Ya know, I have no interest in slamming this film before it even starts pre-production, but the lack of imagination in the casting has put me off. There's a very closed Hollywood mindset at work here that leads me to believe that the film is going to be another in that LONG LONG list of musical misfires over the years.
I know Travolta had been long rumored for the role and I was hoping it wouldn't be true. Now that it is, I can't describe how incredibly underwhelmed I am by the choice.
Queen Latifah. She's closer in age to Little Inez than Motormouth. And she CAN'T SING THE ROLE. It's as if all the thought that went into it was "So we need a black woman to play this Motor Mouth character. Who's black and female and popular? Oh yeah, Queen Latifah [who's last few projects have bombed]. Stick her in the role." Who cares that she can't sing it or that she's a few decades too young to play it. Had they gotten Aretha Franklin or Patti Labelle (who have both proven that they can act in the past), I'd be right there on opening day. That would have indicated to me that the filmmakers understood this property and were willing to take a little bit of a risk to add excitement to the film. Instead, it's safe (and wrong) casting by committee, which given the subversive origins of this material clearly means they don't "get it" and will probably ruin it.
But who really cares what I think about anything? Let everyone go and enjoy themselves. I won't be there. I'm just not interested. I'm under no obligation to go and see things I'm not interested in and not getting my $11 won't make or break this film. If I want to see Hairspray, I'll go back and see it in the theatre or pop in my tape of the Waters' film version.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
