OK – So I didn’t see Hairspray with the Tighty Arsy Tuesdays bois, but whilst in Canberra I had time out and took it in.
This movie is is a playful, kitschy, sweet but snarky tribute to the era of sky-high bouffants, TV dance parties and desegregation - Trust me I am old enough to remember this era! It is a Grease for the new millennium, just the kind of bubblegum musical that keeps your toes tapping, except this time John Travolta is wearing a fat suit and nylons. Shiver.
Hairspray arrives as a big, bundle of fun, infectious to the core and accomplishes more often than not what the best musicals are prone to do. It’s got a feel-good quality that stretches from here (Canberra) to Brisbane. It's got a heart-massaging message about white brothers and sisters learning to dance with, and love, their black brothers and sisters. It's got mother-daughter bonding at odds with the parent-child animosity that more often pops out, acne-like, during a girl's adolescent years. Plus it's got a regard for the pulchritude of the plump. The opening number ("Good Morning Baltimore") was great.
Overall, the music was fun and lively. The dancing, as you might expect from a show about teenage dancing, is terrific. I found this a delightful way to spend a little time out of the Canberra cold and enjoyed the movie immensely
Three cheers for this jubilant, funny, and phantasmagorical musical!
5 of these thingos for sure!
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