Reviews of Hairspray

i really think

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 18 June 2008 07:32 (A review of Hairspray)

this is one of the greatest movies out guys, i mean just all the stuff that happens. i mean im not into all the musical movies and stuff, but this is one tops in my books

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Joyous and fun!

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 24 April 2008 09:03 (A review of Hairspray)

Good morning Baltimore!"

First of all: musicals are not my thing. The latest The Producers remake equalled poison for upcoming musical movies due for release.

Hairspray, however, is a different story. The film is clichéd, predictable, cheesy, corny beyond all belief, childish, features a few annoying teenager heart-throbs with no acting skills - but it is fantastic!! I don't think I could possibly suggest a better way to joyfully spend two hours of your time.

Hairspray is a knockout movie musical that provides two hours of sheer enjoyment and pleasure. Its production values alone warrant a screening. The whole technical aspect of this film is top notch; showcasing scenes of magnificent musical numbers, cute characters and catchy music.

As the film opened I stared in disbelief at my screen and wondered what I had gotten myself into. The first song is really cheesy but colourful and joyous. What was to follow was a film of laughs, delight and absolute enjoyment!

Tracy Turnblad (Blonsky) is an overweight local teenage girl with dreams of becoming part of her favourite television program. Despite her weight she's a lively, dedicated dancer. When Tracy's dreams are finally realised, trouble follows when one of the show's managers (Pfeiffer) strongly resents an overweight dancer being featured in the cast. To make matters worse this is also the time for many other social situations - i.e. integration of African Americans on mainstream television programs.

The film succeeds phenomenally because of its technical merits. First of all, the cast. John Travolta was unmistakable but barely recognisable as he plays an overweight mother. Because we all know Travolta as being part of the classic musical Grease, it came as no surprise that the hit musical of this generation would feature a cast member of his stature. I am very familiar with Travolta's work, but I've never known him to play a woman so well. I was laughing whenever he delivered a line. His make-up was enough to send me into stitches when he first appeared. The accent and voice only made it even more hilarious.

I detest a lot of the teenage heart-throb talent (I use the term loosely) that became involved with this project. I refer to people like Zac Efron and Amanda Byrnes who are sometimes painful to watch. But in amidst all the delightful musical chaos it's very hard to recognise them. And hence my initial concerns with the cast were quickly alleviated.

The direction and cinematography are sublime. As a result the film looks great. Filled with colourful imagery, typical bright costumes and traits from the 50s that are quite authentic (my mother confirmed this as we were watching). But my hat goes off to those who took the time and effort to choreograph all the dancing. It's filled with energy and is great to look at. Needless to say, my brain hurts when I think about how long it would have taken to get all the dancers in such perfect sync (I can't imagine how many outtakes hit the cutting room floor).

Hairspray ended up being an audience favourite for 2007. The music is lively, the imagery is colourful, the film is entertaining.

This is why audiences go to the movies: to be entertained. It's corny, it's cheesy and it's childish but at least it's fun. Hairspray is a triumph for movie musical/comedies. I hope that we'll see more energetic films like these to follow.

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Hairspray review

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 16 April 2008 08:59 (A review of Hairspray)

I must say, having a partner who absolutely loves musicals kind of warps your opinion of them in time. I remember seeing the old version of Hairspray when i was younger just because it was on late at night and i was "staying up" which was a treat. Any other time in life i can safely say iv never subjected myself to the musical variety of film except for the biggies like Greece.
That in mind i wasn't exactly looking to watch this film when i did! My vision of the evening was a quiet night on the computer with a few drinks n the occasional word to the other half, instead she put this on and i wasn't really sure what to expect! I liked the first song, the leads voice is incredibly strong and powerful, i decided it might not be a bad film after all, and that was it! The rest of the story went by in no time, i enjoyed the music, the plot was great, and held important messages about the world, i loved how well they did at making it look like and feel like the 60's etc and how the whole film just seemed spot on. (Note im not old enough to know the 60's but it seemed like how other old films portray it)
Im sure most musical lovers will have bought this film in triplicate by now but any one else who hasn't seen it should give it a shot, even John Travolta almost acts in this film! Its the only time in his entire career iv not hated him for filling a roll. Zac Efron was brilliant in his roll and i feel that although he belongs to the evil Disney corporation etc, and he seems incredibly plastic, he does seem to posses an enormous amount of talent i could never equal and for that i respect him.
This is a great film with well chosen actors, each roll is played perfectly and it is filled with talent from the start. It even almost convinced me to watch more musicals!!

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Hillarious

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 16 September 2007 03:38 (A review of Hairspray)

It was absolutely hillarious! Seriously - I didnt think it would be this good!

It was truly an amazing musical and had many many funny parts to it aswell. I was surprised to see so many good actors in it like Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes and Queen Latifa who I didnt think were in it!

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Very Silly and Fun

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 4 September 2007 07:12 (A review of Hairspray)

I've never seen the original "Hairspray", but as it was John Waters I didn't expect the remake to be a "Family Film", but that's what it is. The setting and costumes are great, and although it's a musical the star of the show is the choreography. The storyline is how a chubby short girl in the early 60s wants to be chosen as the next cast member of a local rock'n'roll show (like American Bandstand) and how she ends up actually integrating the show. It's a cute story, and full of interesting characters. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the bad guy and does the past beauty queen act with gusto. Amanda Bynes and Christopher Walken stick out with nice, cuddly performances. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy John Travolta - I think he could have played either a woman or an obese person, but was never convincing as both. Also the man can't sing, although he is still an excellent dancer. And Nikki Blonsky was just adorable and exceeding likable in the main roll. I liked this movie, it was a fun, silly romp, and as I don't like musicals that's quite a recommendation from me.

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