A Pair of Musicals

Straying from the usual here, I'm going to group two reviews into one post. These two films go together under the general theme and disclaimer that while I like music, and I generally enjoy movies, for whatever reason, I just don't like movies that are musicals, and these two films didn't change that opinion by all that much.

Hairspray (2007)

First up is Hairspray. This is the 2007 film remake of a 1988 film, that was also a Broadway play. It features a plot that focuses on Baltimore in 1962, and racial integration on some American Bandstand knockoff show. It features John Travolta, Michelle Pfeifer, and newcomer Nikki Blonsky who was plucked from serving ice cream at a Cold Stone Creamery for the part in a real life "rags to riches" tale. While Nikki is well cast, I'm still wondering why we needed to have Travolta dressed in drag to play her mother. The novelty of this quickly wears off, and just didn't make sense to me. The highlight of Hairspray is the rockin' late 50's tunes, and proof that this endurable style of music can transcend generation, and that rock 'n roll is here to stay. Unfortunately, it can only save this saccharin sweet film that bases its theme on acceptance of all, by so much. Too bad the plot was too shallow, as a film like Talk To Me did a much better job of conveying this theme with the depth it deserves.

Overall Grade: C

Once (2006)

The second musical this week is less of a traditional one, the film Once. Instead of the snappy show tunes and the orchestra overture, we have two musicians turned actors, Glen Hansard, and Marketa Irglova, and not exactly well known ones at that. Hansard is the street performer by night with his guitar on the streets of Dublin, and by day he works at his father's vacuum cleaner shop. Irglova is a struggling Czech immigrant who cleans houses to support her daughter and mother. Together, they click, (after she gets her vacuum fixed of course). There is too much of a raw edge to this film that left me with a low budget feeling like we were making a rockumentary at some points. Also, too much of the dialogue gets done in foreign tongues, and with no subtitles that leaves us out of what is going on behind all the chatter. In addition, the plot kind of falls apart as the film concludes leaving us to wonder what this was all about. Still, the songs at least fit into the story better here, and don't feel as artificial as a singing squirrel in the forest that characterizes too many musicals. I'm thinking the bottom line is that this film is worth looking at Once if you're a fan of some simple acoustic folk rock. While the love affair between these two seems destined for the ages at the start, if fizzles faster than a stale pop rock.

Overall Grade: B-

Reviewed by Jonas

Wild Hogs (2007)

While I'm not a fan of motorcycles (we call them "donor cycles" in the hospital for a reason!), there are plenty of middle aged guys that acquire them during their midlife crisis years- in fact I know a few. Using this sociological phenomenon as a backdrop, the film Wild Hogs takes a look at a bunch of guys, and their need for the open road.

We have John Travolta, William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen all stuck in their lives. They decide to shake it up a bit, and take a trip from Cincinnati to California on their motorcycles. Along the way, they have some humorous misadventures- their tent burns, a run in with the law, skinny dipping in a mountain lake when a family arrives, and a run in with a biker gang- the Del Fuegos. It all ends up in a show down in Madrid, New Mexico (as an aside, a nearly abandoned mining town that is having a renaissance as an artist colony, a real interesting place to visit if you ever get the chance, and have the chili at the local saloon) where Macy meets a local, played by Marisa Tomei. Our bikers have it out, and the Wild Hogs (big surprise) emerge victorious.

Wild Hogs reminds me of the film Dumb and Dumber. There is a lot of physical comedy, and we're never quite sure when Macy is going to fall off of his bike again. While humorous at first, it does get old as the film progresses. Also, while each of the scenes is fine, they didn't add up to a greater whole. While they do make it to California, I don't get a clear sense that our characters are sufficiently changed for their experience, and won't go right back to what they were upon their return to their homes in Ohio. While any road trip film is more about the journey than the destination, Wild Hogs is more out of balance than most.

I don't want to leave you with the impression that this was a bad film. It was well acted, and I was engaged through most of it. I think I just expected something less adolescent from the star studded cast. If you want some light physical comedy, and don't expect a deep story, than Wild Hogs is a pleasant diversion.

--Jonas

Overall Grade: B