February 26, 1988
New Line Cinema
Comedy, Musical, Historical
VHS
B+
This remains a lot of fun, so much fun that I've resisted seeing the musical remake, onstage or screen. Although this may not be a musical per se, the music is an integral part of the story, and there are some wonderful oldies and oddities. The dancing is a joy to watch, especially when Rikki Lake (as heroine Tracy Turnblad) struts her stuff. The dialogue, particularly anything Divine says, is endlessly quotable. The movie is well cast, nowhere more so in the stunt casting. (Divine is married to Jerry Stiller here, while other couples include Deborah Harry & Sonny Bono and Pia Zadora & Ric Ocasek.) I also enjoy Leslie Ann Powers as Tracy's loyal best friend Penny and Michael St. Gerard as her sexy but sensitive boyfriend Link.
John Waters, in his first PG movie, manages to send up a lot of genres at once, while at the same time paying loving tribute to his hometown of Baltimore, and making some half-serious points about society. The pacing and energy do fall off in the last half hour. I understand the inclusion of the governor, but this part of the story seems to have needed editing and tightening, as does much else around then. Still, there's so much to enjoy overall that the movie is easily in my Top Five for the '80s.
Note: one of my later movie crushes, Josh Charles (then 16) makes his debut here, as Iggy.
I love Hairspray, both the original cult classic and the stage musical, but I respond to each in entirely different ways. I respond to John Waters' film in a more cerebral way, thinking, studying, laughing, and when it's finished I have a big grin on my face. However, when I finish experiencing the musical, I can't even contain my emotions. I want to get up and dance, scream and cheer. Every time, I am so overcome with happiness that I weep tears of joy. There is something about the spectacle of song and dance combined with this particular story that stirs my emotions a great deal.
ReplyDeleteWell, perhaps I'll give the later movie a chance. And good to see you here, Jeremy! :-)
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