TheConsensusOpinion Reviews

Hairspray (2007)

My wife and I smiled virtually the entire movie

[8/10 · 4 August 2007]

I must admit I really, really enjoyed this movie. Rare in this day and age are the films my wife and I immediately say upon finishing "I want to see this again" -- but 'Hairspray' certainly gets scribbled onto that list of flicks.

It's GREAT fun, yet certainly sporting its share of serious subject matter -- handled all but brilliantly, IMO. There's nary an 'uncomfortable' moment where the audience feels preached 'at' so to speak, or times of heavy-handedness that--in lesser skilled hands--certainly could have ruined the overall mood.

The only part of the experience that took me a while to get into was the John Travolta character. I just couldn't initially get past my knowledge that it was 'him' in the role. Yet not too far in, I was more than accepting and enjoyed him. His dance moves and special charm are still abundantly in evidence. And the ACCENT he was "going for" (a question from another poster) was most definitely that of southern Ohio/West Virgina. I know it well -- having had dear friends who speak in the EXACT manner.

If you love musicals, you'll adore this one. If you don't, I personally believe you'll at least LIKE it. 'Hairspray' seems to hit all the right notes, looks GREAT (and there are some fabulous looking people therein), and contains enough memorable tunes to start you humming -- even if you can't remember the words...

Are there some 'telegraphed' moments? Yes, as there are in most all films of this genre. But one is smiling far too much to mind -- not to mention enjoying himself much too much for them to matter!

America's Next Top Model (2003–2018)

ANTM is great in many ways, but the adjudication process itself is more than a bit inconsistent.

[30 May 2006]

The following message contains SPOILERS in the sense that winners from various seasons are discussed (and other finalists and eliminated contestants are mentioned as well). Therefore, if you haven't seen each cycle (1 thru 6) of ANTM and don't want to know the results, read no further!!

I really have enjoyed seeing what the art directors and makeup peeps have done with the girls each season, but I have seen a somewhat disturbing pattern develop: There appears to be a 'double vote' or some other method which allows Tyra to 'intervene' on behalf of a given girl in order to 'prop her up' (causing her to avoid what should be certain elimination), when in any given season other girls with the same 'offenses' would most assuredly be eliminated.

I first noticed this with Eva, when Tyra went to great lengths to 'talk up' Eve's VOICE during the ANTM Japanese canned food item shoot -- acting for all the world as if Ms. Pigford's speaking voice was on par even with Tyra's herself (Tyra is absolutely tops in every conceivable way, with no noteworthy faults whatsoever -- her high forehead not bothering me in the slightest).

This simply must have been a ploy to save her from elimination, for Eva's voice isn't great in the slightest (in fact it's merely 'passable' as that of a 'spokesmodel'). And low and behold, when eliminations came around, Eva was not one of the bottom two, as she should have been, given her dismal performance during the commercial shoot, but near the TOP!! Next, I witnessed the sub-par attitude of Ya-Ya time and again overlooked in order to propel her into the top two. This young lady finally actually offended us all when she spat out the same Japanese food item in the same commercial shoot as Eva, and had already been given chance after chance to improve her poor performance. This should have been the final straw -- yet, again, behavior that would have long since resulted in other girls making a hasty exit from the show was somehow not given proper weight seemingly in order to ensure her advancement.

At this point I began to lose interest in the show as a whole, as I could clearly see that the adjudication process wasn't entirely on the up and up. And I actually ceased to watch the show live (opting to catch it during the annual marathons on other networks) when Lisa was suddenly let go during cycle 5 (I think) for dubious reasons that would have been overlooked had Tyra been as enamored of her as she (or, to be fair, other judges) had been some of the girls previously mentioned.

I decided to give the show yet another chance in cycle 6 -- only to see the eventual winner, Danielle, again 'propped' up time after time, even as she sported perhaps the worst speaking voice in history. During the finale she even alluded to it herself, stating the she would work on her speaking in the future. Yet she had an entire season to offer at least some improvement, and none was forthcoming. And this directly identifies the pattern mentioned above.

Sometimes speech matters and other times it does not. During certain seasons 'attitude' is paramount, while in a subsequent 'cycle' it seemingly doesn't matter in the least. There simply is no consistency in (the judging process of) this show (other than the outstanding art direction and general 'fabulousness' of Jay and Jay). Personally, I find this inexcusable, and feel it wouldn't be the case were Tyra not allowed to unduly influence the outcome.

