Hairspray (A or 4/4 stars)
Baltimore, 1962: Sweet & chubby teenager, Tracy Turnblad (Great Neck native, Nikki Blonsky) & her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), audition to be on Corny Collins' Talent Show and Tracy makes it on! However, jealous blondie, Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow) & her devilish mom, Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer), plot to destroy Tracy, her family, & prevent the 'Negros' from integrating on the talent show. As soon as the camera descends upon Tracy's neighborhood & she breaks out into the energetic 'Good Morning Baltimore', you're instantly hooked. The plot for 'Hairspray' (directed by Adam Shankman) may be thin, but many of the winsome characters aren't {wink}. This frantic, fun summer movie had me smiling from beginning to end. I'm ready to watch it all over again.
After school, Tracy & Penny run home, turn on the boob tube, watch T.V. Idol, Corny Collins' (James Marsden) talent show, & swoon over fellow classmate and talented star, Link Larkin (a charismatic Zac Efron). One of the main dancers leaves the show and auditions are held to fill the spot. With the recent help of her forbidden friend, a black student, Seaweed (the appealing Elijah Kelley), Tracy learns some slick dance moves & makes it on the show, much to the absolute horror of television station manager, Velma Von Tussle. Tracy thinks it's unfair that the blacks can't dance with the whites. So, with the aid of Inez, Link (her heartthrob), Seaweed, and Seaweed's mom, Motormouth Maybelle (a wonderful Queen Latifah), Tracy aims to integrate the show for good.
There are stumbling blocks in the way of achieving her goal: Penny can't help much because her disapproving, religious mother Prudy (the always funny Allison Janney) would basically disown her for falling in love with Seaweed, a black guy. Velma has made sure that Motormouth Maybelle's 'Negro Day' on the talent show is cancelled. Maybelle and a ton of fed-up black people picket in a pro-integration march that spawns bad publicity, chaos, & imminent danger for Tracy (as she completely supports the blacks). And finally, it's difficult for Tracy to convince her obese, warm-hearted, but agoraphobic mother, Edna (John Travolta, yes you read that correctly) that she can dance, defy the stigma of the fat girl, & make a difference in a 1962 male-powered, prejudiced world.
Everything comes together in a rousing climax where the ensemble cast sing & dance to 'You Can't Stop the Beat' on the American Bandstand-like Corny Collins show. I won't indulge details, but everything ends happily ever after for most of the characters, and for that ... I'm extremely grateful. I've read reviews of movie musicals where critics will pin-point 1 big musical number as the showstopper. I don't hesitate when I say that there are at least 10 fantastic numbers in this film & they seem to come-on one after another. Michelle Pfeiffer vamps it up in 'Miss Baltimore Crabs'. Her deep, cunning voice lends a lot in her witchy scenes.
Tracy's 'I Can Hear Bells' brings us back to a high school mentality of budding love. 3 stand-out black females belt out 'The New Girl in Town'. Edna (Travolta) gets a make-over & sings the cheeky 'Welcome to the 60's'. The talented young black cast blasts through the exciting 'Run & Tell That'. Queen Latifah kicks up her heels in 'Big, Blonde & Beautiful'. And then she slows it down in the moving ballad, 'I Know Where I've Been'. And Edna & her jokester husband, Wilbur (the hysterical Christopher Walken), sing & dance with great rapport in the wonderfully poignant love duet, 'You're Timeless to Me'. Travolta-in-drag is inherently funny, but 'Edna' is NO gimmick. She's a well-rounded character with many flaws. Travolta supersedes the fat suit, we see Edna: the human being.
This is, by far, the most entertaining film I've seen this year (and a great stage-to-screen adaptation, as well). Not once do you not feel good when watching 'Hairspray'. The 60's pop references are a plenty. The costumes & hair styles (+ exorbitant amounts of aerosol hairspray!) are great. It's exuberant, joyful & hard to dislike. Every actor is so enthused in their individual roles that it's absolutely infectious to behold onscreen. Nikki Blonsky is a break-out star, here. Now again, the plot is slight & simple. The songs flow seamlessly from one to another between small bursts of saucy (though pedestrian) expositional dialogue. But its positive messages of 1) female power and 2) railing against prejudices (overweight people & blacks) lend a pleasant moral tale amid the song & dance spectacle. With extremely likeable characters, an awesome soundtrack, & unbelievable dance numbers, 'Hairspray' unloads a sugary punch of movie magic.
