The Film Junkie

Grade: B

It is a rare thing in our modern age to leave a movie with genuine joy in your heart.  Movies these days are often throught-provoking, but at times they work to frighten or demean us rather than uplift.  ‘Hairspray’ is something completely different.

It is the story of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a plus-size teen with a penchant for dancing and the dream of becoming a star on the local teen dance program.  Along the way to realizing her dream she encounters the injustices of her world and becomes inspired to change things.

Blonsky is one hell of a find, she was discovered in an open casting call, as she steals the movie from all the stars around her.  She is instantly watchable and relatable and thus she carries us through the film with her cheerful demeanour and intelligence.  

The rest of the cast consists of Michelle Pfeiffer who relishes playing the bitch; Brittany Snow as her devilish daughter; teen dream Zac Efron as teen dream Link; James Marsden as the adorable dance show host; Amanda Bynes as Tracy’s best friend Penny who is also going through a life-changing experience; Allison Janny as Penny’s uber-Christian mama; Queen Latifah as the host of ‘Negro Day’ on the dance show; and John Travolta and Christopher Walken as Tracy’s mom and dad, respectively.

I was at times distracted by Travolta in drag, but the oddest thing about his performance was the choice of accent.  He chose a sort of Southern drawl, or Boston (hard to tell) accent that doesn’t really work.  However I liked him in drag overall.  Walken is clearly loving being able to return to his song and dance roots.  

The cast is very strong, they work the songs and dance routines with complete gusto.  The film is high energy, high impact and highly entertaining.  You will leave with a smile on your face.

Grade: A 

This digitally shot indie based on a play seems more like an acting exercise than a movie.  However the characters are intriguing and the premise is quite original both of which make it somewhat worthwhile.

Tom (Scott Speedman) is HIV positive and he kidnaps Dan (James Marsden), the one and only man he has ever had sex with to hold him hostage until he can get Dan’s blood test results back.

The script constantly keeps you guessing.  One moment you are sure Dan is playing Tom trying to get free because he knows he is positive, another you are convinced that Tom is jumping to conclusions and he must be infected from one of a million other reasons.

The film suffers under the glare of digital.  For some films it works, but here it forces the movie to lose some of its realism and ends up helping it play more like a student film with a good script.

This is by no means a great film, but I haven’t seen many films deal with this sort of topic so I respect it for that.  It also proved to me that Speedman is actually quite a good actor.  His work in ‘Underworld’ and especially TV’s ‘Felicity’ was always rather one note, but here he really opens up.  I have always liked James Marsden (’X-Men’s Cyclops/Scott Summers), he has that Tom Cruise/Clark Kent quality about him, but with a darker side.  He is very good here, and the sexual tension between the two actors is palpable.

Grade: B-