Hairspray (2007)

I love movies!  I said it a hundred times!   The latest movie that I saw on DVD is Hairspray.  Based on a musical with same name, it stars Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, Amanda Bynes, Christopher Walken, and John Travolta as Tracy’s mother! Yes, her MOTHER!

The story is about a young “plump” girl whose dream to dance in a hit TV Show becomes a reality.  It also focuses on Segregation during the ’60’s in the U.S.A..

It’s a well made musical which is the best one yet.  It earned $27,605,000on it’s opening weekend which is a record for a musical, until “Mama Mia” was released.

The songs are great, the plot although a bit overused was re imagined in this wonderful film and who can’t forget John Travolta in drag!  The songs are top notch and very enjoyable as a whole.  My three year old son absolutely love and already damaged my DVD from overused. 

The movei also paid tribute to some great musicals too:

• The film’s opening shot — a bird’s eye view of Baltimore that eventually descends from the clouds to ground level — is a combination of the opening shots of West Side Story and The Sound of Music.
• The dress that Penny wears during the “You Can’t Stop the Beat” musical number is made from her bedroom curtains, which can be seen during “Without Love”. This is an homage to The Sound of Music, where Maria uses old curtains to make play clothes for the Von Trapp children.
• Several scenes involving Tracy, such as her ride atop the garbage truck during the “Good Morning Baltimore” number and her new hairstyle during “Welcome to the 60’s”, are directly inspired by the Barbra Streisand musical film version of Funny Girl (1968).
• During “Without Love”, Link sings to a photograph of Tracy, which comes to life and sings harmony with him. This is directly inspired from the MGM musical The Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), in which a young Judy Garland swoons over a photo of actor Clark Gable as she sings “You Made Me Love You”.

If you want to have a great movie night experience with your family, this is the film to watch!