Okay, so if you read the verbose comment left by my mother on the previous post, you’ll see that she brings up a valid question.
I mentioned how I disliked John Travolta in the movie, but failed to mention why. So here it is.
First of all, his costume. It’s ill-fitting and bulky, which limits his physical movements to such an extent that it made him look like an oversized Cabbage Patch doll. And more than once, I noticed folds in his “fat” that real skin would not make. It was gross and just looked so obviously fake. I feel like they tried too hard to make him look too fat. If they’d gone for a more moderate weight gain, maybe his costume would’ve fit better. The make-up was okay, though he still makes for an ugly woman.
Second, his singing. John Travolta is not the best singer. He’s not awful, but not the best. He was fine in Grease, mostly because he was a guy playing a guy and he sang like a guy. But in Hairspray, he’s playing a woman (I guess it’s a sort of tongue-in-cheek thing that the musical has always had, having a man in drag play the mother) and thus he sings in a “woman’s” range. I use quotes around the word “woman” because he’s singing in a weird falsetto and at no point does he actually sound like a woman.
The third thing that bugged me throughout the whole film was Travolta’s acting. It was so over-the-top and corny that I never once bought that he was a woman. And isn’t that the point of acting, to make your audience forget who you as an actor are and to believe in the character? That’s what acting should be, and which is why Travolta in this role did NOT work for me.
But really, despite all this, the movie is still wonderful and definitely merits a few viewings.
Any other questions or clarifications needed about my review and its amendment, let me know!
I tend to be overly critical of everything, especially musicals, but I really loved Hairspray, and Travolta’s Edna won my heart. I thought he was pretty awesome, and I enjoyed his costuming. His voice was humorous, if not feminine. There were actually a couple of times when I got so caught up in the movie that I had to remind myself that the funny large mama was really John.
It worked for me.
I’m glad you loved the movie. I really had to focus on not dancing around in my seat through some of it…
Katie
August 1st, 2007