It's no secret I love musicals. From Rent to Wicked to Moulin Rouge, I enjoy the stories, the music, and the meshing of the two. This love stays strong despite the fact my attempts at singing would cause ears to start bleeding.
However, I was not sure what to expect from Hairspray. The movie's primary selling point seemed to be John Travolta in a fat suit, and I just didn't find that image appealing. In the end, my Broadway fan-boyishness led me to the theater, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Although this film is set in the 1960s and looks at racial segregation, the obvious point of the production is to have fun. While Rent takes itself very seriously, Hairspray does not. For example, lead character Tracy Turnblad misses her school bus and is late for class because she is too busy singing and dancing for the first musical number. She is even pelted in the face with a dodgeball because of another number. Sight-gags and one-liners about the culture of the '60s can be seen and heard throughout the film. I'd share a few of them, but I think they are much funnier if you don't see them coming.
Because it also deals with race and racism, the film obviously has a few serious moments. And while racial integration might have been controversial in the 1960s theater, I doubt there are many people today who would disagree with this movie politically.
Even through the brief serious moments, the unabashed goal of the movie is to entertain. It wants to make people smile and laugh, and it succeeds. It has a strong cast with (for the most part) excellent vocal ability. The choreography is a bit weird, but so were the 1960s.
If you enjoy musicals, I'd highly recommend Hairspray. If I can't remember the last time I saw a PG-rated movie that I actually enjoyed and would recommend to others.
Posted by Randy at August 5, 2007 01:04 PM | TrackBackGood review. More people should see this, despite the fat suit. I think I want the soundtrack.
Posted by: Blame Jared at August 6, 2007 12:42 PMI loved this movie! I saw it opening day with one of my girl friends, and we laughed through the whole thing! John Travolta can SHAKE IT! ;)
Posted by: Paige at August 7, 2007 01:35 PMI'm trying very hard to forgive Jared and Randy for dragging me to see this. That said, the scene with the bar for pregnant women is salve for my angsty soul.
Posted by: Vengeful Cynic at August 11, 2007 12:16 PMOne of the things that struck me during the movie was the difference between "white people" dancing and "black people" dancing in contrast with the way the white lady tried to get what she wanted as opposed to the black people.
To better explain, the white people dancing was fairly tame, yet still fun and the black people dancing was quite sensual. Yet, the mean white lady in the film got what she wanted through sex while the black people marched. It was an interesting contrast to me.
Hey look--the number i posted has a sort of pattern mathematically....858533
Posted by: anna at August 11, 2007 12:17 PM