MOVIES: Hairspray

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Meh…mainstream America isn’t even taking films seriously. Go for either independent or foreign films if you want what is good.
 
Didn’t like the fact that the evil, irrational, religious zealot mother was portrayed as a Catholic.
 
Yes, I think most of the characters, or most of the white ones anyway and maybe some of the black ones, in the original Hairspray were Catholic. After all this is Baltimore in the 60’s.
 
I’m torn. I loved the original movie with Ricki Lake and Divine, but this one looks like fun. The husband flat-out refuses to see it (or any musical, really) so I think I’ll have to rent it.
 
I thought it was actually pretty good. Not quite as racy as I had thought it would be considering a review I had read mentioning how the actor playing the heartthrob had “amped” up the role a bit.

The Catholic mother was a stretch but honestly it is a stereotype for a reason - a lot of Catholic mothers were that way in the late 50’s early 60’s!!! Too bad they aren’t that devoted now!! Just kidding…lol.

I dunno - I enjoyed it and I rarely ever see a movie at the theater let alone enjoy movies at all anymore.
 
I loves the original movie with Divine, and have seen the play, which was good, too.
I have no interest in seeing John Travolta’s version.
 
Sweeney said:
I loves the original movie with Divine, and have seen the play, which was good, too.
I have no interest in seeing John Travolta’s version.
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Travolta has gotten a lot of the press about the film, but honestly you can almost ignore his character for most of the movie as it is an ensemble cast focused on the teens. At least he was made up to look like a real woman rather than just an unattractive man in drag.

It is focused on the cute little girl who was really discovered working in an ice cream shop who plays the idealistic young teen. She has a great opening sequence singing her way through her morning routine and off to school. I found this version less campy and odd than the original movie and it was filmed as a movie-musical using actual song and dance numbers more like the play. I saw it on opening day at the first mantinee and it was packed. At the end the whole audience applauded from retired couples to the grandkids.
 
Yeah, John is basically ignorable (if that’s a word!).

I really enjoyed Nikki Blonsky (the main character), along with Elijah Kelly, Amanda Bynes (who’s father is Catholic by-the-way, but her mother is Jewish so that’s why she’s Jewish…), Zac Efron, and Brittany Snow. The kids my age were the good ones. The adults, if you don’t like their character, don’t sing as much as the kids, so you can basically just suffer through it and then get to the big numbers with the teens (which are the best ones!).
 
Nepenthe said:
Yes, I think most of the characters, or most of the white ones anyway and maybe some of the black ones, in the original Hairspray were Catholic. After all this is Baltimore in the 60’s.
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Still, there was no mention in the movie of the other peoples’ religions. The only one with a named religion was that horrible mother! I agree with whoever above said they didn’t like that. It was unnecessary. Can’t the media portray someone irrational, evil, angry…who isn’t Catholic…and still have it be funny?

Meh…
 
My 8 year-old daughter begged me to take her to see this movie (she loves Zac Efron from High School Musical). I thought it was cute, but there were definitely moments in there that were not quite appropriate for children. The sexual tension between the characters (Amanda Bynes and “Seaweed”), the “dirty dancing,” the evil Dance Show director talking about sleeping with judges of the Miss Baltimore Pageant, the kissing. Most of it was subtle, but my daughter is very senstive to this kind of thing and it bothers her. I also had a hard time with all the black/white stuff… I know it was portraying a different time period, but my kids all have African-American friends, and I would die if they suddenly called them “Negros”! They were kind of young to understand the Civil Rights thing, but it was a teachable moment.
 
I’ve seen it 3 times in theaters (so far), and although I share the same reservations about the very subtle sexual innuendos and the anti-Catholic portrayal of Mrs. Pingleton, this is easily the best rendition of Hairspray out there. The casting is impeccable (with exception of Taylor Parks as L’il Inez, who seems too young to be a contestant for a teen pageant), and the movie knows not to take anything too seriously; it’s very goofy and the humorous touches and cinematography go a long way.

In all honesty it’s only flaws are the inherent flaws of the script itself. I mean, come on, the concept is a little too outrageous to ever be believable, here…🤷

Also, big props to Elijah Kelly. He’s got quite the voice, IMO. 👍
 
KephasAugustine said:
Still, there was no mention in the movie of the other peoples’ religions. The only one with a named religion was that horrible mother! I agree with whoever above said they didn’t like that. It was unnecessary. Can’t the media portray someone irrational, evil, angry…who isn’t Catholic…and still have it be funny?

Meh…
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Sure they do it all the time, but this was supposed to be a specific place and time. Baltimore was a very Catholic city. Black and white Catholics were all over the city and still are. The original movie showed kids of both races sneaking into an event dressed as nuns in full habits, but it was not making fun of Catholics. It was giving some flavor of the fact that the whole town was Catholic.

I think sometimes we are looking for anti-Catholic bias where it does not exist. If you go with the likelihood that every single character was Catholic in that setting, then it is just making fun of a zealous mother who happens to be Catholic (just like everyone else). I did not see one moment where our faith was the target, just the mother’s strictness.
 
Did you see this movie? What did you think? We LOVED it. I didn’t think I’d like it, John Travolta being dressed up like a woman sounded so bizarre to me–but wow!!! My dd and I watch it every time it comes on HBO, and even have ordered it a few times in the same week. I love the dancing and singing…and the innocence of it all. Just a great great movie!!!👍 👍

What did you think??
 
Oh I loved it!! Actually a man is supposed to play the role of Edna. I guess because she is supposed to be a big woman or something. Bruce Vilanche plays her in the broadway show (or at least in one version) Anyway, I had NO idea Queen Latifah could sing like that!!! She is amazing!!!
 
Denae said:
Oh I loved it!! Actually a man is supposed to play the role of Edna. I guess because she is supposed to be a big woman or something.
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Actually it’s because Edna was played by the drag queen Divine (who also played the TV station manager in male clothing) in the original John Waters movie. Kinda started a tradition. Divine appeared in lots of other Waters movies from Pink Flamingos on, but Edna was really the role that made her more than a joke.

I haven’t seen the new Hairspray, although I did see stills of Travolta in the fatdragsuit (hi-larious!), but the original is well worth watching and (unlike most of the rest of Waters’ ouvre) won’t get you guys up in arms 😉
 
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