Welcome To The Sixties Again
Written: Aug 20 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Cast, especially Blonsky, Walken, and Pfeiffer, music
Cons: Some will find Travolta in a woman's role a bit bizarre
The Bottom Line: Everybody dance and sing!
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| pmills1210's Full Review: Hairspray |
Three popular comedies that can hardly be considered light-hearted have become the inspiration for some light-hearted musicals. First came Roger Corman's The Little Shop Of Horrors, then came Mel Brooks's Oscar-winning story, The Producers. John Waters's most popular movie has also gotten a makeover, with an emphasis on original music. The musical Hairspray tells the story of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a Baltimore teenager in the early 1960s whose love of music baffles her mother, Edna (John Travolta). Every day after school, Tracy and her best friend, Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), rush to Tracy's house to watch The Corny Collins Show, a local favorite for fans of teen music. One day, Corny (James Marsden) announces a performance opening on the show, which will make the winner a regular dancer on the show, as well as one of its teen council members. Edna is against Tracy's auditioning, but Tracy's father, Wilbur (Christopher Walken), who runs a novelty store next to the Turnblad home, encourages her to pursue her passion.
Tracy and Penny go, but Tracy is dismissed by show producer Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer), simply because Tracy is a size or two larger than the other teens on the show. Her dancing and pleasant attitude, however, catch Corny's eye. Velma, in an effort to keep the host happy, gives Tracy the spot on the program. She becomes an immediate hit, much to Velma's consternation. Velma's daughter, Amber (Brittany Snow), is one of the most popular regulars, and the girl who's supposed to get all of the attention. The show's most popular boy, Link Larkin (Zac Efron), has even taken notice of Tracy, both on the show and in school. Tracy even gets her own sponsor, Mr. Pinky (Jerry Stiller), and Edna becomes her manager. Velma tries an underhanded stunt to try and drive Tracy from the show, but it doesn't work.
Velma shows even more intolerance toward another station host named Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah). One day a month, she hosts Negro Day at the station. The rest of the month, she runs a record store where the fans of her show go to buy records and have a good time. Among the regulars of the store and the show are her best dancers, a teen named Seaweed Stubbs (Elijah Kelley) and his sister, Little Inez (Taylor Parks). Like Corny, Tracy is a fan of Maybelle and the records she plays. A school situation allows Tracy to meet Seaweed, where they come to admire each other and their dance moves. Not only do they want to stop Velma, but they look to integrate Corny's show. All these events make Velma fight even harder to get her way, and to try and fix a contest so that Amber wins an ad contract with the show's hairspray sponsor.
The remake of Hairspray, as opposed to similar remakes, comes very close to capturing the spirit of the its source material. The subject of civil rights is handled lightly, but it is consistent with the movie's tone. Everyone is being required to step outside their comfort zone, whether or not they were acquainted with Tracy before she joined the show. Tracy steps out of her comfort zone with a confidence and a positive attitude, and that allows most people to be less tentative when they're around her. It's that approach that allows Tracy to face any naysayers and do well. Director Adam Shankman also choreographs Hairspray, and recreates the early sixties in convincing fashion. The songs of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are performed nicely by the cast, though Travolta is no better a singer here than he was when he strained to hit the high notes on his 1976 Top 10 hit, "Let Her In."
Blonsky is very good as Tracy, a girl whose heart is bigger than her body. She sees the black and white in her world, and wants to embrace all of the good found there. The ever-reliable Walken is excellent as Wilbur, a man who's determined to make any customer smile when they visit his novelty shop, the Hardy Har Hut. He also gets the chance to show he can sing and dance in a strange, but memorable scene with Travolta. Walken seldom gets to show this side of his talent on film, but he relishes this opportunity. Pfeiffer turns in one of best performances in quite a while as the greedy Velma, while Travolta does his best to live up to the spirit of Divine in his performance as Edna (I wonder if any biological female ever gets to play Edna in any production of this show). Stiller is the most prominent actor in this film who also appeared in the 1988 film. The original Wilbur, Stiller makes a nice shift as the jovial Mr. Pinky. Waters and Ricki Lake, who first played Tracy, are among the other players from the 1988 film to have roles here.
Hairspray celebrates the march toward civil rights through the types of music that young people embraced. One teenager takes advantage of a break that might not ordinarily come her way, and uses that break to help others who don't get the attention they deserve. Tracy Turnblad often faces the scorn of her teachers and classmates, but she doesn't let their often undue criticism bother her. She may not look right or behave right in the eyes of some people, but she treats people the way she'd like to be treated herself. Tracy may have started by trying to earn a spot on her favorite program, but she went beyond simply trying to entertain. She made a difference for those she admired and loved.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Feel-good Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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pmills1210
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
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"Nothing in moderation." - Ernie Kovacs. Read and enjoy!
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