This week Chris Deacy is joined by Daisy Page to discuss the films; Hairspray, Shrek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Legally Blonde.
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00:00 [Music]
00:13 Hello and welcome to Kent Film Club.
00:15 I'm Chris Deasy and each week I'll be joined by a guest from Kent to dive deep into the
00:20 impact certain films have had on their life.
00:23 Each guest will reflect on the films which have meant the most to them over the years.
00:28 And every week there will be a Kent Film Trivia where we quiz you at home about a film that
00:33 has a connection to the county.
00:36 And now let me introduce you to my guest for this week.
00:39 Joining the KMTV team after completing her studies in wildlife conservation, outside
00:44 the office her hobbies include art, running and yoga.
00:48 She is Daisy Page.
00:51 Welcome Daisy.
00:52 Hello.
00:53 I don't know your selection of films but you've started with Hairspray.
00:58 Why have you chosen this film?
01:00 So Hairspray for the longest I can remember really has always been one of my favourite
01:04 movies.
01:05 I don't actually know quite why it was one of my favourite movies as a kid but it's something
01:10 you know when you can just watch something over and over again even though I know all
01:13 the words to it, probably all the musical numbers to it.
01:15 I could just keep watching it forever and I just had to add it as my top one really.
01:20 Because there are many times I've walked into the living room where my children are and
01:23 they're watching this film and I was like I think that's John Travolta because that
01:27 meant nothing to them because they're like eight or nine.
01:29 But it's a very funny film and of course based on the musical so is there a musical connection
01:36 there?
01:37 Did you sort of see the film in its own right or is it the antecedents that sort of drew
01:41 you to this?
01:42 I think it was a little bit of everything.
01:43 I think at the time it was very different but yeah I think the music, I love a musical
01:48 whether that's like going to see a show live or on the TV I've always loved a musical and
01:53 especially around Christmas time when they start to come out as well.
01:55 It's one of my favourite times and I always say to my parents I'm like they never make
01:59 movies like big musicals anymore and I think that's one thing that I just love to keep
02:04 watching it because you have that music and it just never changes and all the dance and
02:08 also the story behind it, it all kind of relates and flows really nicely.
02:13 Is it set in, am I right in thinking, a different era, an earlier era but of course it has lots
02:19 of resonances for now so it's sort of very sort of like 60s but has a lot that will appeal
02:25 to people today?
02:26 Yeah I think so and I think the big point of it is just how much TV has changed and
02:31 it shows that through that just in such an amazing way and you have so many different
02:35 stories through it.
02:36 And another thing I really like about it which is so silly because it's set back in the day
02:40 is just the clothing in it, I just love watching the dresses when they all come out for the
02:44 competition especially in the end scene.
02:47 Amber wears this yellow dress and I've always been in love with it and when I see it it's
02:50 just something that I'm like wow that's amazing.
02:53 I think there are always films that we grew up with but also films that sort of grow up
02:57 with us and is there that sort of sense that this is a film that is kind of timeless for
03:03 you, do you sort of watch it and get something different out of it each time?
03:06 Is it a film that sometimes you sort of have in that go-to box or is it a film that comes
03:14 out for special occasions?
03:17 When and why would you watch Hairspray?
03:19 Oh that's a really good question.
03:21 So Hairspray is one for me that when I was younger I used to watch on repeat all the
03:25 time whereas now I'll kind of forget about it and then when it comes out on a streaming
03:29 platform and you see it and I'll be like I need to watch that and I need to watch it
03:33 but right now there's no other movie that I want to watch or if I go around my parents
03:36 and they see it on that's what we have to watch because they just know it's my go-to
03:40 favourite thing.
03:41 So I don't think there's a special occasion for it, I think it's just when I see it and
03:44 everyone around me knows that I love it, it just kind of gets put on.
03:48 But because there's an earlier version isn't there of this?
03:50 I think John Waters was involved in this earlier on.
03:53 So Hairspray has a different kind of generational point of reference but this is the one that
03:59 obviously appeals to you, the most recently made one.
04:03 Yeah, so I've actually never watched the original as such.
04:06 I've watched this and I've watched one of the live musicals as well but I think if there
04:13 was a new one made I don't know if I could watch it.
04:15 I think I'd just have to stick with this because you know when something is new and you've
04:19 got new characters it just doesn't feel the same.
