I’m a huge musical person! I love it all, well almost all…I have some issues with say, Nine. Not the musical quality just the movie in general. However, after a whole month of horror, torture, slashing, crazy people, I’m ready for some singing and dancing. Corny movies are perfect for this phase and I’ve watched most of them so its perfect for this month while I’m writing like crazy 🙂 Hairspray is my absolute go-to movie when I need a lift in spirit.
Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah
1962 Baltimore was influenced by the local TV show, The Corny Collins Show. It featured a bunch of high school students who everyone wanted to be. A “pleasantly plump” (as IMDB describes her) Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) lives and breaths the show, especially every month’s Negro Day. Her and her best friend, Penny (Amanda Bynes) both run home after school to catch it and learn the new dance moves. When there is an empty spot on the show, Tracy auditions for it but is turned down by the very snobby TV manager, Velma Von Tussel (Michelle Pfeiffer) who believes in upstanding the norms of skinny and white being the way it should be. When the show’s star, Link (Zac Efron) invites Tracy to go audition a second time at the dance event at school, Corny Collins (James Marsden) adds her in right away. Her ideas of supporting integration doesn’t take a favor to Velma and along with her daughter Amber (Brittany Snow), they try to stop her. Despite all their efforts, she brings a whole new wave of thought to everyone around her.
I really don`t think any other movie makes me as happy as watching Hairspray 🙂
Thats what I tweeted after watching Hairspray once (for the millionth time) on Friday night. What I love about Hairspray is that it has catchy tunes and the cast is absolutely fantastic. Just look at the list above! Its filled with actors and actresses I love. A lot of those when I first saw Hairspray had surprised me that they had agreed to take part in this.
Christopher Walken, really? Man, was he hilarious! Michelle Pfeiffer totally kicked some butt at being the racist and full of prejudice mother. I’m a huge fan of Amanda Bynes back then because of She’s the Man and Brittany Snow because of John Tucker Must Die. They were the teen flicks queens in my book (alongside Lindsey Lohan). That one reason I want to see Brittany Snow’s career get better because she’s a respectful actress and I was happy to watch Would you Rather for Halloween (review HERE if you’d like to check it out). These are all supporting cast. My favorite would have to go out to John Travolta in what I assume is a body suit and playing as a woman. He was impressive, especially when he did all the sequences with Christopher Walken, who played her husband. However, the biggest joy I had was watching Queen Latifah on screen and everything she sang, its a total mood lifter. Of course, our lead has to be amazing as well. I have never heard of Nikki Blonsky before Hairspray and never after either. However, nothing takes away the fact that she was so fun to watch on screen. She danced and sang and just took it away.
Hairspray doesn’t have a lot to talk about. Its nothing that focuses on anything deep and profound but it does try to inspire change and to be open mind. In the time that its set in, this was the situation they were in: the rights of blacks and whites. Physical appearances like skin color and size was an issue that divided up people. However, its as always, art, music and dance closes the gaps, with the help of a a few outstanding individuals who want to instigate change. Most of these musicals tend to carry a lot of inspiring messages. Its uplifting to watch it.
Hairspray may seem corny to the max, (maybe thats why James Marsden’s character is called Corny Collins) but it packs in a lot of fun and good times. Its filled with catchy songs and cute dances. The cast is funny and silly most of the times and its really hard to not just laugh out loud, if you’re into musicals. In whole, its just some good energetic and full of passion. It never fails to make me jump out of my chair and do some dorky dancing 😉
If you’re having a bad day and you like musicals, this is an absolutely awesome choice. Even if you’re having a great day, it’ll make you feel even better 🙂 I actually played this movie a second time later that night, just to give you an idea how much I love it.
Tranquil Dreams 