Thanks to some of the worst marketing ever for a movie my interest for this latest version of Hairspray couldn’t have been any lower. In fact, I was dreading going to the screening. However, this was one of those times that I was happy this was my job and I had to go see it because what I got was a movie far better, far more interesting and just more than what the trailers led me to expect. In fact, I would say I saw a completely different movie than the trailers were promoting.
Hairspray, based on the trailers, looks like a film that is only about a fat girl trying to get a spot as a regular dancer on a popular television show. Well, it is about that, but there is so much more to the story it is shocking it isn’t promoted. The “dance dream” storyline is only the setup for the larger story of equality among people, racial integration and the absolute abolishment of segregation. Yeah, heavy handed shit, but thanks to an accomplished script containing large doses of comedy we never really feel the true weight of the subject matter. Once you hear Tracy Turnblad, played terrifically by newcomer Nikki Blonsky, say, “I saw you on Negro Day. I love Negro Day. I wish every day was Negro Day!” you will be rolling and 100-perecnt sold on Hairspray, and it just gets better.
The trailers make John Travolta’s performance as Tracy’s mother, Edna, look gimmicky, but that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. Travolta plays the awkward Edna perfectly and her marriage to Wilbur (Christopher Walken) couldn’t be any more entertaining. Walken is fantastic in this role as he brings everything that has made him a star to his character, and the performances don’t stop there.
Amanda Bynes is perfect as Tracy’s lollipop sucking friend Penny. James Marsden is great as Corny Collins the host of the Corny Collins Show of which Tracy dreams of dancing on. Michelle Pfeiffer and Brittany Snow play the nasty mother/daughter duo the Von Tussles and you hate them just as much as you should. It’s impossible not to like Seaweed played by Elijah Kelly and when you meet Taylor Parks who plays Little Inez toward the end of the film you will want a sequel.
Hairspray tackles the turbulent racial issues of the ’60s in a light-hearted yet serious manner, but I am afraid everyone might not be given the chance as the trailers and marketing lead none of us to really know what this film is all about. New Line may have messed up if they believed everyone had seen the popular stage play the film was based on or even the 1988 John Waters film. Because on the surface this looks like a big budget after school special, while it is anything but that.
Hairspray is good in every way Dreamgirls wasn’t in my opinion. This is a true musical that not only has good music, but also uses the songs to forward the story as opposed to being short music videos inside a larger drama. Nikki Blonsky was a hell of a find as Tracy and Adam Shankman knew what he was doing when he signed on to direct this one of a kind feature.