04:20 I feel like I have an attachment to the characters which sounds so bizarre but when the characters
04:24 have changed it's like oh it's not the same movie, it's not the same thing.
04:28 And you've summed it up really well when you mentioned that this is the sort of film at
04:31 a certain point that you'll watch, it's always going to be on repeat or whatever.
04:35 Because we all have those guilty pleasures or whatever it is.
04:38 But is there something in particular, one of the scenes or one of the characters, one
04:41 of the musical numbers that for you really encapsulates the essence of Hairspray?
04:46 I think I know she's the main character so there's two.
04:48 My favourite character was Penny which was her best friend and then I think I love Tracy
04:53 as well.
04:54 She's the main character and I just love her attitude.
04:56 She just wants to change, she has these barriers put up against her.
05:02 Her parents don't want her to go on a TV show because they're worried about what people
05:05 think about her and she just doesn't care.
05:08 That's her dream and she's going to go for it.
05:10 And what I like about Penny is that her friend is going into the limelight and she's encouraging
05:14 her, she's not getting jealous, she's going along, she's helping her no matter what risk
05:18 that puts her in.
05:19 And I think that's what I just love about it is their two friendships in particular
05:23 and how they encourage each other and that they're not going to let people put them down
05:28 and they're just going to go for what they want.
05:30 And do you see yourself in any of the characters?
05:34 Ooh, I'm not sure.
05:36 I wouldn't say I see myself in them but I see myself being inspired by them I think.
05:41 Because I love the attitudes of everyone that they want change, that they're helping each
05:45 other and I think it more inspires me rather than seeing myself as them.
05:49 And so your biggest inspirational character in Hairspray would be?
05:53 Ooh, I think Seaweed because he's in love with Penny and that was quite a controversial
05:59 relationship at the time but their relationship, they didn't care, they were going for it.
06:03 And Penny comes from quite a difficult family and she wasn't allowed to be in a relationship
06:09 but Seaweed goes and rescues her and they just end up being in love.
06:12 Well great choice, thank you.
06:14 Daisy it's time now to move on to your second chosen film and you've gone for Shrek.
06:20 This is another movie.
06:21 It was a bit of a funny one considering I'm an adult but this actually came out when my
06:26 birth year and it was one of the number ones I've just watched throughout life and again
06:31 I can watch now and happily I know all the words to it but it's just a feel good movie.
06:35 You could continuously watch it and still laugh at it.
06:38 And I'm just noticing that we're all in green, Shrek included and I genuinely did not know
06:43 that this was coming up.
06:45 Now I saw this in the early 2000s at the cinema.
06:48 When was the first time you saw Shrek?
06:49 I'm actually not too sure.
06:51 That's actually a really good point.
06:52 I've never watched it at the cinema, I've always watched it at home but I don't actually
06:56 remember.
06:57 That's a really good point.
06:58 I just remember watching it.
07:00 I actually remember watching it more recently compared to when I was younger actually which
07:05 is a bit strange.
07:06 Now because you've got the musical as well, is that something that you would watch?
07:11 Is it like we were saying in relation to Hairspray, that if there's another version of something
07:15 you're sometimes thinking is this right?
07:18 Do you want, will it spoil the magic or is it all sort of part of that magical experience?
07:23 I have actually seen the musical to Shrek as well.
07:27 And whilst I don't think in my personal opinion it's the same as the film, it doesn't mean
07:32 that it's any less better.
07:33 I loved it.
07:34 I think they made the musical just as magical and again they brought the humour along to
07:38 it.
07:39 They had the dragon flying over the audience.
07:42 So I think they both had magic but in just different ways.
07:45 Something I remember because this was really quite pioneering.
07:48 When it came out, I think in 2001 or so, that Eddie Murphy plays one of the characters.
07:54 I think he got a BAFTA nomination and it was the first time that somebody got a nomination
08:00 for a disembodied part because he does the voiceover.
08:03 So when it came out this felt quite different from a lot of animated films before it where
08:09 you almost really believed that this was Eddie Murphy that you were watching.
08:13 Yeah, I 100% agree.
08:15 I feel like Shrek, I always say this now when you watch it and you're like wow, this was
08:19 actually made in 2001 and the graphics are just amazing.
08:24 And I just think it's something that you can watch and it's a bit timeless and it was new
08:28 for its age.
