SFGate.com – Posted By: James Rocchi
Hairspray (1988)
“Hair is politics in Baltimore.” – Writer/director John Waters, on the Hairspray DVD commentary
As a film writer, when a remake comes around, there are two opposing but similar worries: Either you have seen the original, and your memories will irrevocably affect your position on the more recent re-interpretation…or you haven’t seen the original, so you have no frame of reference for the more recent re-interpretation. And the latter was what happened for me with Hairspray, the upcoming big-screen film of the stage musical hit based on John Waters’s 1988 story of politics, poofy hair and pop music in ’60s Baltimore. And I loved Hairspray, the movie musical — it’s fun, big and brassy and vibrant — so I figured I’d correct the fact I’d never seen the 1988 original.
And I’m glad I did. John Waters is one of those indie film icons you get or you don’t, and for a long time I was of the same mind about the work of John Waters that I was about the work of, for example, Frank Zappa or Gore Vidal: I liked the person behind the work; I respected the quality of creativity of intellect and craft when I heard that person talk about the work. I just wasn’t crazy about the actual work.