Sometimes you hear so much critical buzz building around a movie that you know for months that it's supposed to be a good one. But on occasion, one will come out of nowhere to get surprisingly positive reviews. The latter seems to be the case with Hairspray, which opens today.
As I write this, the musical version of John Waters' biggest hit has a 96% tomatometer rating at rottentomatoes.com. In other words, 96% of the reviews from its contributors from around the country are positive. If that holds up, the musical would be the best-reviewed wide-release film of the year so far.
Frankly, some of the critics seem surprised to have liked it. Newsweek's David Ansen calls it a "happy surprise". Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman says it may just be "the happiest movie of the summer." Variety's Dennis Harvey says it may be better than other recent movie musicals, "even better than those Oscar-winning ones." USA Today's Claudia Puig says "it's hard to keep a smile off your face." Roger Ebert says it "looks just right, sounds just right and feels just right," and Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press even wrote "I can't recall a movie with this many flaws that I liked so much."
The movie wrapped up to thunderous applause during a recent sneak screening in Leawood, and if you're looking for a pleasant PG diversion from the explosion-filled summer movie scene, it looks like Hairspray might be just your style.