Hairspray and Anniversaries

I knew I was going to like Hairspray as soon as the heroine gives a cheery wave to a friendly local flasher in the midst of the schmaltzy opening number, "Good Morning, Baltimore." That brief moment (which is also a quick cameo of John Waters, who wrote, directed, and co-produced the original 1988 film) made it clear that this version of the musical wasn't going to take itself too seriously.


I went to see the live musical version of Hairspray when it came to Toronto and didn't care much for it; it seemed flat and too saccharine for me (yes, even for me) so wasn't motivated to see the movie until I heard others rave about it.

Jodi and I decided to upset Urban Tapestry tradition and eat at Agra instead of the usual Frog & Firkin; Agra is an Indian restaurant in North York where Jodi has dined before. We shared the special for two, and it was excellent. I'll have to go back sometime and take some pics so I can do a proper review.

But back to Hairspray...

I enjoyed the movie version of Hairspray MUCH more than the live version. A lot of the music seems to have changed, either completely rewritten or bits of lyrics revamped.

My favourite character: Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. She was FANTASTIC, and I was surprised to hear later that this was her first professional acting job. She was wholesome without being saccharine, able to delivery ironic lines with clear-eyed sincerity. She made the movie for me.

My least favourite character: John Travolta as Edna Turnblad. Yes, I know that it was tradition to have a man in drag portray the character, but I found his character kept pulling me out of the movie; he was so obviously JOHN TRAVOLTA, at least to me. Seems like most others didn't mind him so much.



Hairspray was charming, exuberant and hugely entertaining. I am hoping to see this at least one more time in the theatre and am already lusting after the soundtrack and DVD. [Update: I caved and bought the soundtrack from iTunes.]

After posting about my Movie Theater Pet Peeves and also reading your comments, I am relieved to report that Jodi and I had a great audience experience. Part of that was due to the fact that that we had no one sitting near us for at least half a dozen rows in all directions.

Today is Jeff's and my 16th wedding anniversary. We've known each other for far longer, though neither of us can remember exactly when we met...at least 25 years ago. Our first contact was on a BBS hosted on a TRS-80 at my family's house; we didn't actually meet in person until a couple years later. How nerdy is THAT? :-D





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