Spray On

I recently watched the movie Hairspray. Not the 1988 John Waters original, but the 2007 version based on the Broadway musical (in turn based on that original movie). I've actually never seen the original, but I think I might be a little more curious about it now.

Both films are set in Baltimore in the early 1960s, and follow a "pleasantly plump" teenage girl as she tries to get onto a local dance TV show. It's a movie about prejudices, a theme that comes into sharp focus as racial issues take over in the second and third acts of the story.

Knowing what I do about John Waters, I imagine the original may have been a bit more subversive and dark inside the fun veneer. And it's not that the musical version here doesn't have that -- it's just that the overall fun and happiness of this is amped to a crazy degree, and thus the more serious material seems somehow less serious along with that.

But the thing is, it is a lot of fun. The songs are catchy and the staging exciting. It's smile on your face, tapping your feet type entertainment. The cast is clearly having fun too, and they give great performances -- John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Allison Janney, and in the main role, newcomer Nikki Blonsky.

It's totally enjoyable and well worth watching. But at the same time, I somehow felt like it had stepped right up to a really interesting line and then not quite crossed over -- I was hoping for a little more "meal" with the "dessert." It's a musical where I'd happily listen to the soundtrack, but might not necessarily rush to watch again. Still, a B overall, and that's not too shabby.