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View Full Version : What did you think of John Waters Hairspray?


spacemonkey
05-02-2008, 09:43 AM
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When the recent Hairspray remake came out in 2007 I was taken by surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I thought it was one of those movies that is like an explosion of happiness. Its the type of movie that after you see it you leave with this general feeling of happiness. I loved the songs, I loved the choreography in the dance sequences, I loved Nicky Blomsky as Tracy, Christopher Walken as her dad, and John TRavolta as her mom. The cast was amazing, the songs where incredibly catchy and had a great sing alone quality to them. Suffice to say, this new version of Hairspray became a big favorite of mine instantly. Cause you know...I LOVE musicals.

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So I say, I bet John Waters version of Hairspray must be equally good. I kept wondering what the songs would sound like in Waters version, and I honestly couldnt wait to see it. I finally got it on dvd and popped it in...only to be dissapointed with the fact that it wasnt a musical! It has a great 50's/60's sountrack whenever the kids get down to dancing, but it wasnt a musical at all. So there was my first dissapointment with it. But then the rest of the movie kicked in and it paled in comparison to the new one. The new version was better in every way. Waters version is kind of like a low budget version of it. The actors werent as good as the new one, the sets had such a cheap quality to them, the dancing wasnt even that good!

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It did have its own charm to it, like having Ricky Lake play the role of TRacy. But again, NIcky Blomsky did a one up on Lakes performance. Blomskys Tracy is so much more likable then Waters Tracy. Then theres Tracy's mom which in Waters version is played by Devine, the shit eating transvestite from Pink Flamingos. Devine didnt do it for me either as Tracys mom. I enjoyed seeing Sonny Bonno and Debby Harry playing the evil parents. Waters version does have a certain cheap, grimmy feel to it that does go well with any JOhn Waters movie, it was just too much of a difference from the new shiny polished big budget version.

What do you guys think of John Waters version? Is it better? Or is the new version directed by Adam Shankman better? I go with the new one, sorry Mr. Waters. Its better in every way, the sets are better, the actors are better, and the songs are fantastic. Even the story is structured in a better way leaving certain elements that werent needed out of the story.

So whats your veridict guys? Im not a JOhn Waters hater, but I gotta say this time around, that this new remake was way better then his version.

brakeonthroo
05-02-2008, 04:21 PM
Pretty gay

spacemonkey
05-02-2008, 04:24 PM
Pretty gay

You thought that John Waters Hairspray was pretty gay? Why is that?

BadCoverVersion
05-03-2008, 02:12 PM
I favour the 88 version and it's sleazy charm...plus stars like debbie harry, sonny bono, ricki lake, jerry stiller, mink stole and divine are much more colourful and interesting.

i also really prefer most of the songs in the original such as gravy, the bug, the roach and town without pity (one of my all-time favourite gene pitney tracks)...but a couple of the funkier numbers in the remake are excellent...particularly those sung by the black kids.

and then there's the way divine says "turn that racket down, i'm trying to do my ironing in here" and i much preferred the original motormouth mabel and john waters cameo as the hypnotic quack sent to save penny pingleton.

in conclusion, i think both versions have their merits but the original will always hold a special place in my heart!

Hairspray '88 - 9/10
Hairspray '07 - 7/10

starcat
05-03-2008, 03:31 PM
my brother took me to see hairspray in 88, my parents were fighting real bad and i was really upset so he grabbed me and said we are going to see a movie. i cant remember what else was playing in the theatre that day, but everything must have looked bad and we had no idea what hairspray was as we hadnt even seen a preview for it. looking back now, I think he was probably thinking it was a teen comedy more like porky's and revenge of the nerds. in the end he hated it, and i loved it. if nothing else it gave me 3 of my favorite songs in hairspray, hide and go seek, and nothing takes the place of you. i remember laughing so hard, and i still love the movie to this day. the new version is really good, but it takes a different approach to the same story. i prefer the original. nicki was good, but ricki was so awesome. i watched everything she was in after this movie... even watching probably a season of he talk show before it became more than i could stomach. divine i could go either way, but truthfully the same could be said with travolta. im sorry, i just dont like seeing tony monero/danny zuko in drag. to anyone that likes the new one better, all i can say is "oh poppatuni, we got a luni!" ... just kidding.

BadCoverVersion
05-03-2008, 06:42 PM
my brother took me to see hairspray in 88, my parents were fighting real bad and i was really upset so he grabbed me and said we are going to see a movie. i cant remember what else was playing in the theatre that day, but everything must have looked bad and we had no idea what hairspray was as we hadnt even seen a preview for it. looking back now, I think he was probably thinking it was a teen comedy more like porky's and revenge of the nerds. in the end he hated it, and i loved it. if nothing else it gave me 3 of my favorite songs in hairspray, hide and go seek, and nothing takes the place of you. i remember laughing so hard, and i still love the movie to this day. the new version is really good, but it takes a different approach to the same story. i prefer the original. nicki was good, but ricki was so awesome. i watched everything she was in after this movie... even watching probably a season of he talk show before it became more than i could stomach. divine i could go either way, but truthfully the same could be said with travolta. im sorry, i just dont like seeing tony monero/danny zuko in drag. to anyone that likes the new one better, all i can say is "oh poppatuni, we got a luni!" ... just kidding.

i enjoyed reading this...and i agree with pretty much everything you wrote!

starcat
05-04-2008, 08:55 AM
thank you

spacemonkey
05-05-2008, 09:49 AM
and then there's the way divine says "turn that racket down, i'm trying to do my ironing in here" and i much preferred the original motormouth mabel and john waters cameo as the hypnotic quack sent to save penny pingleton.


Those little differences I enjoyed as well, even though this movie felt slightly grimmier or cheaper it still had many fun elements to it.

I also enjoyed Pia Zadora and Rick Ocasek as the weed smoking beatniks.

Hows about that dress with the giant roach designs on it for Tracys big finish?

And hows about Debby Harris's hair bomb?