Hairspray
American cult director John Waters slid into fame on the coat-tails
of Andy Warhol and his Pop Art Cinema of the early 1970s,
with a series of films that were intentionally bad and were
intended to highlight the hypocrisy of Middle-Class American
Morals. The most notorious of these films was ‘Pink
Flamingos’ (1972), and its drag-queen star, Devine,
and her encounter with a lump of doggie-pooh, is legendary.
As Waters moved into the main-stream the level of production
improved, but ‘shock’ and ‘outrage’
were always his aims. Created in 1988, ‘Hairspray’,
was intended for a broader commercial audience, and the movie
was known for its unusual portrayal of racial issues. Somewhere
along the line the ‘property’ acquired some original
songs, and in 2002 it became a Broadway musical, which won
eight Tony Awards. ‘Hairspray’ has now come full-circle,
for an adaptation of the stage musical has now become a cinema
and DVD release. The new ‘Hairspray’ takes place
in an idealized fantasy-land situated in the American city
of Baltimore in 1962. Any resemblance to the actual 1960s
is purely accidental. The movie is concerned with a ‘pleasantly
plump’ teenager called Tracy Turnblad, who achieves
her ambition of joining the regular dancers on ‘The
Corny Collins Show’, a daily local Baltimore television
show that features all the latest pop songs. However, once
Tracy becomes a member of the cast, she has to cope with the
jealousies of rival dancer Amber, and Amber’s scheming
mother Velma, who is the powerful television station’s
manager. Meanwhile, as Tracy and Amber almost dance themselves
to death, Tracy, along with her equally over-weight mother
Edna, uses her newfound fame to champion the cause of racial
integration. Okay, the plotline is a bit thin and predictable,
and it does kinda run out of steam about halfway through,
but, the songs and dances never stop coming. And, what fabulous
musical numbers they are! Everything from slow romantic ballads
to hip upbeat ‘rhythm and blues’ show-stoppers.
Performed by a talented and enthusiastic young cast of singers
and dancers who ooze ‘Broadway’. John Waters originally
wrote ‘Hairspray’ for the ‘hefty’
comedienne Ricki Lake, who eventually went on to host her
own daytime television talk show. The new ‘Hairspray’
introduces Nikki Blonsky in the role of Tracy, but though
Nikki can certainly belt out a tune, she lacks the vivacious
charm of Ricki Lake. Blonsky makes an acceptable juvenile
lead, but she is completely overshadowed by the formidable
talents of the adult cast members. Michelle Pfeiffer looks
absolutely stunning and is absolutely fabulous as the nasty
Velma. Michelle makes the most of her big production number,
and spends the rest of the movie being brilliantly bitchy.
In the original movie John Waters cast the transvestite Devine
as the over-weight Edna. In a bizarre tribute to its sources,
John Travolta takes on this role in the new musical version.
John steals the movie. Playing in ‘drag’ he doesn’t
go for ‘cheap’ laughs, but, rather, he plays it
‘straight’ and creates a wonderful character full
of sincerity and bubbly warmth. Only an actor secure in his
talents, sexuality and popularity could pull-off such a terrific
cinematic ‘trick’. John also sings and dances
sensationally. It is easy to forget that his initial film
successes came in the musicals ‘Saturday Night Fever’
and ‘Grease’. Look for John’s sentimental
love duet with ‘husband’ Christopher Walken, as
they sing and dance while hanging out the laundry. Unfortunately,
Queen Latifah only gets two big songs, and her talents are
grossly under-utilized. Never-the-less, even though the movie
does have some considerable flaws, such as a ‘condensation’
of the plotline, the new ‘Hairspray’ is 110 minutes
of fantastic ‘Broadway-Style’ entertainment.
Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard)
I don’t think I have ever kept it a secret that I am
a big fan of Bruce Willis. I just love his lackadaisical wit
and debonair charm as he saves the world in one action movie
after another. In director Len Wiseman’s latest installment
of the ongoing ‘Die Hard’ saga, a group of terrorists
are trying to bring the United States to a standstill by systematically
attacking the country’s utilities infrastructure, via
a computer assault. It is Bruce’s job to track them
down and take care of them one by one. Which he succeeds in
doing admirably! There really is nothing much more to the
movie, except for some elaborate and extremely expensive special
effects, which are awesome! Len Wiseman delivers a well-paced
and expertly structured movie, while Bruce Willis turns in
another highly amusing performance. Even he seems to appreciate
the silliness of the movie, and in many subtle ways manages
to ‘send-up’ the whole thing. However, there is
one scene that is sure to raise many an eyebrow. Totally exasperated
by a femme-fatale Kung-Fu expert, who will not give in, Bruce
proceeds to viciously bash her up and toss her down an elevator
shaft. The sight of Bruce Willis violently pulverizing a woman
to death is indeed food for thought. All-the-same, the movie
is a hell of a lot of fun. At least it is never boring, and
it really is well made escapist nonsense.
The Simpsons Movie
Billed as ‘The most awaited movie of the last 18 years’
and as ‘The greatest Family Adventure of all time’,
unfortunately ‘The Simpsons Movie’ doesn’t
live up to its own publicity. When the Environmental Protection
Agency declares Springfield, home of The Simpsons, the most
environmentally unfriendly city in the United States, they
place it under quarantine beneath a gigantic glass dome. Escaping
from the city, The Simpsons flee to Alaska, but when they
discover that President Schwarzenegger plans to nuke the city,
and be done with it, The Simpsons return to save their friends
and neighbors. ‘The Simpsons’ is a highly successful
television program, but ‘The Simpsons Movie’ brings
nothing to, and fails to address, the cinema medium. The movie
displays none of the inventiveness of more recent cartoons
such as ‘Happy Feet’, ‘Surf’s Up’
or even ‘Ratatouille’. Children will be amused
by Bart’s antics, but, I do fear that most adults will
be bored to tears by a movie which is no more than an overlong
expanded TV show.
