“Hairspray” Left Me Feeling Flat

Oh, I’m sooooo gonna be the party-pooper here.  And I really didn’t expect to be, I promise.  I’ve heard such rave reviews about the new movie Hairspray – especially from people touting it as a “great family film” and “wonderful for all ages”.  No, I’m not a raving fan of the original movie and I never saw the Broadway musical.  But I know the storyline, enjoy musicals as a whole, and I was completely prepared to adore this movie.  Instead, I was left feeling a little confused, and honestly, a little disappointed.

First, the good:  fun music, amazing dancing, the actors are all spot-on, lots of laughs, and some great social messages about accepting people with differences (in waistlines and skin color).

What’s the bad?  Wow, I was rather surprised with the amount of sexual content.  Not just a smattering of it – it’s fairly pervasive throughout.  By “content,” I don’t mean that anyone is literally engaged in sexual conduct (excluding some kissing and some grinding action on the dance floor) or that there is any nudity or anything.  I mean, it is rated PG.  But even with a PG rating, they can slip in any number of innuendo and references.   My friend defended that most of the innuendo would go over my kids’ heads (if I decided to take them to this movie), but it still leaves me wondering if that makes it any better.

I’m sure I’m seeming like a total prude.  In fact, I teased a friend of mine who let her young daughters go see the new Harry Potter movie (rated PG-13 for violence), but refused to let them see Hairspray.  I chuckled at her for being a little too goodie-goodie, mostly because I thought what she was objecting to was the suggestive dancing (of which there is plenty, but that’s not even what bothered me the most).  Now I think I owe her an apology. 

Do I really need my 9-yr old daughter watching a character who gloats that she “screwed the judges” and “risked communicable diseases” in order to win a pageant?  Or who tries to seduce a married man by telling him “you don’t need x-ray vision to see what’s under my clothes”?  Do I need her to see same character pulling stuffing out of a girl’s bra and reaching towards a boy’s crotch to pull out a sock he’s stuck down his own pants?  Am I particularly interested in explaining what the man with the opened overcoat was doing in front of the shocked women, or why exactly the girl has to leave the dance show for “just about 9 months”?  And though I’m sure my daughter wouldn’t catch the meaning at all, I think I’d still blush when the dance show host tells the lead dancer “Wow, it looks like you need a stiff one!” (and he’s not talking about the hairspray or alcohol!). 

I have to say, I - as an adult – enjoyed this movie.  I’m just taking issue with the fact that it’s being marketed as this great “family film.”  Obviously everyone has their own definition of what is appropriate for their family, and I know tons of young children have already seen this movie and aren’t scarred for life.  I guess it’s just another lesson for me that parents need to be aware and trust themselves much more than they trust mass media, or even word of mouth.

For another review discussing the good/bad about this movie, you can go to the  Parent Previews website.