Hairspray:The Variety Review

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 4:50am

Can we say hit!


Director-choreographer Adam Shankman's buoyant stage-to-screen translation of "Hairspray" may not equal the comic zest of its 1988 root source, John Waters' first and still-finest mainstream feature. Nonetheless, it's one of the best Broadway-tuner adaptations in recent years -- yes, arguably even better than those Oscar-winning ones. Unpretentious, feel-good pic is low on histrionic diva wailing and MTV-style editing, high on retro movie-musical craftsmanship. Despite uneven casting among marquee thesps, it's a real crowd-pleaser. Potential sleeper could tap not just positive word-of-mouth but also various demographics underserved by the summer's pileup of CGI-heavy action.


Oddly, adult roles rich in comedic potential are interpreted with not-so-special flair here. Sporting a vaguely Western drawl, Travolta doesn't offer much beyond the inherent wink-wink humor of seeing a famous male actor in latex-assisted fatsuit drag. Walken, who's played the mock Eisenhower-era dad before, can't wring laughs from the joke-shop material. Their marital-devotion duet, "Timeless to Me," indulges the performers beyond the mild amusement it affords.

Pfeiffer makes Velma eminently hissable, though her villainy could've been a lot funnier. Latifah, whose comic expertise particularly shone in Shankman's "Bringing Down the House," makes Maybelle more a model of dignified reserve than a sassy "motormouth." Allison Janney (as Penny's Bible-thumping mother), Jerry Stiller (1988's Mr. Turnblad, here the proprietor of Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway) and Paul Dooley (the TV station's owner) are other reliable thesps who fall a little flat.

The kids, though, are just fine. Newcomer Blonsky is cute and spunky, and has a big voice with the right early-'60s-girl-group "tear" in it -- especially in her early highlight, "I Can Hear the Bells." Efron, Snow, Bynes and Parks all score points. But the real scene-stealer is Kelley, whose self-confident Seaweed socks across perhaps the movie's single most dynamic number ("Run").


http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934040.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 5:03am

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=940020&dt=2

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 5:10am

I looked and did not see anything...let this one die then.

[Marc Shaiman]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 7:08am

of course you didn't see something...something positive was reported on, so the thread died a quick death!

here's another fab review, from The Hollywood Reporter

"John Travolta takes on John Waters in "Hairspray," and the result is anything but a drag in this appealingly goofy, all-singing, all-dancing screen adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the 1988 film."....

ok, goin' back to bed

Hollywood Reporter review Updated On: 7/1/07 at 07:08 AM

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 7:48am

something positive was reported on, so the thread died a quick death!

LOL! Anyway, that's 3 good reviews out of the 3 I have seen so far (Fox News, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter)! Great news! I can't wait to see it.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 7:53am

And a big congrats to everyone involved. I loved the original film and the stage adaptation, and it's great to hear it's made a successful transition back to film again. Kudos to all involved.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 8:41am

I had several writer friends out here in L.A. see it recently at a press screening, and they were all raving about it. And they called Nikki a "real find."

[James2]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 9:03am

Does anyone know why Variety never starts their sentences properly? Here are some examples:

"Unpretentious, feel-good pic is low on histrionic diva wailing and MTV-style editing, high on retro movie-musical craftsmanship."

"Potential sleeper could tap not just positive word-of-mouth but also various demographics underserved by the summer's pileup of CGI-heavy action."

They should say "This unpretentious..." and "This potential sleeper..." or something to that effect.

[harris007]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 9:10am

WOOOOOT

can not wait,

[jasonf]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 9:13am

James2 - I don't know for sure, but my guess (I was a journalism minor though a long time ago) is that Variety does that so that those phrases can be pulled out very easily as blurbs for ads/can't be taken out of context for blurbs for ads.

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:11pm

What do they mean by: "MTV editing"?

[mateo]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:23pm

MTV editing is like cutting from shot to shot every 2-3 seconds. (music video editing for ADD MTV viewers.)

