Throughout this movie (I have never seen the original) I couldn't help thinking about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The plot is simple but nonetheless bizarre. A "pleasingly plump" teen-aged girl in 1962 wants to dance on Baltimore's version of "American Bandstand" and along the way does her part for civil rights in America. If somebody told me they were going to make a musical about civil rights in the 1960s I would never have believed it. But that is exactly what Hairspray is.
But in a way the movie is spot on. Back then the "crackers" saw themselves as squeaky clean, even when they weren't. The "negros" still lived on the wrong side of the tracks and were usually the only ones sent to detention. Sad to say, while there has been some improvement since then, there is still more to do.
Anyway, it is the circumstance, richly drawn in an outlandish sort of way, that gives this movie its substance. The colors are brash and the soundtrack loud, the dancing well choreographed.
Meanwhile the dialog is often quite hilarious. In one scene Michelle Phiffer is trying to seduce Christopher Walken and he is as obtuse as a 2 X 4. As if. There are several other memorable scenes, such as when the heroine bops a policeman over the head with a protest sign, all designed to convey a message; and that is that it is OK to be different. You don't have to wear your hair the same way as everyone else, or even dance with only those of your own race.
This is rated PG, and I guess I can see why. But some themes are clearly over the heads of most pre-teens, and even many teens whose knowledge of history is spotty won't appreciate the humor.
Still in all, this is a film to remember, worth seeing again.
But in a way the movie is spot on. Back then the "crackers" saw themselves as squeaky clean, even when they weren't. The "negros" still lived on the wrong side of the tracks and were usually the only ones sent to detention. Sad to say, while there has been some improvement since then, there is still more to do.
Anyway, it is the circumstance, richly drawn in an outlandish sort of way, that gives this movie its substance. The colors are brash and the soundtrack loud, the dancing well choreographed.
Meanwhile the dialog is often quite hilarious. In one scene Michelle Phiffer is trying to seduce Christopher Walken and he is as obtuse as a 2 X 4. As if. There are several other memorable scenes, such as when the heroine bops a policeman over the head with a protest sign, all designed to convey a message; and that is that it is OK to be different. You don't have to wear your hair the same way as everyone else, or even dance with only those of your own race.
This is rated PG, and I guess I can see why. But some themes are clearly over the heads of most pre-teens, and even many teens whose knowledge of history is spotty won't appreciate the humor.
Still in all, this is a film to remember, worth seeing again.