Musical Mondays-Week 2-Hairspray

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

You're gonna hate me (although Canadian hatred is probably the nicest hatred), but I'm not that into poutine. I like it in theory, but the gravy makes the fries soggy eventually.

 

That means you're not eating it fast enough...!

 

Plus, it's very very very important that you're either a) famished; b ) fall-down drunk; or preferably, c) both. Soggy fries are like manna from heaven at 3am.

 

Pulled pork pierogy or bacon double cheeseburger poutine makes the risk of fry sogginess moot:

http://smokespoutinerie.com/menu/#pork

[tomspanks 9039]

Aaaaaand we're back to pork. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely try Smoke's Poutine, triple pork. But, drunk at 3 am, all I think about is pizza.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Aaaaaand we're back to pork. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely try Smoke's Poutine, triple pork. But, drunk at 3 am, all I think about is pizza.

 

I got a number you can call for that...

 

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Nine Six Seven, Eleven Eleven! That number still totally works.

Except I only ever order Domino's.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Nine Six Seven, Eleven Eleven! That number still totally works.

Except I only ever order Domino's.

 

 

 

And you're giving me crap for my taste in pizza?

 

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

And you're giving me crap for my taste in pizza?

 

 

I'll take Domino's over Pizza Pizza but mostly it's due to walkability. If I have my druthers neither place really stacks up...

[tomspanks 9039]

I got a number you can call for that...

 

What? Why? The restaurant is called "Pizza Pizza"? What? Why?

OMG, they should make poutine pizza.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

What? Why? The restaurant is called "Pizza Pizza"? What? Why?

OMG, they should make poutine pizza.

 

 

Here you go! Extra soggy. Just how you like it!

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I'm super late here (never been to Canada and don't have a clue about Canadian delicacies) but the best drunk food is Whataburger. Taquitos, burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, etc etc. You name it when you are drunk it'll be THE BEST FOOD EVER!

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

I also think they very much play Edna's weight off for laughs throughout the musical as well as the whole "man in a dress" aspect. When it was Divine it wasn't just a man in a dress. Divine was a known figure for cross-dressing and to have her in that part was groundbreakingly amazing. To me, John Travolta being in that part shows how little our society understands the LGBTQ+ community. Divine wasn't there for laughs, but it felt like Travolta was.

 

Sorry to have missed much of this discussion! You all know I love "Hairspray" and was talking about it as a better sequel to "Grease" than "Grease 2" in my mind, since it does more with the 60's counter culture.

 

I see both sides of this debate about the casting of John Travolta. I know when he was initially cast there was a lot of backlash because Scientology is quite a homophobic religion. So it wasn't just that it was a straight man, but that it was a straight man who is part of this controversial religion.

 

Also why can't we ever make a musical without John Travolta?

 

I remember watching the movie and wishing they had cast someone else (because I knew Divine and Harvey Firestein as Edna and thought he was... not in that mold?) I mean, Travolta plays her a lot more naturalisticly. I think that's what the two sides of this argument are about. That is it better to have an LGBT actor be pointedly there or to play the character like a real woman. I think the point when he won me over was with his kind of adorable reactions Christopher Walken. Then I was like "Damnit, I ship them!"

 

Anyway, since this movie came out I've read the "Going Clear" book and can say that Travolta is probably LGBT (my guess is pansexual, and is held hostage by the recordings of his audit sessions but that's just a guess), defends gay rights in his house to other Scientologists, and possibly this role spoke to him in the way "Can't Stop the Music" (I almost typed can't stop the beat!) spoke to Caitlin Jenner?

[Cameron H. 23786]

I agree with you, Elektra! Edna and Wilbur's love is amazing! When he encourages her to get out on the dance floor, and the way he hold his hands over his heart...forget about it. I'm fucking done.

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Damn, y'all! Turns out I'm the FUCKING WORST!

 

Sorry I missed all the conversation about this one. I thought it just died in the other thread, and I'm often really bad about checking for new threads in the forum because I just have the My Content page bookmarked for quick reference.

 

I haven't seen this version (although I watched the 88 version with Ricki Lake last year), so I'm going to have to watch it at some point over the weekend and get my shit together....just in time for us to change movies again

 

I've also been wondering all week why Cameron's signature had a Hairspray quote in it...

