Hairspray (1988)

Just a quickie today, I'm afraid, because this is one of those rare weekends when my real life has managed to get a look in and I've been run half off my feet. In light of Monday's entry, however, I've still managed to make time to watch the original Hairspray, and now I'm trying to assemble some of my thoughts.

So, the basics: I'm not going to go over the storyline because the remake didn't change too much - it simplified a few things, but the characters and the narrative arc are more or less identical. The only thing you really need to know if you didn't already is that the original isn't a musical, although it has a strong enough soundtrack that lovers of the genre likely won't be too disappointed. 

The good

Say what you like about this one, it has a certain authenticity about it - it's hardly cinema verité, but if they attached one of those based on a true story captions to it as seems to happen with every third horror movie these days, it wouldn't feel like too much of a stretch to believe that at the very least, there was a real Tracy Turnblad. The kids fight and swear and preen; they look like real kids and not like vat-cloned Disney monstrosities. The dancing is frequently awkward, too, and none of Corny's Council look like professionals. It's a million miles away from the polished, pastel wonderland created by the remake, and I think a lot of people will appreciate that.

I loved the location set-pieces, too - the Tilted Acres theme park and the motor show in particular both made me grin like an idiot. I'm aware that not everybody shares my passion for historic fairground rides and the cars of the fifties and sixties, but they still add context and, these days, look thrillingly exotic as well. There's none of the staginess here of the remake, and the only scenes that look as though they were shot in a studio are those actually set in one.

One more point of note is that the film is far more of an ensemble piece than the remake - as played by the late Divine, Edna Turnblad doesn't need her daughter to pull her out of her shell. Penny Pingleton is also a far stronger character, much more outspoken here than in her musical incarnation. True, nobody quite attains Nikki Blonsky's levels of sweetness and positive energy, but in a low-budget, relatively low-key satire this simply isn't what's required.

The bad

I feel like a bad film buff for saying this, but I just wasn't able to connect with this one on the same level that I did with the remake. I had the same trouble with Little Shop Of Horrors, actually; the musical is one of my cinematic happy places but the original feels ugly, bitter and a little bit, well, drab. It's not that I like my movies to be overly-polished, overly-sanitized Hollywood megaplex fodder, I just like a spot of musical fantasy sometimes, particularly if it's adding bite to darkly comedic subject matter.

I'm not going to criticise the original Hairspray for not having the budget of the remake, because I'm not sure whether or not that's relevant. In general, I didn't feel the performances were as good, but I'm unsure whether that's due to the performers or the direction. My preference is for Shankman's more naturalistic style over Waters' more mannered one, but I cannot stress enough that this is purely a matter of personal taste. Likewise the colour schemes; I prefer the harmoniousness of the remake to the jarring clashes of the original, but I'm pretty sure in this case that that's just standard Waters grotesquerie. It's not for me, but if it's for you then I'm not about to pass judgement. 

You may be thinking right now that I'm being very halfassed in my opinions, and you'd be right; it's because they are the opinions of somebody who, having expressed them, is terrified that another unidentified somebody is going to come out of the woodwork and accuse me of being the sort of somebody who likes Mamma Mia or that sort of guff. I'm not saying that either one of the films under discussion here is the better, simply that I do have a clear personal preference.

For the record, the slight racial concerns that bothered me about the remake arise here, too; the caricaturing of the black characters is even clumsier, and as the movie progresses the integration plotline gradually takes a back seat to Tracy's ambitions to be a beauty queen. It's messy, and it's unfortunate, and it dilutes what could be a really positive message. There's also plenty of ableist language here; I know it was the 80s, but I find it difficult to hear a character use the word retard without them losing a lot of my goodwill.

The verdict

A perfectly serviceable little comedy with a very distinctive aesthetic sensibility. I enjoyed it on an intellectual level, but I can't honestly say it ever got particularly close to my heart.