Skip to main content

"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.....

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

Joshie

  When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...
2 comments
Read more

Josh at Five

 Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...
Post a Comment
Read more