sequence was so
CryBaby:that it was so good, and it was like, as somebody who is afraid of heights, it was effective. It was very effective
Donnie:effective.
CryBaby:and y'all can tell me, sound off in the comments or wherever you want to, to tell me, but I'm just curious to know if anybody else, when they go into a skyscraper or a tall building, just thinks about whether or not it's gonna fall over.
Donnie:Oh,
CryBaby:think about it every time I, if I'm above like six stories, I'm just like, how is this shit coming down? Like, how are we doing this?
Donnie:You know,
CryBaby:Uh
Donnie:I thought was really cool, now that we're off topic, there is a,
CryBaby:mm-hmm.
Donnie:woman in that first sequence, an older lady who's like really well dressed and they light her on fire and she's running, she's got her hands up in the air like this and she runs through the, the building and then, you know, and they kept her on the camera for a long time. And I was, I just laughed. I was like, look at that old lady on fire, you know, and I thought it was DGI. I read that they actually pulled a 71-year-old stunt woman out of retirement and
CryBaby:Mm-hmm.
Donnie:on fire, and then we're like, run. cool is that
CryBaby:And they broke a record for the oldest person to be selling fire.
Donnie:set on fire?
CryBaby:I, I love that. That was practical. And I agree. It was kind of funny
Donnie:Yeah. I
CryBaby:to be a bitch.
Donnie:oh no,
CryBaby:I think it was also just like the way she was screaming and running it, there was just something
Donnie:this.
CryBaby:comical about it. The actress that played Iris was talking about how them doing shit like that on set. She was like, I wasn't acting. I was genuinely shocked to see a woman on fire running around. And I'm like, honestly, work? Yeah. Like effect.
Donnie:Yeah, it was good. And it was, you know, really sad to see Tony Todd look as
CryBaby:Hmm.
Donnie:as he was, you know?
CryBaby:Yeah.
Donnie:I know that he
CryBaby:It was jarring.
Donnie:so it was very touching. I, I teared up a little bit,
CryBaby:he was me too. He was speaking to us, which, um, and when I say us, I mean specifically me and you. Before the take, he was like, this is for Cry Baby. And Donny, no, the, the directors were just like, speak from the heart and it very much felt like a love letter and a thank you and a goodbye
Donnie:it was
CryBaby:from Tony Todd to his fans. And I, it was so sweet. And I'm very happy that we got to have a William Bloodworth origin spoiler alert, a William Bloodworth origin story in Tony Todd's last final destination movie. And it's like, we don't need to see his death scene. We know what's gonna happen. We know what's coming. And that's that.
Donnie:see that movie too.
CryBaby:destination.
Donnie:Bride of Chucky and also go see Final Destination.
CryBaby:Yes. alright, well that's, that's all we have on this episode. For those of you listening out there in Babeland, if you want to share your thoughts, feel free to email horror icon@gmail.com. Or you can follow us on the Instagram at horror icon that's horror spelled with the WH Icon Pod on Instagram. I'm trying to be more interactive with y'all, and as you heard, I am bringing in some hot takes and some audience inputs, so feel free to share them with me. And you might just make it onto the Horror Icon podcast.
Donnie:Cool.
CryBaby:Now, before we go, Donnie, once again, where can our viewers find you?
Donnie:find me in two places. One is on Instagram at the Donny Cnci, is C-I-A-N-C-I-O-T-T-O. every time I spell it, I kind of wish my last name was Smith, Donny Cnci. and you can also find a company that I run called Trans Voices Cabaret, which is also on Instagram and Facebook, and it's just the words Trans Voices cabaret. And it is a company that uplifts the voices of transgender and non-binary performers and singers, across the country. So check that out as well.
CryBaby:I will cosign that as somebody who has both, shared the stage with Trans Voices cabaret alum, and who has sat many a times in the Trans Voices cabaret, the talent is immaculate. It is such a wonderful time and kind of to, to bring it back home. We were talking a lot about Queer Joy earlier and how essential it is for that, and Trans Voices Cabaret is one of those moments where I was just sitting there and I'm like, I fucking love being queer. I love being here. I love connecting with these people and listening to them sing and share their souls. 10 out of 10. Recommend. Show them some love. When is the next TV c do you have one listed?
Donnie:for this year yet. Um, but we do have a drag out loud plan.
CryBaby:We do next month. Yeah.
Donnie:Uh,
CryBaby:Tell'em about drag out loud. Donnie,
Donnie:Drag
CryBaby:the children.
Donnie:is a live singing drag show that also features non-binary and transgender performers and cisgender women who perform as like high femme or, or drag queens or what, however, drag monsters, we perform at purgatory in Brooklyn. And, it is this, combination of drag and live singing. So it's like a little bit of a cabaret, but a lot of it drag show and crybaby has, performed and also hosted one of those.
CryBaby:I forgot about that.
Donnie:you did. I couldn't make it. I I was sick. And you, you stepped in and it was amazing.
CryBaby:An hour before the show, everybody. It was so much fun.
Donnie:Yeah, and I wanna say the date just got changed. I wanna say it's July 18th, it's a Saturday. So whatever that Saturday of the weekend is and,
CryBaby:Okay.
Donnie:find online at drag out drag out loud, and every time you like or follow something that we share, you are totally supporting the trans and non-binary community. So thank you for doing that.
CryBaby:Thank you so much Donnie. I appreciate that. y'all should come through to the next drag out loud'cause you might just see a couple hot babes there. Like, I don't know, me and Donnie. So
Donnie:you just might
CryBaby:if you're in Brooklyn, come through I'm still unemployed so I need the money.
Donnie:Come and bring dollar bills to put in the bucket.
CryBaby:alright, well with that said, um, oh yeah, me, you can find me Cry baby at, on Instagram. I completely forgot this. Uh, at. I know I have to talk about me. My favorite thing, you can find me, cry baby on Instagram and TikTok at crying without the G in public. I'm trying superduty hard to be more, funsies and interactive and stuff on social media and I would just love to see you all there'cause it fuels me and it brings me life. So that's that, that's all I really have to say. Again, please, like, subscribe, rate all the things, help get other our little queer voices out there to the public. We need to find our people right now. join us next time for Seat of Chucky. And until then, cuties, don't be scared.
Donnie:ready for.
CryBaby:Oh me, fucking too seat of Chucky. Join us for that. And until then, cuties, don't be scared unless you're into that sort of thing. Bye.