Well, I was off today and decided to take a break from political discourse for a while. My wife, my daughter and I went to the movies.

I haven't gotten too deeply into family stuff on here other than a poem here and there. But I'm a VERY lucky man! I have a beautiful wife, Susan, who is crazy enough to love me even with all my faults. My son, Charlie, wants to be president someday so he can fix the world. Personally I'd rather see him as the Secretary General of the United Nations because I think that's where the future of the world will ultimately be decided. My beautiful daughter, Susanne, wants to be a movie star. She auditioned for the part in the current movie, "Hairspray." She wanted the part of the character Rikki Lake played in the original, Tracy.

She was disappointed when she didn't get the part. She is so talented and she would have been GREAT as Tracy. BUT, the casting folks went another way and we went today to watch the movie.

They picked Nikki Blonsky, a bubbly, cute and talented new actress to play Tracy. She did a spectacular job. She's 4'11" and my daughter is 5'7" and I think that may be one of the reasons Nikki was chosen. Part of the charm of that character is the "look" and she fit perfectly.

John Travolta was great, as always. The apparatus and make-up required to make him look like a 400 pound woman was a triumph. Christopher Walken was magnificent. He is unique and casting made the right choice with him. Michelle Pfeiffer did a good job as the evil antagonist and Queen Latifa's performance was marvelous.

I am a poet and a songwriter. I once attempted to write a musical with a musician in Memphis. I thought it was great but he didn't see the characters in my songs or my lyrics as the perfect match for his original music so it was destined to be a cassette in a file somewhere in my vast storehouse of words, music and thoughts which may never see the light of day or grace the stages of Broadway.

But I LOVE musicals! There, I'm out of the closet! The overweight, bearded Vietnam Vet you have all known is a sucker for musicals! Oh, the shame! But I'll get over it.

Anyway, back to the review. Sorry for that brief rant about my personal life.

"Hairspray" is a MASTERPIECE of energy, fun, song and dance. There's a young black man named Elijah Kelly who is destined for GREATNESS. Even with all the big star power in this feature, he almost stole the show. His smile shines like the sun and he reminded me of a young Sammy Davis, Jr. I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of this guy. Amanda Bynes played Tracy's best friend and she was magic as was Allison Janney (Of "West Wing" fame) as the prudish, over-protective mother.

It was a joy to watch all these performers dancing and singing their way through a great script. I forgot for a time about all the seriousness in the world and it was wonderful!

The only way it could have been better would have been if I'd been watching my precious "Suzy" acting her heart out as Tracy. But her time will come. She is talented and driven.

Go see "Hairspray" everyone! It will lighten your heart for a time and make you smile. I give it Five Stars our of Five Stars!