Hairspray

The new wave of musicals seem to fit in one of two catergories- Really good or really bad. Chicago and Dreamgirls are considered among the former and Rent and The Producers the latter. I happen to think Chicago and Dreamgirls are very overrated and Rent not nearly as bad as others, so with the rave reviews for Hairspray pouring in, I wasn't sure what to expect. Add to that, I thought John Travolta was painfully miscast and I was very hesitant coming into this thing. I also think the original movie is not at all this brilliant little movie like people claim because John Waters (the director) is not at all talented and the movie is mostly only known for thrusting Rikki Lake into the mainstream and for having a cross dresser play the mother, but actually play her as a mother and not as a guy in drag.


Tracy Turnblad(newcomer Nikki Blonsky) is a chubby and short teenager in the 1960's who loves to dance. She is a dreamer and a believer that people are ultimately good. She is a dedicated fan of a TV show called "The Corny Collins Show." It is some sort of American bandstand and Mickey Mouse Club like show featuring teens who sing and dance. With one of the girls leaving for 9 months a spot opens up and Tracy wants it. At the audition she gets to see Link Larkin (Zac Efron in his big screen debut), a teenage heart throb, in person but due to the mother daughter combination of Velma and Amber Von Tussel (Michelle Pfeiffer and Brittany Snow) she does not get the part. Because of her unbelievable spirit she doesn't get too down on herself and instead spends her extra time in detention learning some new "negro" dance moves thanks to Seaweed (Elijah Kelly, another screen debut). Tracy's mother, Edna(John Travolta) is a big woman who is afraid of the outside world and her father, Wilbur (Christopher Walken) is a joke store owner who wants his daughter to chase her dreams.


Tracy gets her chance to show Corny Collins (James Marsden) how well she moves and gets a spot on the show. She is quickly a favorite on the show and with a pageant coming up, Velma needs to assure that her daughter will win. Undercut in this story is a little history lesson about the black and white divide. Once a month the Corny Collins show has a "negro day." This day is hosted by Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and features black singers and dancers. Tracy wants full integration and when Negro day is cancelled, the blacks picket and Tracy joins them. Tracy's talent and undeniable spirit lead Link to rethink what is important and eventually claims "Tracy I'm in love with you no matter what you weigh." It is a musical so things do work out in the end including a mixed couple of Seaweed and Tracy's best friend, Penny (A particularly adorable yet sexy, Amanda Bynes), whose mother believes everything is the devil.


This movie is bursting at the seams with the kind of energy rarely seen on the big screen. The songs flow with the script and transition well out fo them, not lingering for some non existent awkward applause that seems to curse most of these movie musicals. The newcomers are all crazy talented- especially Nikki Blonsky and Elijah Kelly. Blonsky's Tracy is a firecracker of a girl and while her short chubby T-Rex like arms sometimes make the dances look weird, she carries herself very well and moves very well in the movie. She seems unafraid of acting opposite Oscar nominees and probably brought something out in them. Kelly's Seaweed is just spectacular to watch as his voice soars and his dances seem effortless. His obvious charm will most likely make him a star somewhere and as some of you know, I am prone to man-crushes and it seems as if I can add Zac Effron to that list. He is a very funny, cocky but deep Link Larkin. He moves well sings well, but his look is just picture perfect for Link. When I saw it, teenage girls swooned every time he winked. Walken and Pfeiffer both have great moments and it is nice to see them both letting loose and having fun on screen.


However, the biggest surprise for me was John Travolta. I thought he was going to be the downfall of this movie, but once you get passed the hideous face and the awkward accent/voice, Travolta makes Edna a very sympathetic character. He finds the sweet innocence and the overwhelming self doubt within the character and when he gets to dance, oh it is like he has been dying to dance on screen again. I can't imagine dancing in heels is easy, but when it is heels and a fat suit, just wow. He won me over pretty early in the film and just continued to find fun things in Edna. He goes a different direction than intended and I liked it better. Instead of playing it like a man dressed as a woman, he tried very hard to find something matronly within himself and pulled it off. During "You can't stop the beat" when he gets up to sing and dance, the audiences erupted in a mix of cheers and laughter and watching him get his Tina Turner on in a sequence dress is worth the price of admission in itself.


The message of the movie is nice and is made in two single moments towards the end during "You can't stop the beat." First of all Link brings a little black girl out to dance with him on national television and then the best acting moment in the movie and it really is just a moment is when Corny Collins, an incredibly hilarious and perfect Marsden, tells Velma 'This is the future" before grabbing Motormouth and letting her shine on TV. It is such a small moment but it really shows just how good of an actor Marsden is, with just one sentence and one look, I nearly had tears in my eyes. But, the point of this movie is to have fun, no matter who you are and it accomplishes it in spades! Some of the existing musical numbers are gone and two new ones are added in their place and the unfolding events have changed a bit from the musical, but they didn't bother me once. When this movie was over I was very much ready to watch it again because it is just that much fun. The dances don't seem overly complicated but when done in perfect unison that are impressive and while Latifah lacks the raw power of the Motormouth from Broadway, her voice has a sincerity and attitude in it that make "I know Where I've been" a moving number, even if the montage seems a bit overdone.


It is not without knowing its history either as John Waters, Rikki Lake and Jerry Stiller all show up for brief cameos and during the credits "Mama I'm a big girl now" plays and it is being sung by Nikki Blonksy, Rikki Lake and the girl who originated it on Broadway. This has quickly become my favorite of the new wave of translating stage musicals into movies and if you aren't having fun at this movie, something may just be wrong with you!