I completely understand the need for the producers to keep certain personality types and a certain amount of 'conflict' in the model house to ensure 'good television' -- and that's not at all to what I'm objecting. I would find it easier to tolerate elimination based on each specific week's performance rather than concocting some bogus reason merely because the person who deserved to go was Tyra's (or some other judge's) favorite (when her performance that week clearly didn't merit her continued participation).

And finally, having already touted Jay's art direction, I must offer a criticism for him as well. It seems that when he decides he doesn't like a certain girl he simply will not work with her -- leaving her to her own devices (and ultimate destruction) while going overboard to offer support and encouragement to others, which cannot be construed as equable (or equitable). This being a competition, albeit one including a great many 'green' young women, should ensure that each participant gets either equal instruction and comparable advice/treatment or none at all, and I have not found this to be the case.

Nonetheless, I do think that Tyra herself absolutely rocks. She is a most admirable woman and may in time even give the almighty Oprah a run for her 1.3 (or so) Billion. She's at her best one on one -- when dispensing sage wisdom to the 'contestants' -- and possesses much more than merely satisfactory skills in seemingly every arena of the entertainment world. Tyra's ANTM is filling a vital niche in television programming and can be enormous fun at times. My comments and general 'dissatisfaction' with ANTM should therefore be regarded in the spirit with which I submitted them: affectionate constructive criticism.

Valley of the Dolls (1967)

No flick is for literally EVERYone...

[7/10 · 5 December 2004]

I find it interesting that so many feel it is essential to lambaste a film like VOTD. It is what it is -- and, like it or not, it does "work."

Is it dated? Well, let me answer that by asking the eternal question, "Does Raggedy Ann have cotton BOOBIES?" (Perhaps they're polyester, but you get the...uh -- point.) One simply cannot view all movies the same way -- let alone expect the same 'standards' for/from them. Were some of you anticipating Shakespeare or perhaps 'The Lion in Winter' when viewing VOTD?

This film sought to depict the PERCEIVED lives of entertainment professionals of the era, and in most ways it succeeds. Anyone worthy of his PEOPLE magazine subscription knows full-well that a great many such individuals lead tawdry lives and quite regularly spout inane, and mundane (not to mention SO VERY lame) bits of 'dialogue' ...

And has there ever -- and I do mean EVER -- been a bio of such a person that did NOT include the requisite drug addictions and 'rite-of-passage' stay at Betty Ford (or its predecessors), abortions, suicide attempts, medical emergencies, or otherwise 'near-tragic' near-endings?

There are many questions one really must ask himself when attempting to absorb fare such as this. And I actually believe that at least on one level VOTD is bona fide brilliant. Consider from whose point of view this material is seen. What did the consumers of entertainers expect or presume about the lives of 'stars' and public persons based on the limited blurbs of truth, rumor and innuendo leaked out in the 60's?

This flick is attempting to convey the general theme that people of that ilk and the lengths to which they were willing to go to achieve or maintain their perceived "status" were simply 'NOT TO BE BELIEVED' ... And finding fault with the production design or style of images filmed in the late 1960s is simply irrelevant in a story about people from (not to mention filmed in) that era!

One should also consider whether or not it was possible for the average viewer to have -- in any sense -- a "realistic" image of individuals who occupied this starry realm in a time long before 'Biography,' 'The E! True Hollywood Story,' and 'VH1's Behind the Music' ... With free love bustin' out all over why on earth would the people out there 'in the dark' want or expect those giant heads to look, act, or sound like the person sitting beside them (or those pitiful small, shrunken-by-censors heads from television)?

And if the hindsight of such expository cable programs today have told us anything at all about 'celebrities' it's that their lives actually ARE -- in so very many ways -- clichés!

By my accounting VOTD got it right -- exactly right. And I'll stake my film school (AND academic) education(s) and unfailing, critical eye on that. I love this film. Is it one of the ten best films of all time? Well, no -- it certainly isn't. But it IS one of my ten most favorite films of all time. (And not only should the theme song have been nominated for 'Song of the year' by the Academy -- it should have WON the Oscar... And I'll stake my undergrad music major education on THAT! It never ceases to amaze me how consistently the voters get that category exactly WRONG...)