# Hairspray: The Movie(Musical) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428 "2008-06-10T12:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/1 "2008-06-10T12:23:50Z")
I know I start a lot of threads about movie musicals adapted from Broadway but I love them so much. Well, I love the B’way musicals, not always the movies. I’m sure someone can find a thread where I predicted the movie version of Hairspray would suck, but I’m happy to say I was (mostly) wrong. John Travolta was the weak link and I always knew he would be. His Edna was too “wink wink nudge nudge, oh aren’t I so coquettish?” for me. If only they had tapped Harvey Fierstein to reprise his role it would have been near perfect. Nikki Blonsky wowed me(Marissa Jaret Winokur still owns my heart though) and I hope to see her in more movies. _Good Morning Baltimore_ is my favorite song from the show and she sold it for me. She’s a pretty good little dancer too. Overall, a great find. I love Queen Latifah. That chick can do anything and I love watching her do it. Loved her Motormouth Maybelle even though she was a tad too young and a tad too thin. Oh, who cares, she was fantastic. Fantastic! I’m not going to be too critical of Ms. Pfeiffer. She did an adequate job of singing _The legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs_ but her acting was top notch. It’s really hard to beat Linda Hart because she owns that song. Brittany Snow, the actress who played Amber was just great. I don’t know her but if I see her in future projects I will remember her. Too bad she didn’t get to sing _Cooties_. Now, here are my main beefs: Link is supposed to be a major hottie. The actor playing him, Zac Something? Not so hot. My second favorite song from the show, _Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now_ was cut. Outrage! The finale song, _You Can’t Stop The Beat_ neglected to add the Velma/Amber get with program verse where they lament being controlled by men and join in with the fun intergration theme. All tolled, I enjoyed the movie, but I still say Travolta was terribly, horribly miscast. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/2 "2008-06-10T15:17:34Z")
Have you seen the original that the Broadway show was based on? If not, you must see John Waters original Hairspray with Divine, Sonny Bono, Ricki Lake, Jerry Stiller and others. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/3 "2008-06-10T15:28:32Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] Have you seen the original that the Broadway show was based on? If not, you must see John Waters original Hairspray with Divine, Sonny Bono, Ricki Lake, Jerry Stiller and others. [/QUOTE] Well, of course I have seen the _original_ original . That is what inspired the musical and I love the original. I love musicals more than I can say and this is no exception . You can’t stop the beat. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/4 "2008-06-10T15:33:26Z")
One thing I forgot to add in my OP: Who knew James Marsden could sing? My god, that man is talented to the max. Very talented, very, very talented. Yes, in deeed. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/5 "2008-06-10T15:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] Well, of course I have seen the _original_ original . That is what inspired the musical and I love the original. I love musicals more than I can say and this is no exception . You can’t stop the beat. [/QUOTE] Just making sure. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/6 "2008-06-10T15:50:36Z")
I am with the OP in almost everything, particularly in your evaluation of James Marsden !!! and Queen Latifah. I’m not as enthused about Brittany Snow, but I don’t have anything against her. I was completely knocked back by Elijah Kelley and want to hear lots more from him. Astonishing. Zac Efron is nothing special; he was cast, I think, because of the success of _High School Musical._ (I could be wrong; I don’t know about the timing.) My goddaughter, who is addicted, really wanted to see _Hairspray_ but her parents wouldn’t let her because she’s 11. I would have let her go, but I’m not Mom. John Travolta was stunt casting, and gave Christopher Walken, who is so talented, nothing to work with. Their duet could have been so much better with Fierstein. Total love for James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, and Nikki Blonsky. Great job by Queen Latifah and Michelle Pfeiffer; good work by Walken and Amanda Bynes. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/7 "2008-06-10T16:08:04Z")
[QUOTE to work with. Their duet could have been so much better with Fierstein. Total love for James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, and Nikki Blonsky. Great job by Queen Latifah and Michelle Pfeiffer; good work by Walken and Amanda Bynes.[/QUOTE] Shit I know I’ve messed up this coding, But **Sigmagirl** reminded me of Elijah Kelly and he was shit all to be in concert with all the other cast members I loved. And I loved all of them except Travolta , whom I am sorry to keep harping on, was just not right. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/8 "2008-06-10T16:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > he was shit all to be in concert don’t understand . . . you liked him, or didn’t like him? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/9 "2008-06-10T19:12:46Z")
Two things I wish they had kept from Broadway were _Mama I’m a Big Girl Now!_ number- not only catchy, but totally takes you back to the era. And I think Michelle Pfeiffer/Mrs. Van Tussell should have been the station _owner_, not manager, like she was in the play. I also wish they’d had her conversion like in the play (“ever since we first saw the sun/Van Tussell girls were always trying to please someone…”). I enjoyed the movie but it’s nowhere near my favorite musical even of the past few years. I agree Travolta just didn’t work, one thing being he wasn’t fat enough (he was basically “fat” while Edna’s “FAT” and also extremely dowdy and unfeminine. That’s important since the play is at least as much about Edna becoming a sexual person who accepts herself as she is but with better coiture as it is about her daughter. (The role on Broadway is currently being played by _Cheers_’s “NORM!” George Wendt, seen [here in a pic](http://www.broadway.com/site_images/sn_042808_cheers.jpg) with Ted Danson that looks like a missing “very special episode” of Cheers!.) Agree on Efron also. Time will tell if he has any real talent behind being cute and “can sing and dance a little”. I thought where the movie was best was in the Good Morning Baltimore and the I Can Hear the Bells numbers; the walking montage was great. I thought the worst part was the last 10 minutes which should have stayed with the play and not with Edna and Wilbur getting the camera on Van Tussell et al, and Travolta’s dancing couldn’t hold a candle to Harvey’s emerging from the hairspray can. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hairspray-the-movie-musical/452428/10 "2008-06-10T19:16:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Time will tell if he has any real talent behind being cute and “can sing and dance a little”. Er. I don’t think there’s\* that \* much time. Dude is no Fred Astaire.