Hair

True, I have seen this movie more times than I'd like to admit. But the lovely Miss Chelsea had NOT, and on a drunken Friday night, what else are you going to reach for on the DVD shelf? It was this or Mamma Mia!, and frankly, there's no comparison. (I actually really love that movie as well, but I can talk about that another time.)

If you haven't seen Hair, you have really missed a magical wonder of the 1970s. The movie is based -- I would argue loosely -- on the 1968 musical about hippie culture and Vietnam. I say "loosely" because if you're familiar with the musical on stage at all, the film will probably surprise you. On stage, the show is wall to wall music and seemingly formless. The film is far more structured, contains about a third of the music, and some of the song lyrics are even altered to make the plot more cohesive. If you have the option to see either and you're not sure you're into the whole experimental musical idea, I suggest you start with the film. It's like, stoned-lite. Contrary to some questionable college productions of the show that shall not be named, the musical is meant to be a kick-ass trip down freedom lane. So if you can't handle loose plot structure and fluid shifting form, probs not for you.


Give it a try! As Chelsea pointed out, it's like a way superior version of Across the Universe. She might have only made the connection, and I might have added the superlatives. But it's true! If you've seen the latter, you will notice a lot of pilfering, er, um.... parallels. It's ridic. Guess which one's in my collection?