Sometimes they just do it right: brilliantly entertaining adaptation of the stage musical, in turn based on the 1988 John Waters film. The property was strong: a solid book which combined wit, romance, satire and a point (integration and discrimination against fat people), but you could say the same thing about The Producers and that didn't work. Final credit must go to the director/choreographer who makes a movie out of the story - dance numbers use cinematic devices e.g. singing posters, cuts to different locations - but he keeps the camera still most of the time, enabling the dancers to actually do their stuff.
The wonderful thing about this film is it is so inclusive - it's all about "hey, you can join in, too" - the daughter of a manic Catholic can come out of the house and date a black boy, the chubby girl can be a dancing star and get a dreamboat boyfriend, the dreamboat boyfriend can discover his courage, the fat mother can step out of the house, the father can declare love for his wife, the little black girl can get on television, more black people can get on television. Its summed up by the final number where everyone takes their turn at doing a piece on television - and also by including cameos from John Waters, Rikki Lake, the composer, etc. When John Travolta talks about not wanting to get out of the house it's really touching.
The best numbers in the show - "You Can't Stop the Beat", "Good Morning Baltimore", "Welcome to the 60s" - are the best in the film (though why no background dancing in "Good Morning Baltimore"?). Around the two thirds mark this slowed a little, I couldn't figure out why (why so long with Michelle Pfeiffer in the joke shop?), but it recovers for a marvellous finale. James Marsden is a bit of a nothing in an admittedly nothing part - but why not give it to someone who at least is interesting just standing there, e.g. a SNL comedian or something?
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