I liked it but I loved the 1988 version. I love 60s music which the 1988 movie used but this movie used songs from the Broadway musical, which was good, but sounded modern. Loved the cameos, especially the Waters one . B+

Hairspray is only the second movie I've seen twice this year (so far) after Waitress...

I'm finally seeing this tomorrow, I think. Yay!

Huge entertainment.

The cast is uniformly excellent, down to even the smallest of supporting roles. I don't think anyone is particularly Oscar-worthy, per se, but there is, honestly, not one weak link. If I had to single a few out, it'd probably be Nikki Blonsky (in her first role and totally believable as Tracy), Christopher Walken (especially surprising, considering I'm now of the opinion that he's now phoning in every other performance of his), and Queen Latifah.

I really have no problems with the film itself. It's wonderfully directed, singing's great, dancing's great, nicely paced. I just ultimately found it a bit toothless in its delivery; I was expecting something a little more provocative. Ignorance might partly be to blame for these expectations, as I'm not familiar with either the Waters film or the show. But in some ways to me, the story and material just felt a bit safe, almost as they could have used some updating for today's audience.

Had a lot of fun, though. B+/A-

Now I've seen Hairspray a third time and I'm absolutely stricken with l-o-v-e for this absolutely perfect musical!

I'm not joking. It has gotten better and better and better each time I've seen it. It has now soared to the top of my best films of 2007 list, sitting perched solidly on a peak far above the other great movies I've seen this year.

The brilliant construction of the story, music, and lyrics is borne clear when you appreciate that each of the lead players is given their own moment to shine...



...all 10 of them richly deserve to be named:

John Travolta
Michelle Pfeiffer
Christopher Walken
Amanda Bynes
James Marsden
Queen Latifah
Zac Efron
Elijah Kelley
Nikki Blonsky
(Brittany Snow) -- though this last name really must be replaced with that of --> Taylor Parks!!!

If you think I've lost it -- let's revisit Gullimont's comments earlier in this thread:




Now how often do we hear Gulli raving like a lunatic like that? (And I don't mean his standard baseline raving -- I mean his full-on representin' lunafyin'!)

Also, let's not forget who did the music and songs for this film -- Marc Shaiman, perhaps best remembered for the wacked-out soundtrack to South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, or some of the great songs from Team America -- the guy can write catchy songs that are freakin' hilarious and kinda touching all at the same time...

Nope, this movie is so good that I'm afraid I'm goin' to have to regrade it, something I rarely do -- as a matter of fact I think it is only the second time it's occured during my time here at WOKJ -- I'm officially changing my rating to:

17 out of 5.

And?

I doubt she saw it. We would have heard something by now.

Tonight!

I was so very fortunate to squeeze in my fourth viewing of Hairspray during the early matinee today...

It is a plain ol' joyous freakin' film experience!!!

I forgot to give special mention to Amanda Bynes' outstanding work in my third viewing commentary, but I'll have to save that for later, cause this time my attention is focused on James Marsden -- he doesn't have a huge role, but his full-out committment to portraying Corny Collins is abundantly evident -- this is surely his all-time finest acting yet! His smile alone is worthy of Academy attention here!!!

All doubts are gone -- this is the best film of the year, bar none. I can't wait till I see it again...



(Oh, and if I didn't mention it before -- it's hilarious and heartwarming!!!!!)

Oddly enough, that was the one moment in the film that didn't ring true to me...

One of the most delightful, purely enjoyable films in years. Just because it's more lightweight than, say, Dreamgirls or Chicago, doesn't mean it's a worse movie. The entire cast is excellent from top to bottom, with special notice going to Nikki Blonsky, Queen Latifah, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The whole thing is insanely upbeat, and will have you humming from your way out the theater all the way until you hit the sack. LOVED IT. A

Highly entertaining, by insanely preachy, the whole march thing felt corny and a been there done that roll my eyes. But Travolta was phenominal. I thought Michelle was good except for her singing, and my God! Walken can sing?

B+/A-

Travolta was really the only weak link in the cast. I know the role of Edna Turnblad has always been played by a man, and credibility wasn't the issue. The issue was that Travolta should have stolen scenes, yet he was always incredibly annoying whenever on screen.

And to be absolutely honest, that's the only beat the movie really misses. The other performances are great, Michelle Pfeiffer's decidedly bitchy turn as Velma Von Tussle being the highlight in my opinion. I loved the musical numbers, as the lyrics were fantastic and the actual staging was fantastic. (It's a musical where people actually dance again!) Every number feels big and very well-done, the highlights being the opening "Good Morning, Baltimore," the hysterical "I Can Hear the Bells," and the finale "You Can't Stop the Beat," which sends the movie out with a bang. It's incredibly enjoyable and the kind of movie that will leave you high as a kite by time the end credits roll.

Grade: A-

Yay!! Glad you enjoyed it

I'll even forgive your odd dislike of all horror films for a while.

Hey, I'm keeping an eye on you! So watch it!

I've watched the bootlegged final 10 minutes of this about 4 times now, so that should give you an idea of what I thought of it.

***.5 or ****, still wobbling between the two.

Phenomenal stuff - what an awesome one-two punch (Hairspray and Bourne). This cast is PERFECT. It's been so long since I've been moved by a musical (Moulin Rouge? - though that wasn't ANYTHING like this, obviously). The commentary is light, but so what? This is the type of infectious, well-made fun that I LOVE to see at the movies. Great stuff.

***.5 / ****

I've settled on 4 stars. The film gives a euphoria at almost Singin' in the Rain levels, which is frankly an almost blasphemous thing to say about any film...except maybe this.

Went to see Hairspray for my fifth time this week with a buncha newbies -- a great time had by all -- spontaneously quoting lyrics even days later.


What an amazing film!


I am so happy to see yet another amazing musical out this decade -- what a bounty of riches after Moulin Rouge, Hedwig, Rent, Chicago, [i]and to a lesser extent: Dreamgirls & Idlewild[/i]...


Oh, and I said I'd say something about Amanda Bynes -- her comic eye-work alone is worth the price of admission -- it's as good as the best of the eye-work back in the silent film era -- I'm not kidding!


Hooray for Hairspray!!!!!!!!

Though I tire of remakes, I am sure he will do fine in Footloose.

Saffron held his own with the rest of the über-talented cast in Hairspray so I don't see a problem, except the need for a remake of Footloose so soon...

Had a private screening of the Sing-a-Long version of Hairspray for my sixth tonight...

Say no more. Say no more.

Did you pay for admission all six times?

Of course.

Movies are inexpensive compared to concerts/theatre/sports - - I am happy to pony up my eight bucks for big screen entertainment - - especially for an all-time classic movie musical like Hairspray!!!

I'm hoping to still see it again before it's theatrical run ends. Also, I almost never watch movies on DVD's or TV - - so my one chance to see movies is in their theatrical release, unless it happens to come around to the repertoire theatres, sadly an increasingly rare event.

Lately, I see most movies only once, so that I have time to see almost all the different movies released. My exception is the great low comedies such as Bubble Boy, American Wedding, Not Another Teen Movie, or Austin Powers: Goldmember - - each of which I saw at least five times in the theatre - - and I've also seen the great musicals as many times (Hedwig, Rent, Chicago, ) with the one exception being the ultimate best film of the new millenium: Moulin Rouge which I saw seventeen times in the theatre...

What can I say? I love da movies...