Friday, November 30, 2007

Hairspray (2007, Adam Shankman)


I will admit that I wasn't really looking that forward to watching this film. I'm a big fan of musicals but the thought of the guy who did Bringing Down the House directing a musical based on a John Waters film that I think is just "ok" didnt really do it for me. Plus, it has John Travolta in a fat suit. Even when the film got an amazing amount of great reviews I was still a bit cautious towards it. However, I still decided to rent it as soon as it came out on DVD to see if it lived up to the glowing reviews.

It doesn't take too long for the film to win you over. The catchy songs with the genius lyrics are enough to have you smiling from the get go. It also doesn't hurt that there is a great film behind these songs. Everyone turns in a fun performance and the direction is surprisingly crisp and colorful to match with the charisma and playfulness that the film is exploding with.

Shankman is smart in keeping everything simple, fun, colorful, and well...fun. The time goes by quick and the film never drags at all. There are no weak scenes, there are no weak songs, and there are no weak elements. It really is just the perfect film to put you in a great mood.

a character in the film named Corny Collins sums up my feelings about the film perfectly when he says "You can fight it, or you can rock out to it."

- A

2 comments:

MovieDan82 said...

Adam... fucking... Shankman...

My name is Ramses said...

I never would have guessed that he had it in him.