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"Hairspray"

My husband says his favorite movie is "Field of Dreams," but it's really the John Travolta version of "Hairspray." I know this in my heart.

When my husband first saw "Hairspray" -- on a flight to Singapore -- he watched alone, and he was so moved, he immediately went back to the beginning and watched a second time.

There is so much ebullience in this musical, it seems to have been written especially for Marc, and I think the moments that speak most powerfully to him are: "Good Morning, Baltimore!" ...."Welcome to the Sixties!" ...."The Nicest Kids in Town!" ....and "You Can't Stop the Beat!" (I may have added exclamation points where they aren't needed, but something actually tells me they might be there in the script.)

Days after a "Hairspray" re-viewing, my husband is still murmuring to me....apropos of nothing...."Why didn't Nikki Blonsky go on to a fabulous career?" "And Marissa Jaret Winokur?" "When will the revival happen?" "Should we fly to London for the *British* revival?" "Tell me about the actor who plays Corny....."

I like "Hairspray" quite a bit. I especially like Michelle Pfeiffer (OBVS) and I like the fine, wacky "detail work" from Allison Janney. And both my husband and I giggle when Blonsky becomes possessed by a dance demon and begins rhythmically slapping herself on the ass.

Still, my own favorite movie is "Rear Window," in which: people murder one another, a dog is poisoned, at least one suicide attempt is documented in a kind of sickening slo-mo nightmare interlude....I like the subversive commentary on marriage, and I like when the intruder arrives and tries to strangle Jimmy Stewart....

But, really, I'm glad that the world is big enough to accommodate *both* Hitchcock and "Hairspray." And I'll even go back to the Travolta film, which we now own, though I don't know if I can make it an annual tradition. I say that as if I'll definitely have a choice. Joshua is getting older, and he seems mesmerized by Brittany Snow. He may be calling the shots pretty soon.....

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