‘Hairspray’ Offers a Penny for Our Thoughts

Ever since Logan Hill profiled Nikki Blonsky in our Summer Fun issue, we’ve been kind of psyched about the Hairspray movie. Would John Travolta pull off the Edna Turnblad role as well as Harvey Fierstein? Would the flick be as un-gay as Travolta promised? Most important, would we snag some can’t-stop-the-beat swag?

Our last question was answered yesterday when Play Along’s Penny Pingleton doll arrived at the office. This Barbie-esque figure sports long blonde pigtails, wears a schoolgirl jumper (based on the costume of the Amanda Bynes character and not, the Fug Girls will be happy to note, designed by the actress herself), carries a little white dog, and comes with a can of, you guessed it, hairspray.

Now, true, we are technically in the “4 and up� demo indicated on the box — and sometimes we do still like to play with toys —but frankly, we find this marketing ploy a bit laughable. As does everyone who walks past our desk. Also, no offense to the What a Girl Wants star, but of all the actors in the movie … she’s, well, not exactly what any girl (or guy) here wants. As our co-worker Jada Yuan put it, “I totally would have kept the Queen Latifah doll.�

But we suppose it’ll have to do. After all, something’s gotta entertain us until August when we get our Bon Jovi action figures. —Lori Fradkin