 

(By the way, this means I'm probably going to pick Cry Baby for one of my next choices because I love it so much)

[tomspanks 9039]

Should we extend Hairspray week?

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Should we extend Hairspray week?

Nah, it's fine. You're up next, so you'll pick another one on Monday for us to watch for the following Monday, but we can still keep chatting here in the meantime.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Anyway, since this movie came out I've read the "Going Clear" book and can say that Travolta is probably LGBT (my guess is pansexual, and is held hostage by the recordings of his audit sessions but that's just a guess), defends gay rights in his house to other Scientologists, and possibly this role spoke to him in the way "Can't Stop the Music" (I almost typed can't stop the beat!) spoke to Caitlin Jenner?

That really is an excellent point! And I bet you're 100% right! Just to reiterate my problem is not with Travolta specifically, but rather what I imagined the studios to be thinking when making that casting decision. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that you felt like he didn't fit the mold of previous Ednas. But! He really did bring life to that character and played her wonderfully!

 

I digress but Leah Remini's Scientology show is fucking intense and amazing and I highly recommend it. I feel horrible for every single person that feels like they are trapped in that fuckin' cult.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I digress but Leah Remini's Scientology show is fucking intense and amazing and I highly recommend it. I feel horrible for every single person that feels like they are trapped in that fuckin' cult.

I had no idea this was a show, so now I need to check it out. Leah Remini was one of my first TV crushes (when she was Zack Morris' love interest in the resort season of Saved by the Bell). And she's really fascinating. Her memoir is 100% heartbreaking.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I had no idea this was a show, so now I need to check it out. Leah Remini was one of my first TV crushes (when she was Zack Morris' love interest in the resort season of Saved by the Bell). And she's really fascinating. Her memoir is 100% heartbreaking.

Get ready because the stories that have been featured are even worse than I could have imagined. I haven't read her memoir or Going Clear, but I did see the HBO doc. I marathoned all of the released episodes and was emotionally draaained.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I'm super late here (never been to Canada and don't have a clue about Canadian delicacies) but the best drunk food is Whataburger. Taquitos, burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, etc etc. You name it when you are drunk it'll be THE BEST FOOD EVER!

Whataburger is my jam. They start selling taquitos at 11 PM, but I usually go for a bacon cheeseburger after I've been drinking.

 

Also, I live in Austin, which is where everyone from LA goes to ruin the one good part of Texas. Within the past couple years, they've opened a few In'N'Outs, and it's great hearing all the California people talk about how they are the best burgers ever fucking created.

 

Bitch, please. Gimme that Whataburger + fries that don't taste like cardboard + spicy ketchup any goddamn day.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Fister, I could not like that comment more.

 

In-N-Out is traaaash compared to Whataburger.

 

When I went to visit my cousin and his wife in SF last year we went to In-N-Out and just complained about how it wasn't Whataburger the whole time lol.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Fister, I could not like that comment more.

 

In-N-Out is traaaash compared to Whataburger.

 

When I went to visit my cousin and his wife in SF last year we went to In-N-Out and just complained about how it wasn't Whataburger the whole time lol.

 

Wow. You sound delightful...

 

 

 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Wow. You sound delightful...

 

 

 

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

I agree with you, Elektra! Edna and Wilbur's love is amazing! When he encourages her to get out on the dance floor, and the way he hold his hands over his heart...forget about it. I'm fucking done.

 

If you told me Travolta and Walken had a fling while on set, I would believe it.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

HOLY FUCK, YOU GUYS!

 

I'm so mad I missed watching this and getting in on the earlier discussion because I have so much to say, so I'm just going to dump my brains here.

 

First off, I totally see where Taylor Anne is is come from. Divine was a HUGE fucking deal as Edna in the Waters version (just as she was in everything she was in with Waters). I really went in expecting to have a problem with Travolta because I thought it was mostly going to be done from a "har har dude in a dress" perspective. But as others pointed out, it's easy to lose yourself into the character and see her as a fully actualized character.

 

I will say that I didn't like so many of her punchlines being about ham and other similar lines. I'm assuming those are from the stage musical and not just something shitty they came up with for the movie. But it feels really mean. However, I will say that sensitivity and awareness around body shaming wasn't the thing in 2007 that it is today. That's not to excuse it by any means, but it's to say, "I get it. We were shittier then than we are now (at least I hope...)"

