Movie Review: Hairspray

Originally, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie, but some of my friends just kept talking about how great it was. Let me tell you, it wasn't that great. It will appeal to a certain demographic (children, some teens, and baby boomer adults who like corny movies). And it was almost decent until the middle where it just seemed to drag on.

The story, if you don't already know, is about Tracy Turnblad, an overweight but feisty young girl who wants to be a star. When she gets the chance to dance on the Corny Collins show, she becomes a local celebrity, and wins the love of show heartthrob Link Larkin, the boyfriend of snotty teen queen Amber, who is the daughter of the vixen station manager, Velma Von Tussle. But when the show refuses to integrate white dancers with black, and then cancels "Negro Day," Tracy leads her friends in a protest.

There were just so many bad things about the movie that I don't know where to begin. John Travolta as a woman was ... horrible. His accent, his acting, his make-up, and everything was a big FLOP. The dancing was the worst. Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken, can't dance to save their lives and should never try it on screen again. It was painful to watch. Amanda Bynes just smiled the entire movie and Nikki Blonsky wasn't nearly as interesting as the hype built up around her. Pairing her with Zac Efron was a mistake, especially since he looked confused and in his own world throughout most of the movie.I could go on and on about how the directors just found a bunch of big-named actors (well, sort of) of all ages and pieced them together in this long, drawn out movie, but I won't.

I'll try to say something positive about the movie ... half of the songs were decent, but after a while they started to drive me crazy. The costumes were nice ... except for Blonsky's. (All they did was give her a white button-down shirt for nearly every outfit and sneakers that didn't work well). The sets and staging were nice and ...I really can't find anything else to say about this movie that's positive. Just be prepared for an overly extended movie that fails to measure up against other REAL musicals. I'll take Grease any day of the week over Hairspray!