Scan and Pan
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Hairspray
Baltimore, 1962. Pretty but plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) dreams of dancing on the popular "Corny Collins Show" and meeting heartthrob Link Larkin (Zac Efron). Her father (Christopher Walken) supports her, but her mother (John Travolta) worries that her heart will be broken by failure. When Tracy's dance moves catch the eye of the show's host (James Marsden), she wins a coveted spot on the show and becomes an overnight sensation. Along with her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), Penny's new boyfriend Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), and DJ Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), the idealistic Tracy is determined to bring racial integration to the show, opposed by the spoiled, untalented Amber (Brittany Snow) and her scheming mother (Michelle Pfeiffer).
The original 1988 film written and directed by John Waters is a highly regarded cult film, so director/choreographer Adam Shankman (The Wedding Planner) has the unenviable task of trying to live up to that standard. This version may lack the original's sense of subversive satire, but Shankman succeeds by making the story his own and infusing it with a bubblegum pop art sensibility. His song and dance sequences are dynamic and just plain fun to watch.
Shankman and screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Outrageous Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire) freely adapt both the original film and the Broadway show into something that's not quite a remake of the former and not quite a literal rendition of the latter. Instead, it's something new that stands up on its own merits. Waters had a much keener grasp on the class and racial divides of the story's milieu, and if this film is decidedly weaker in one area that's it.
The songs written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the Broadway musical are jubilant and catchy. They also composed two new songs for the film, and added another written for Broadway but unused in that production. It all comes together to make one of the catchiest film soundtracks in a very long time. They're the kind of songs that might lead to dancing breaking out in the audience.
Cinematographer Bojan Bazelli (The Ring), production designer David Gropman (Little Children), and costume designer Rita Ryack (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) effortlessly create a bright, kitschy atmosphere that perfectly captures the mood of the story.
First time film actress Blonsky absolutely shines as Tracy. She sings, she dances, she makes you fall in love with Tracy in the very first scene, and she exhibits a fresh-faced charm that helps to define the entire film. Casting an unknown is always a risk, but the rewards can be well worth it when it works, and, oh, does it work here.
If I had one concern about the film going in, it was Travolta in drag as Tracy's mother Edna, a role originated by drag queen Divine. To my surprise, Travolta is splendid, even touching, as a shy woman whose own fears initially keep her from supporting her daughter's dreams. Instead of playing the role only for laughs, Travolta gets to the heart of Edna and makes her someone we care about. It's easily his best performance in years.
Walken's quirky but genuinely funny performance as Mr. Turnblad is another strength of the film, and he also displays good chemistry with Travolta. Pfeiffer is perfect as the evil Velma Von Tussle, and it's easy to see how much fun she's having. Marsden often comes across as wooden, but his turn as Corny hits all the right notes with just the right touch of sincerity. Queen Latifah is a vibrant scene stealer as Maybelle.
The rest of the cast sparkles as well, including Bynes as innocent-turned-rebel Penny, Efron as the good looking charmer Link, Kelley as Seaweed (and, oh, does he have some dance moves), Snow as Tracy's rival, Allison Janney as Penny's ultra-religious mother, Taylor Parks as Little Inez, Paul Dooley as the sponsor of the "Corny Collins Show", and Jerry Stiller as the owner of a boutique for big women.
The film offers several fun cameos if you watch for them. John Waters is the flasher in the opening sequence, Mink Stole is a woman smoking on the street in the same scene, Ricki Lake (the original Tracy) plays a talent agent attending the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant, and Shawn Thompson (the original Corny) is the tv reporter outside the studio at the end.
Hairspray lacks the explosions and reels of visual effects shots that are seemingly de rigueur for summer films these days, and that's what makes it so refreshing. It's an old school musical with modern sensibilities, one that makes you feel better leaving the cinema than you did when entering it. The original film will always remain first in my affections, but this version is more than good enough to share the love with.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
What do you get when you take a Broadway musical based on a cult film from the 1980s and make it into another film? You get this effervescent treat that's thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, with great songs and a great cast. The genre of the film musical is alive and well in the 21st century.