 

My other big kind of icky feeling with it is that it really feels white savior-y. Tracy and Link are kind of the heroes here, and I really would like to see a version of this told from Queen Latifah's side. She can be a straight up bad bitch, and I want to see the movie where she just busts in and is like, "We're gonna dance; y'all can join us or get the fuck out." Even Penny's change of heart that ends up with her appearing on the show is portrayed more heroically than Inez' and Seaweed's respective victories. It all rubs me a bit the wrong way (and I'll admit that it's probably there in the Waters version to, but I've just seen it so many times that I'm blind to it anymore).

 

ALL THAT SAID, there are sooooooooo many things I loved about it.

 

The songs are wonderful and catchy. "Good Morning Baltimore" and "You Can't Stop the Beat" are easily my favorites, but "Run and Tell That," "Big, Blonde and Beautiful," and "(You're) Timeless to Me" are all just fucking delightful, too.

 

Seaweed. Holy shit. He has an AMAZING voice, and I could listen to him sing just about anything. I mean, all the singing is great in this, but Elijah Kelley really stood out to me.

 

James Marsden. I can't help but love that guy. I think he's charming as fuck, and even when he's in a bad movie, he's wonderful.

 

The cameos were delightful. I normally am pretty eye-roll-y for major fan service shit like this (minor Rogue One spoiler:

lookin' at you, Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba, you unnecessary fucks

), but I loved Waters showing up as the flasher in "Good Morning Baltimore" and Ricki Lake being one of the talent agents for William Morris.

 

And finally, I can't believe NONE OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS EVEN MENTIONED ALLISON JANNEY! She is such a goddamn treasure. I love her in everything she's in, and she's so funny in this. For my money, the best line in the movie is when she tells Amanda Bynes, "If I let you out of the house right now, you'd be in prison fighting whores for cigarettes." Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go watch this and think about how much I love her:

 

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I will say that I didn't like so many of her punchlines being about ham and other similar lines. I'm assuming those are from the stage musical and not just something shitty they came up with for the movie. But it feels really mean. However, I will say that sensitivity and awareness around body shaming wasn't the thing in 2007 that it is today. That's not to excuse it by any means, but it's to say, "I get it. We were shittier then than we are now (at least I hope...)"

 

Yeah, that's a real weird tone deafness in those jokes. The whole movie is talking about how you shouldn't let the way you look (specifically your weight) hold you back, but then makes eating too much a running gag. Maybe it's saying you should own everything about yourself, even your over eating..?

 

My other big kind of icky feeling with it is that it really feels white savior-y. Tracy and Link are kind of the heroes here, and I really would like to see a version of this told from Queen Latifah's side. She can be a straight up bad bitch, and I want to see the movie where she just busts in and is like, "We're gonna dance; y'all can join us or get the fuck out." Even Penny's change of heart that ends up with her appearing on the show is portrayed more heroically than Inez' and Seaweed's respective victories. It all rubs me a bit the wrong way (and I'll admit that it's probably there in the Waters version to, but I've just seen it so many times that I'm blind to it anymore).

 

You're right about it being in the Waters version. In fact, I'd actually argue that it's actually worse since no one, aside from SeaWeed (kind of), is more than a prop for our heroes. Although, I wonder if this was a product of the times or Waters making a commentary on how people sometimes fight for more for a "Cause" than the people they are supposedly standing up for. I'm almost willing to bet it's the latter as so much of the original seems to be trying to compare the fight for hair tolerance with integration. I think Waters is trying to (maybe) make a statement about how ridiculous it is that we sometimes fight just as hard for trivial matters as we do for matters of actual consequence. Of course, I don't think--if it was indeed intended to be interpreted that way--that that kind of subtlety would translate very well to a Broadway musical.

 

I think, that in the Original, integration was important because it was important to Tracy, but in the Musical, integration is important because it's actually important.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

And finally, I can't believe NONE OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS EVEN MENTIONED ALLISON JANNEY! She is such a goddamn treasure. I love her in everything she's in, and she's so funny in this. For my money, the best line in the movie is when she tells Amanda Bynes, "If I let you out of the house right now, you'd be in prison fighting whores for cigarettes." Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go watch this and think about how much I love her:

She's literally THE national treasure (highly recommend Tallulah on Netflix, the movie she just did with Ellen Page - it's fucking SO GOOD).