After school, Tracy & Penny run home, turn on the boob tube, watch T.V. Idol, Corny Collins' (James Marsden) talent show, & swoon over fellow classmate and talented star, Link Larkin (a charismatic Zac Efron). One of the main dancers leaves the show and auditions are held to fill the spot. With the recent help of her forbidden friend, a black student, Seaweed (the appealing Elijah Kelley), Tracy learns some slick dance moves & makes it on the show, much to the absolute horror of television station manager, Velma Von Tussle. Tracy thinks it's unfair that the blacks can't dance with the whites. So, with the aid of Inez, Link (her heartthrob), Seaweed, and Seaweed's mom, Motormouth Maybelle (a wonderful Queen Latifah), Tracy aims to integrate the show for good.
There are stumbling blocks in the way of achieving her goal: Penny can't help much because her disapproving, religious mother Prudy (the always funny Allison Janney) would basically disown her for falling in love with Seaweed, a black guy. Velma has made sure that Motormouth Maybelle's 'Negro Day' on the talent show is cancelled. Maybelle and a ton of fed-up black people picket in a pro-integration march that spawns bad publicity, chaos, & imminent danger for Tracy (as she completely supports the blacks). And finally, it's difficult for Tracy to convince her obese, warm-hearted, but agoraphobic mother, Edna (John Travolta, yes you read that correctly) that she can dance, defy the stigma of the fat girl, & make a difference in a 1962 male-powered, prejudiced world.
Everything comes together in a rousing climax where the ensemble cast sing & dance to 'You Can't Stop the Beat' on the American Bandstand-like Corny Collins show. I won't indulge details, but everything ends happily ever after for most of the characters, and for that ... I'm extremely grateful. I've read reviews of movie musicals where critics will pin-point 1 big musical number as the showstopper. I don't hesitate when I say that there are at least 10 fantastic numbers in this film & they seem to come-on one after another. Michelle Pfeiffer vamps it up in 'Miss Baltimore Crabs'. Her deep, cunning voice lends a lot in her witchy scenes.
Tracy's 'I Can Hear Bells' brings us back to a high school mentality of budding love. 3 stand-out black females belt out 'The New Girl in Town'. Edna (Travolta) gets a make-over & sings the cheeky 'Welcome to the 60's'. The talented young black cast blasts through the exciting 'Run & Tell That'. Queen Latifah kicks up her heels in 'Big, Blonde & Beautiful'. And then she slows it down in the moving ballad, 'I Know Where I've Been'. And Edna & her jokester husband, Wilbur (the hysterical Christopher Walken), sing & dance with great rapport in the wonderfully poignant love duet, 'You're Timeless to Me'. Travolta-in-drag is inherently funny, but 'Edna' is NO gimmick. She's a well-rounded character with many flaws. Travolta supersedes the fat suit, we see Edna: the human being.
This is, by far, the most entertaining film I've seen this year (and a great stage-to-screen adaptation, as well). Not once do you not feel good when watching 'Hairspray'. The 60's pop references are a plenty. The costumes & hair styles (+ exorbitant amounts of aerosol hairspray!) are great. It's exuberant, joyful & hard to dislike. Every actor is so enthused in their individual roles that it's absolutely infectious to behold onscreen. Nikki Blonsky is a break-out star, here. Now again, the plot is slight & simple. The songs flow seamlessly from one to another between small bursts of saucy (though pedestrian) expositional dialogue. But its positive messages of 1) female power and 2) railing against prejudices (overweight people & blacks) lend a pleasant moral tale amid the song & dance spectacle. With extremely likeable characters, an awesome soundtrack, & unbelievable dance numbers, 'Hairspray' unloads a sugary punch of movie magic.