Baltimore, 1962. Pretty but plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) dreams of dancing on the popular "Corny Collins Show" and meeting heartthrob Link Larkin (Zac Efron). Her father (Christopher Walken) supports her, but her mother (John Travolta) worries that her heart will be broken by failure. When Tracy's dance moves catch the eye of the show's host (James Marsden), she wins a coveted spot on the show and becomes an overnight sensation. Along with her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), Penny's new boyfriend Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), and DJ Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), the idealistic Tracy is determined to bring racial integration to the show, opposed by the spoiled, untalented Amber (Brittany Snow) and her scheming mother (Michelle Pfeiffer).
The original 1988 film written and directed by John Waters is a highly regarded cult film, so director/choreographer Adam Shankman (The Wedding Planner) has the unenviable task of trying to live up to that standard. This version may lack the original's sense of subversive satire, but Shankman succeeds by making the story his own and infusing it with a bubblegum pop art sensibility. His song and dance sequences are dynamic and just plain fun to watch.
Shankman and screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Outrageous Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire) freely adapt both the original film and the Broadway show into something that's not quite a remake of the former and not quite a literal rendition of the latter. Instead, it's something new that stands up on its own merits. Waters had a much keener grasp on the class and racial divides of the story's milieu, and if this film is decidedly weaker in one area that's it.
The songs written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the Broadway musical are jubilant and catchy. They also composed two new songs for the film, and added another written for Broadway but unused in that production. It all comes together to make one of the catchiest film soundtracks in a very long time. They're the kind of songs that might lead to dancing breaking out in the audience.
Cinematographer Bojan Bazelli (The Ring), production designer David Gropman (Little Children), and costume designer Rita Ryack (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) effortlessly create a bright, kitschy atmosphere that perfectly captures the mood of the story.
First time film actress Blonsky absolutely shines as Tracy. She sings, she dances, she makes you fall in love with Tracy in the very first scene, and she exhibits a fresh-faced charm that helps to define the entire film. Casting an unknown is always a risk, but the rewards can be well worth it when it works, and, oh, does it work here.
If I had one concern about the film going in, it was Travolta in drag as Tracy's mother Edna, a role originated by drag queen Divine. To my surprise, Travolta is splendid, even touching, as a shy woman whose own fears initially keep her from supporting her daughter's dreams. Instead of playing the role only for laughs, Travolta gets to the heart of Edna and makes her someone we care about. It's easily his best performance in years.
Walken's quirky but genuinely funny performance as Mr. Turnblad is another strength of the film, and he also displays good chemistry with Travolta. Pfeiffer is perfect as the evil Velma Von Tussle, and it's easy to see how much fun she's having. Marsden often comes across as wooden, but his turn as Corny hits all the right notes with just the right touch of sincerity. Queen Latifah is a vibrant scene stealer as Maybelle.
The rest of the cast sparkles as well, including Bynes as innocent-turned-rebel Penny, Efron as the good looking charmer Link, Kelley as Seaweed (and, oh, does he have some dance moves), Snow as Tracy's rival, Allison Janney as Penny's ultra-religious mother, Taylor Parks as Little Inez, Paul Dooley as the sponsor of the "Corny Collins Show", and Jerry Stiller as the owner of a boutique for big women.
The film offers several fun cameos if you watch for them. John Waters is the flasher in the opening sequence, Mink Stole is a woman smoking on the street in the same scene, Ricki Lake (the original Tracy) plays a talent agent attending the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant, and Shawn Thompson (the original Corny) is the tv reporter outside the studio at the end.
Hairspray lacks the explosions and reels of visual effects shots that are seemingly de rigueur for summer films these days, and that's what makes it so refreshing. It's an old school musical with modern sensibilities, one that makes you feel better leaving the cinema than you did when entering it. The original film will always remain first in my affections, but this version is more than good enough to share the love with.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
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