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| Movie Review |
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Hairspray
- In theaters July 20th 2007
- Rated PG for language, some suggestive
content and momentary teen smoking
- RunTime: 117 min
- Matt's rating - 4.5 out of 5
- Cindy's rating - 5 out of 5
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Matt's Review below
Just when I thought Transformers would be the
biggest film of the summer along comes
Hairspray, a song and dance movie that is
larger than life. And it is led by a girl
who is only 4 foot 10! This retelling of the
1988 movie Hairspray is full of everything
that makes a musical film work. The songs
are huge, the comedy is laugh out large, the
characters have gigantic personality and
Travolta is, well, just plain big. The story
moves from musical number to number and you
find it hard to sit there and not start
dancing in the aisles.
The film takes place in 1962 Baltimore and
young, plump, teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki
Blonsky) has to confine her hip dance moves
to the living room of her home each afternoon
as she dances along to the popular Corny
Collins Show. It is only when the show holds
auditions to replace a regular dance member
that Tracy gets her chance to shine. Her
instant popularity and desire for racial
integration enrages the shows reining dance
queen Amber von Tussel (Brittany Snow) and
her TV exec mother (Michelle Pfeiffer).
This film is perfectly cast and no one falls
flat. New comer Nikki Blonsky is jaw dropping
in every scene. Her singing and dancing are
spot on. Add to that a cuteness and charm
that cant be learned and you have a hard to
top performance. And that is saying a lot in
a film where you have John Travolta dancing
and prancing around in a 30 pound drag
costume. Travolta plays Tracy's insecure,
overweight mother Edna Turnblad and hasn't
lost a step since his Greasy, Saturday Night
Fever days. Everyone in this film from
Christopher Walken and Amanda Bynes to Queen
Latifah and Elijah Kelley deserves a round of
applause.
I love the messages of this film. It deals
with self confidence and inner beauty with an
overall theme of tolerance and mental
integration. It shows how absurd the act of
segregation was and how better off a culture
is when diversity is embraced. But it isn't
preachy. The message is obvious and speaks
for itself. Too, in a world of actresses you
couldn't hit with a handful of corn, it is so
encouraging to see a Nikki Blonsky open the
door a little wider for young girls who might
not fit the preconceived Hollywood mold.
Hairspray is rated PG for language, some
suggestive content and momentary teen
smoking. There is nothing offensive about
this film and even the most suggestive scene
is tame. If any warning needs to be given out
it is to those who are put off by musicals.
This film is wall to wall singing and dancing
and although the soundtrack is a must own, if
you are not into having your dialogue sung
you will find your self totally beat down.
That said, even the most diehard fan of
action films will be transformed by this
outrageously funny film. I give it 4.5 out of
5 Clutches. Just know before you go. I'm Matt
Mungle
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Matt and Cindy are members of the North Texas
Film
Critics Association (NTFCA). For additional
reviews
and interview clips visit the website.
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Mungleshow Productions
Matt Mungle
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