These are my questions as well, as I LOVE the 1988 John Waters original. I don’t really want the wonderful, tacky, zaftig Tracy of my memories to be tainted by some new, not as tacky, good girl Kitsch Tracy. Seriously, even though the original was fun, it had a lot of oddity in it that made it that way.
If it’s anything like the differences between the original Psycho and the remake (same exact everything, except, well, dumbed down for the modern masses- who knew we couldn’t handle ANY subtlety?), I don’t want to see it.
I really like the old one, I really, really do. I mean, the original is just a FUN, stupid, not very “good” movie that is great for sitting around with a group of friends, eating popcorn, and having fun while watching it. This new one though is a solidly good movie (at least to me). Like, I’ve watched the movie twice in the last few days and I’ve happily offered to go with friends to watch it a third time.
The cast is great, the script is wonderful, the pacing is nicely done, the musical numbers are worked in so well you aren’t groaning about it being a musical, so on and so forth. I really love it.
I’d say this: they are different stories, really. I mean, there are similarities, but the ending is very different (if I’m remembering correctly, though I can’t remember too many of the specifics from the fist one). It’s much perkier and “nice” than the original, more mainstream for sure- but still a great movie.
I think the film is different enough from the original that if you look at it as a separate movie, you’re going to love it.
Well, depending on how I take it, I may love the remake or hate it. I really loved the original for what it was worth, which is something that tends to attract people who like other “non-mainstream” movies like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Welcome to the Dollhouse and But I’m a Cheerleader; they’re a little bizarre, sometimes a little too weird for the mainstream to be digestible, but likable for those with an adoration for the weird side of life.
The ending was “nicer”, but I thought Pfieffer’s villian was darker than either the original or the musical version. In fact, I was like, “No that bitch didn’t!” all throughout the movie, when I wasn’t like that for the original.
There were certain things from the original that weren’t there and you could tell, if you’re a huge fan of the original. Like,
No Madison scene. The choreography in this film rocks, but I still wish they had put that scene in.
This film isn’t as campy as the first one, which might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your taste.
As I expected, Travola was a little disappointing. Playing a woman requires more than holding your hands up at your face and tilting your head back all the time. Plus, he can’t sing. I know Edna’s not supposed to be an opera singer exactly, but it just sounded too much like Travolta moaning on the side of the road for me not to be distracted.
Hehe. It reminded my sister and me of the talking photos in It and we couldn’t stop laughing.
That was replaced withLadies’ Choice - because the bouncier tune showed off Nikki’s dancing abilities - I saw the “HBO First Look” where they mentioned this very scene
eta:
by the way - did anyone else loose it at this bit
Link and another boy walking down the corridor and the boy says “I get Brutus and Julius Caesar, but not the ideas of March - since when do months have ideas?”
I saw the original film with Divine when it first came out.
I saw the stage musical version with Harvey Fierstein.
And in comparison, Travolta was nowhere near as good as either of the other two - not even close.
That said, the movie was still very, very good. Great sets and costumes and dance numbers…lots of fun to watch and it never really lagged for a minute.
Again, Travolta - not so great - but other than that, the rest of the cast was great, it was a very good film and I recommend going to see it in a movie theater on the big, wide screen.
Ok so I Saw it. It was not the laugh riot I expected it to be from this thread BUT I enjoyed it a lot. I am just not that in to musicals…I would have liked it more if there was less singing (yeah, DUH, Zipper!) I actually got bored during some of the numbers, especially Queen Latifah’s final number which was supposed to be the “meaningful” part. I suck like that.
The lead was amazing. Then again, it’s an amazing part (and, I’m a fat girl…) But she was adorable, spunky and a great dancer. She really put herself out there.
The period-ness of the movie was great. All of the kids looked great.
Fun to see Rikki Lake and John Waters in the movie for sure!
The girl who was the lead’s friend was pretty neat too. She did a lot of “face” acting and I like that in younger actors. It says to me that they really “get” their parts.
I thought they did a superb job with Travolta’s suit. The only time it looked unrealistic was when he was on the lounge chair in the backyard.
But the clincher for me is really Christopher Walken. The scene with him and Travolta in the yard was the absolute highlight of the film for me. I am really a sucker for Walken being Walken.
My 7-year-old and I saw it yesterday.
I think we both liked it enough to see it again, once it hits the ‘dollar’ theatres.
Going in, I was skeptical about the casting of Travolta, but he did an alright job. The two things I was most concerned about --that he would be hammy, and that the fat suit would be the standard blobby mess-- turned out not to be an issue. (That was the best fat suit I’ve ever seen, I think.)
However, his face was really hard to look at, and his accent was kind of all over the place.
All the other actors were terrific. None had the grittiness of the original (John Waters) cast, though. No, I take that back. Michelle Pfeiffer was very gritty. Her Mrs. Von Tussle was much darker and more vicious than Debbie Harry’s. But overall the cast was really shiny and perky.
That shiny perkiness contrasted perfectly with some of the biting lyrics. (In particular, from ‘The Nicest Kids In Town,’ "Nice white kids Who like to lead the way And once a month We have our “negro day!”)
On some of the numbers, the lyrics were lost under the music. Like they tweaked it the wrong way in post-production. Other than that, I loved all the singin’ & dancin’.
My son got a little bored during one scene (the one featuring the parents), but he knows enough about that era in the civil rights movement and about fat acceptance that he was able to enjoy the major plot-lines. I think this is a great family movie, as long as the kids can appreciate the story as well as the production numbers.
Yeah my mom and I thought she looked very familiar while we were watching. I told her “I think we think it’s Candice Cameron but we know it’s not”
I think All That is going to turn out to be a little gem of a launching pad for some fun actors. I liked it when it was on even tho I was slightly too old for it. Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell have done pretty well (at least, I like them!) and Lori Beth Denberg shows up here and there (I’m guessing she’ll be the next fat go-to girl after Cameron Manheim), and of course Amanda Bynes.
