why hairspray is an excellent musical/movie:
fat protagonist THAT DOESN’T LOSE WEIGHT OVER THE COURSE OF THE STORY
the only makeover the fat protagonist gets is a cute dress and a new hairdo. her mom also gets a matching dress and they dance in the streets together during a crowd song
fat protagonist that’s portrayed as being cute, funny, sweet, attractive and a great dancer, rather than the “clumsy ugly fat sidekick” trope
fat protagonist that hooks up with zac efron at the end
HUGE amount of poc in the cast
“If we get any more white people in here, it’s gonna be a suburb.”
the cast of the movie is flawless. and i do mean flawless. queen latiafah, michelle pfeiffer, nikki blonksy and elijah kelly are standouts, but they were all excellent in their roles
bouncy, funky soundtrack with lots of great choreography
“I think I’ve been living in a bubble or something, thinking fairness was just gonna happen. It’s not. People like me need to get up, off their father’s laps, and go and FIGHT for it.”
the protag’s mother has literally not left her apartment and gone outside in YEARS because she’s so ashamed of the way she looks, but with the help of her daughter and husband, she learns to love herself again and tell the haters where to shove it
interracial couple – a white girl and a black boy… and the girl kisses him ON LIVE TV. WITH HER RACIST-ASS MOTHER WATCHING. AND IT’S FABULOUS.
a happy ending! the story overall is very optimistic – we have to fight for change, and change is often slow, but it IS possible, especially if we all work together
zac efron. zefron. ZEFRON IS IN THIS MOVIE.
the character of corny collins in general is great. he 100% pro-integration and completely ignores his producer when she tells him the protag is too fat to be on the show, and hires her anyway because she’s the best dancer. he also uses his influence with his TV show to get black dancers on his show, and make sure they’re qualified to win the annual dance competition, despite his producer trying to stop him.
“DEVIL CHILD! DEVIL CHILD!” (i promise, it’s hilarious in context)
i’ve already mentioned the music, but i will again because it really is GREAT. my favorites are “without love”, “run and tell that”, “welcome to the 60s”, and “you can’t stop the beat”
the romances in this show are actually very well done and believable
the white pretty boy has to learn that he has to get the fuck over himself and be a fucking ally for POC and fat people if he wants to be with the protag
“So, this is love? Well, love is a gift. But unfortunately a lot of people forget that, so you two had better prepare yourselves for a whole lot of ugly coming at you from a never-ending parade of stupid.” “Oh. So you’ve met my mom.”
there are more reasons but just trust me
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