Run and Tell That...

I just got back from seeing ‘Hairspray’ and am very upset. Hollywood ruined what could have been a great movie musical. They cut all of the humor out and just made the movie weird and awkward. The re-wrote all of the good stuff from the stage show out of it. The completely changed the meaning of “Without Love”. The song is supposed to be the two girls being rescued by their true loves. Here it was reduced to an untalented High School Musical Alumnus singing to a freaking picture, which sung back! I don’t know what scared me more John Travolta’s prosthetic face or Michelle Pffiefer’s regular face. She’s been nipped and tucked so many times she has lost the ability to have emotions. There is a great line in the movie (one of the few) in which Christopher Walken makes a plastic surgery joke to Pffiefer. I’m sure that was very intentional on the part of the writers. The director of this movie obviously doesn’t know how to do “camp”. He attempted to make it “real”, which the show is not. I’m not exactly sure what country Travolta’s Edna was supposed to be from, but I don’t think it was America. His accent was atrocious. Hollywood basically cut Penny Pingleton ( my favorite character) down to what seemed to be a total of ten spoken lines and a few reaction shots. She is the funniest part about ‘Hairspray’ and I was sure Amanda Bynes would have been hilarious if given good material. She unfortunately was not.

As Much as I disliked the movie there were a few saving graces to it. First, Allison Janney as Prudy Pingleton. I didn’t think anyone could top the amazing Jackie Hoffman, but she was as funny, if not funnier. As Penny’s racist and very religious mother. The other saving grace was some of the cameos in the movie. John Waters as “the flasher who lives next door” made me smile. I was happy to see the original acknowledged. Another wink to the original was Ricki Lake ( the original Tracy) as a talent scout. Marc Shaiman, who wrote all of the music for the Broadway show and the movie also pops up as one of the talent scouts. Lastly, Jerry Stiller as Mr. Pinky the owner of the Hefty Hideaway was semi-entertaining, but very random. I truly do not see what everyone is raving about. Every person who has seen this film loves it and the critics love it as well. I just don’t understand. Maybe I cannot separate the Broadway show from the Movie, but I still don’t understand the fuss.