Laptop Television Mom

LTV is proud to feature another guest-blogger, my friend and colleague (and super-cool chica) Stefanie Penland.  Stef and I share a love for musicals (both on-stage and on-screen), so I asked her to share some thoughts on the blockbuster hit Hairspray.  Plus, we all know Mommies with 2-year-olds don’t get to see movies in the theater.  (It’s also worth noting that Stef wrote wrote this review while I was out of town, so I am late in posting her review.)  Regardless, enjoy!

– LTV

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I
hadn’t read many reviews about director Adam Shankman’s take on the Tony
award-winning Broadway musical, so when I went to the theater last Thursday
night excited about four things only: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer,
Queen Latifah, and
Broadway tunes.  For the Broadway-loving, celebrity-obsessed individual
that I am, that’s all I needed to know to be game. 

But
when Tracy Turnblad (played by newcomer Nikky Blonsky) is all
smiles as she belts out “Good Morning Baltimore” in the first five minutes of the
film, the rest of the movie was no longer solely about seeing Travolta in drag
or checking out how amazing Pfeiffer looks after her five-year break from the
silver screen… It was about this charismatic, determined girl’s journey towards
achieving her dream – and the charming and heart warming story of the
experience.  Clearly, a cheesy takeaway, but I was utterly hooked.
Occasionally, I would sort of become aware of my surroundings and realize that
I was literally smiling throughout the entire movie!  My cheeks were a
little sore, even.

Because
I hadn’t seen the
play on Broadway, I wasn’t exactly familiar with its overall message going
into it.  As Tracy paves her way to stardom on the local variety program,
the Corny Collins Show, she starts to enact real change as she stands up for
the individuals who participate on the show’s “Negro Day” and raises awareness
of the importance of seeing past racial differences.  By the movie’s end,
the Corny Collins Show features a huge, “integrated” song and dance number to
showcase her small steps towards a change for the better.

A
lighter-hearted – but just as important – takeaway is that Travolta as Tracy’s
mom, Edna Turnblad, is almost better looking as a woman than he is a man.
A flawless portrayal of a woman, rather than the traditional
man-playing-a-woman.

And
yes… the next morning, I was literally singing “Good Morning Baltimore” to
myself during the car ride into work.  Talk about staying power.

Edna
Turnblad (Travolta) and Tracy (Blonsky) grabbing a bite after getting dolled up
and breaking out on the Baltimore streets in song and dance.

–
Stefanie Penland