"Hairspray" - Apply Generously
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
Do you ever feel gloomy or that your life is a
constant series of failures and setbacks? Well,
you can cure that feeling rather quickly if you
just hang out for 1 hour with the ever-cheery
Tracy Turnblad (Nikky Blonsky). She is an
endearing Energizer Bunny of happiness despite
her chubby frame and her so-so looks. For her,
anything is possible.
Ok, her infectious joviality could be somewhat
saccharine at times, especially in the opening
musical number. Life in 1962 Baltimore seems so
perfect to her that when she misses the bus, the
local garbage truck driver will give her a lift
to school. And her only worry is getting home by
4p with her best friend, Penny (Amanda
Singleton), so that she can watch the Corny
Collins show, a sort of pre-cursor to American
Bandstand, which features pretty white boys and
girls with pretty white teeth performing pretty
white songs. But the film avoids being overly
treacly because Tracy, unbeknownst to her, will
be a catalyst for change.
This is an era of big hairdo, big heart and big
change. At issue is the emerging movement of
integration, which irritates the demonic manager
of the Corny Collins show, Velma Von Tussle (a
wonderfully chic Michelle Pfeiffer). She wants
to preserve the look and feel of her show. But
the slammin' sounds of Motown have a fresh beat
that teens are looking for. Tracy uses her
Motown moves to land a coveted spot as a dancer
on the show. And now the virus of change has
been planted.
Never mind that the whole film has a boundless
energy to it. The casting is also great.
Christopher Walken plays Tracy's Dad and is
charmingly goofy. He is the curator of Hardy Har
Hut, which sells all manner of practical jokes.
Funniest of all is his bed made of...well, I won't
spoil the payoff. The mom is played by John
Travolta, recognizable even though wearing a fat
suit. And despite that extra luggage, he gets
ample opportunities to show why he's such a
durable personality. And Queen Latifah is
reliably good. Her character, Motormouth
Maybelle, is the host of Negro Day on the Corny
Collins show, which showcases music that is more
soulful than anything that Velma Von Tussle could
imagine. These actors are all very good and
deserve the millions that they get paid.
Ultimately, the atmosphere leans towards
confection, while only mildly tinkering with its
dramatic plot of intolerance. But it's
undeniably fun from beginning to end. Overall,
the songs were merely somewhat catchy. I didn't
walk out of the theatre with any of the tunes
etched in my mind the way that I did when walking
out of other musical films like "Chicago" and
"The Producers" (both of which I enjoyed a bit
more than this film). However, like those two,
"Hairspray" proves that when done right and with
flair, Broadway can journey successfully through
Hollywood and up onto the silver screen.
Grade: B+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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