Is it Charm? Is it Poise? No, it’s Hairspray!
Last night, I had the exceptionally good fortune to see the movie Hairspray at the dollar theater. Can I just say…. Wow! I’m officially in love with every male actor in that movie from Zack Efron to John Travolta.
I was fortunate enough to see the movie along side of a friend from work who was just as enthused as I was. While she may have been better able to control herself than I was, I would like to point out that I kept all of my singing to silent lip synching. I also learned that doing the Mashed Potato while sitting down can be a wee bit tricky. Still, I gave it my best shot.
What I loved about that movie was the simple, clean enthusiasm of it. It was fun. Yes, the movie actually does approach the discussion of race relations in the early 60’s and no, those aren’t funny. Rather than disregard the struggle of integration or lighten it to the point of absurdity, the movie instead allowed it’s few serious moments to shine with both music and emotion.
The light hearted songs still soared as the uplifting and silly musical pieces they were meant to be. While there is not a song in the show I didn’t care for, there were a few that jumped out at me that I have been singing non-stop. Among these songs are “Good Morning, Baltimore,” Nikki Blonksy’s cheerful greeting to the world around her, “Without Love” in which the four main teen-aged characters sing of their undying affection to one another (made especially entertaining as Zack Efron does a large portion of his number singing into a half-eaten candy bar) and the oddly romantic “Timeless” during which time Christopher Walken and John Travolta exchange a lovely renewal of their married affection.
In short, this movie lifted my sagging spirits. I’ve had a rough few days, and last night’s trip to the cinema had me laughing in ways I hadn’t been in weeks. I needed it. I encourage you to find this movie and give yourself a healthy dose of humor.