[Evan Almighty]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:36pm

"Paul Dooley (the TV station's owner)"

Who's Paul Dooley?
And I thought Velma was the station owner?
WTF?

[mateo]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:41pm

yeah, that is inaccurate.


Paul Dooley plays Harriman F. Spritzer President of Ultra Clutch.


He has been in all those Christopher Guest movies and a bunch of other stuff.

*EDIT*

Actually I wonder if his title was changed. I know in the movie they refer to Velma as the Station MANAGER. So it is possible.

However, I dont know if the lyrics in BALTIMORE CRABS were altered for this.

Updated On: 6/30/07 at 02:41 PM

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 3:08pm

Wasn't Paul Dooley in the cut of the movie "Little Shop of Horrors?" I think he was the replaced by Jim Belushi......

[mateo]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 3:16pm

yes, you are correct he was in the original ending to Little Shop.

[Evan Almighty]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 3:24pm

We'll just wait and see.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 6:59pm

Paul Dooley has been around a long time. He played the father in the fantastic film (and TV series), "Breaking Away". A classic.

[Bal]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 7:25pm

Mr. Shaiman's vaguely snarky retorts to everybody who dislikes aspects of the movie make me feel hesitant to post my opinions on it... It's the same thing we went through when Anthony Rapp was on the boards singing the praises of the RENT movie. And I don't think that's very fair.

Anyways, I'm glad the movie is being marked so well.. I hope a lot of people see it. I would love for more movie musicals to be made.

who was asking about Variety's sentence structure..?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6r8Ec9XzKto

That should explain it for you.

[Marc Shaiman]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 8:23pm

vague? how dare you! I'm outright bitchy! That's my baby you're talking about!



I do try to save my snarkiness for people who say things like "I will hold off judgment till I see the movie" or worse, people who don't even hold off "judgment" and badmouth something they haven't even seen! Etc. You know what I mean.

I just hope no one goes to see HAIRSPRAY to "judge". What a buzzkill! Leave the judging to Judy and just enjoy yourselves! Go to smile. Go to dance. Go to feel good!

But whatever you do...GO!

(Mama, go, go, go!)

Marc

[Weez]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 8:31pm

Wait, what? I feel all saddened and left out! I may be enthusiastic for the project but I'm fairly certain I've said at least once that I'm not passing final judgement until I've actually seen the finished product! Where's my Marc snark? ;_;

[Marc Shaiman]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 8:44pm

listen "Weez".....



It's the word (and concept of) "judgment" that seems so...well...so un-musical comedy!!

Judging is for criminals and poor souls with bad karma at Heaven's Gate. Musicals are for joy!

And oh, Weez...nice picture

[Weez]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 8:56pm

Musicals are for joy? 'Hairspray' definitely is, but I did compose a blog entry earlier today explaining why that viewpoint didn't necessarily always hold true. Mostly inspired by receiving the 'Floyd Collins' cast recording in the post this morning. A musical about a man who gets trapped by a rock and dies?! I don't think even in my darkest, most sleep-deprived times I could come up with a show like that.

Sam the ugly dog was totally awesome and I'm still somewhat sorrowful for his passing. ^_^

Okay folks, back to 'Hairspray' with y'all. Nothin' to see here...

Updated On: 6/30/07 at 08:56 PM

[Bal]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 9:49pm

Okay, okay, I see your point. I think I'm just having Anthony flashbacks... I apologize for my own snarkiness. (Snarky-ness? Snarkyosity?)

Updated On: 6/30/07 at 09:49 PM

[Marc Shaiman]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 9:51pm

I'd argue that there is joy that comes from being moved to tears or being made to think of something from a different point of view. The joy comes from feeling, feeling any emotion from a theatrical presentation, not just the happy "kindergartners on crack" faces that HAIRSPRAY sends people out into the streets with!

that's what I'M talkin' about!