Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Hairspray 18/09/07

There were a number of things about this movie that appealed to me.

Firstly, I love musical theatre (having sung and acted on stage in NQ many, many times while growing up) and this movie is based on a stage show (which I would now love to see. Anyone else wanna go to see it on Broadway this weekend with me?).

Secondly, as a larger guy who has, at times, shyed away from doing things because of my size (which, hard to believe used, to be a lot bigger) and been ridiculed by people because of it, the original mindset of Tracy's mother in not wanting to go outside and her desire to protect her daughter from people who would put her down because of her looks, hit a chord with me.

Then there's the "leftie" social activist in me which hopes for a totally integrated community and equality for minorities. So the attempt to integrate the Negro Day into the regular Corny Collins show also added to me enjoyment of the film.

I would have to agree with my fellow TAT bloggers in praising this film. Excellent music, excellent storyline, excellent acting. It is hard to fault it, really. The performances by Travolta, Walken and Latifa (particularly ... what a voice!) were standouts. I thought Blonski shone in her introductory role as Tracy Turnblad and yes, I think it it widely agreed that Efron is very handsome and a great singer and actor.

As Daniel will testify, I went into the cinema in the pretty bad mood but walked out laughing and joking after watching a movie that made my laugh (and even cry) and got my toes tapping and my hands clapping.

Five stars! I'll not only go and see this again, but I'll probably buy it on DVD and download the soundtrack on to my Ipod.

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