Hannah is going to be my new movie guide. She has been very successful at picking new movies to see. She asked me to see Hairspray with her and her mom last night and it was the funniest movie in ages.
First it’s a musical which means lots of laughs, good songs and and dancing. The setting is a Baltimore 1962 high school with feel good doo-wop music. The integration story introduces black music into the white bread world – a good idea.
The plot layers the rights of people who are different, that is overweight, along with the rights of Negroes. Interesting juxtaposition that works today. Human rights means more than racial rights. It also means equal rights for gays, the disabled, the overweight, and all kinds of other “different” members of society. The theme is there but not heavy. You just feel – yeah who cares if she’s overweight. She’s a person. I liked that. There is still a strong push towards perfect homogeny in our society with media and people who are “out-of-date”. We need more tolerance for “difference”.
All people don’t look the same nor do they need to. Your perfect mate will not look perfect. In fact the chances are if we select our friends, mates whatever based on visual appeal they are likely to disappoint. Someone who values their looks above interpersonal behaviour sounds like a loser.
The serious stuff doesn’t get in the way of great music and fun. I laughed out loud from one end to the other. Christopher Walken dancing and singing – gotta see it. The best visual joke is John Travolta trussed up to be Tracy’s very overweight mother. Just looking at him / her in a scene will get anyone laughing. This is John Watters’ weird sense of humour.
So many great parts in this movie like Queen Latifah who takes the camera whenever she comes into a scene. Michelle Pfeiffer is wonderfully wicked. Fun, feel-good movie.
Trivia: Seeing Canadian actress Jane Eastwood as Tracy’s mean teacher was a give-away that the movie was partially filmed in Toronto at Lord Lansdowne Public School. The crane shots are Baltimore row houses but it’s Canada elsewhere.
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