Episode 157 - Grease vs. Hairspray (w/ Adam Egypt Mortimer)

[Cronopio 127]

Even though my 9-year-old self loved Grease when it came out, and it marked the first time I went to the movies with a member of the opposite sex on what we thought was a date, I can't even muster up enough nostalgia to find it watchable, while Hairspray makes me wanna dance, even though I'd normally rather have my eyes poked out than dance.

[uh_tom 0]

Sometimes things feel right because they are familiar and we expect they are the way they are for some good reason. This has been my life with Grease. It turns out that the film was always broken and I just didn't bother to notice if it was. This was also the experience of our heroine in Hairspray with respect to society, a reckoning and the acknowledgement of a change of values.

I paused Hairspray halfway through and was surprised to find I had only watched 20 minutes. Thankfully, things picked up and in the end I found that I had really enjoyed it. I like that Divine does double duty, and I loved the awe-shucksiness of Ricki Lake. I found the music and dance unbearable. Side note, I also watched Swing Time on the same day and it was too much with the stopping to dance, and the racism was taxing.

I'd like to say a big thanks to Susan* for the perspective and context. I have not seen SNF, but I have experienced transformative media and it's subsequent derivative and meaningless yet fun progeny and now I see Grease in a way which can never really be the same. Yet, I still enjoy it.

 

For the Canon, my vote goes to Hairspray.