Hairspray was amazingly good. I don't think I've seen another show in recent memory that made me feel as good as I did when the show ended. And that's in spite of the fact that I've been ill with the flu this whole week thus far.

The musical numbers are great, the dancing is fantastic, and while I'm not an aspect, everything does seem authentically '60s, which is quite possibly one of my favourite eras to watch.

It's hard to believe that Nikki Blonsky, who plays Tracy Turnblad, the main character of the movie) is a newcomer to the big screen given that she practically carries the whole show in spite of all the big stars that are in it, including Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad, Tracy's father), John Travolta (in drag, no less, as Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma von Tussle, the villain of ths show, looking rather older than I expected her to).

Let me digress for a bit. For some reason, I just cannot shake off my earlier impressions of Christopher Walken no matter how hard I try. When he speaks to Tracy, I can't help but think of his character in Catch Me If You Can. When he dances, I flash back to him in the hilarious music video for Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice (my favourite bit in the video is when he's choosing between elevators). In fact, there was one point in the movie where he begins dancing, and I just cracked up, and my friend cracked up too, knowing that I was thinking about the MTV.

The highlight of the show - aside from Nikki - must surely be John Travolta's portrayal of Edna. He doesn't play it camp in the least, instead choosing to play Edna as a desperately lonely and introverted housewife with a great love for food, and as a result, hasn't left the house, seeing as "the neighbours haven't seen [her] since [she] was a size 10." And in spite of Edna's hefty size, she sure can dance. It's clear to see that John's dancing skills, last seen in Grease and Saturday Night Fever, haven't rusted one bit.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the show - I do think it's really good and I really love musicals, but you should go watch it for yourself. When I checked Rotten Tomatoes today, it had a freshness rating of 93%, the highest I've seen of any movie I've ever looked up on RT.

And man, if you don't come out of Hairspray feeling good, then you sure must have one heck of a heart of stone!

Favourite quote:
Motormouth Maybelle (after seeing Edna walk into her home): If we get any more white people in here, this is gonna be a suburb.