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For some strange reason, movie cum musical films have been on the rise again, especially with shows like High School Musical and its sequel in recent times. While most might find such shows corny, there’s still no doubt that they’re relatively popular among families as they make great movies for families to enjoy together. Just recently, another musical cum film was released, simply entitled Hairspray (2007).

Sure, it’s a pretty unexpected title, and doesn’t really tell much about the movie. Honestly, even after watching the entire movie, I think it still doesn’t exactly tell anything about the movie. Inappropriate title aside, this is actually a pretty good show. It is set in 1962, Baltimore, at a time when trends of racism are highly prevelant. In essence, the show initially shows how blacks were discrimnated against, with a local TV show naming a certain day of the week “Negro Day” with its producer being an extremely racist White. In the end, it’s thanks to the actions of a “pleasantly plump” high school student, Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), that such trends of racism in Baltimore finally erode away. As to the details of the movie, you’ll have to watch it yourself as I’d rather not spoil the movie for most people here.

Of course, the thing that separates this movie from others is the “musical” part of it. Practically every 5 to 10 minutes or so, the actors and actresses on screen will break into a song and dance, while these are far from those songs that you’d find in everyday pop culture, they definitely cater to a wide audience since they’re pleasant to the ears. Yet, this is precisely what plagues the songs: they simply sound too common, the songs just aren’t that worth listening to since there are many other songs out there that will be preferred by each individual. Hence, it reaches a point late in the movie whereby you just wish they’d stop having a song and dance what seems to be every few minutes and you almost dread the next song since it’ll be as boring as every one you’ve heard in the past hour or so.

That being said, the songs aren’t exactly that bad till the point where they drag the whole movie down with them, and some will still definitely find them nice. To each his/her own I guess. However, on the whole the rest of the show still pretty much makes it worth watching: the plot is pretty well thought out, the acting is top notch, and it’s just simply hilarious to watch John Travolta act as fat woman (Tracy’s Mum). However, for those of you who still prefer the “traditional” type of films without all these “extra” songs and dances, I’d suggest you stay away from Hairspray since it’ll undoubtedly get on your nerves after awhile.

On the whole, this show will definitely remind most Americans that the (relative) peace between races nowadays was hard fought for since it was far from like that in the past. However, the way in which Hairspray (2007) tells this tale is a very charming one with a musical theme to it. For families looking out for a film that everyone can enjoy together, check out this film. For others, I’d suggest you rent it first.

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The first movie, High School Musical, was a hit among younger children when it was broadcast on TV last year. For those who still don’t know, High School Musical is a “made-for-TV” movie/musical about the life at a high school (as the name suggests). Throughout the film the actors and actresses will constantly break into a song all of a sudden, as one would expect in a musical except there’s still plenty of dialogue. It was so successful that a sequel has been released more than a year later, aptly named High School Musical 2.

This time, instead of focusing around school life, the film centers around how the characters spend their time during the summer at a country club owned by one of their classmates. She’s mainly after the male protagonist Troy Bolton (played by Zac Efron) and invites him to work at her country club. However, she’s inevitably forced to hire all his friends as well, which makes for very interesting occurrences at the country club. I’ll leave out the details here, so as to not spoil the movie for everyone.

Just like the first movie, the sequel will definitely appeal to younger children, maybe around the age of 8 to 13. It has a pretty simple story line that children who have watched the first movie will have no problems keeping up with the story here. Yet, while it might be pretty simple, the storyline allows for the actors to break into a song now and then, making the show really feel like a musical. The songs here are pretty good as well, as one would expect from one of Disney’s most successful made-for-TV movies. There are both slow and catchy songs that will appeal to all sorts of people, not only children. My favourite would have to be the song which Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) sings mostly solo. It has a really nice melody and Vanessa adds to that with her great voice.

This film has really been a great success, with Disney also releasing junior novels which have already sold millions around the world. The film also set a new basic cable record upon its premiere, with a total of 17.24 million viewers tuning in, almost 10 million more than the debut of High School Musical, making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast of all time. With the soundtrack of the first movie reaching quadruple platinum, one can only imagine how well the soundtrack for this movie is going to sell. All in all, High School Musical 2 (2007) is a great movie for any kid out there with it simple yet intriguing plot and catchy songs.

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