08:29 Like it was something that was different.
08:32 It's for children, it's for adults, it's for everyone.
08:35 And I think having those voices, it was a very familiar voice as well because you now
08:39 watch them in movies and you're like, I recognise that.
08:41 And everyone's like, oh he played that character in Shrek.
08:44 And it's just something that you kind of get a name from being in this movie and even though
08:49 you've not seen, you're heard.
08:52 And I think that's just something that proves that you don't need to be in something to
08:55 be making an impact.
08:57 Now there are something like, was it half a dozen Shrek films?
09:02 So is this one, have you seen any of the others?
09:05 How did the others compare?
09:08 So I love this one, the second one, the fourth one.
09:12 I'm not too sure about the one with Rumpelstiltskin in because I just think he's a bit creepy
09:17 and I didn't really get the geese.
09:19 I know that's to do with Rumpelstiltskin but I don't think that one was my cup of tea really.
09:23 But the originals I really liked, like one and two, the storyline with Fiona and Shrek
09:28 and Donkey, getting to meet all their characters, I just think they're brilliant.
09:33 Because every generation a film will come along that kind of speaks to that generation.
09:38 I suppose you had Monster's Inc around this same sort of period as well and Toy Story
09:42 most certainly.
09:43 But every generation will have its kind of go-to animated character.
09:48 And so why do you think Shrek really stands out for you?
09:53 I think it really stands out because you have something a bit different.
09:56 You have that really grumpy, miserable character at the beginning and usually when you watch
10:01 cartoons or, yeah, cartoons, a lot of the time you meet this really happy character,
10:07 happy going, everything's going well and then life goes bad.
10:10 Where with Shrek, his life isn't, like he's happy with his life but he's a bit grouchy
10:15 and then you see the story unravel.
10:17 He doesn't want anyone in his life and then Donkey comes along and he's like, 'You'll
10:21 be in a pain, I don't want you around.'
10:22 And you kind of see their relationship develop and Shrek grows as a character really.
10:27 He meets Fiona, he doesn't want to go and rescue her but then he meets her and he falls
10:31 in love and you see how he kind of develops and changes throughout the movie and I think
10:37 that's what I like about it.
10:38 It's just a bit different even though it kind of has a lot of the same what other cartoons
10:41 have with obviously the love and the friendship.
10:44 You see it in a different way where he doesn't want it but then he grows to like it.
10:49 And do you think you can get something different out of it as an adult than you would have
10:53 done or did do as a child?
10:55 I would say yeah, even though I can get a lot of the same things I did like the humour,
11:01 the comfort and those things.
11:03 I think when you watch it back each time in different stages of your life you can kind
11:07 of relate to it a bit.
11:08 You know when he ends up having friends or sometimes he doesn't want friends or loses
11:13 friends I think those are types of things you can kind of relate to as you go through
11:17 life and you're watching a cartoon, something that doesn't really exist go through it and
11:22 I think that's what brings the comfort that you see when you have a child or when you're
11:26 an adult as well.
11:27 Brilliant, well thank you Daisy.
11:28 That's about all the time we have for this first half of the show.
11:32 However before we go to the break we have a Kent film trivia question for you at home.
11:38 Which film does the Kent-born actress Emma Corrin star in alongside pop singer Harry
11:43 Styles?
11:44 Is it A) Dunkirk, B)
11:47 Don't Worry Darling or C)
11:49 My Policeman?
11:51 We'll reveal the answer right after this break.
11:53 Don't go away.
12:05 Hello and welcome back to Kent Film Club.
12:08 Just before the ad break we asked you at home a Kent film trivia question.
12:13 Which film does the Kent-born actress Emma Corrin star in alongside pop singer Harry
12:18 Styles?
12:19 I asked is it A) Dunkirk, B)
12:22 Don't Worry Darling or C)
12:24 My Policeman?
12:25 And now I can reveal to you that the answer was in fact C)
12:30 My Policeman.
12:31 Emma Corrin, born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, was cast in her role after Lily James left
12:36 the project.
12:37 Did you get the answer right?
12:40 Well it's time now Daisy to move on to your next chosen film and you've gone for Guardians
12:46 of the Galaxy.
12:47 Yeah, so I was a bit stuck to pick for one of my movies so I messaged my parents actually
12:53 and was like what type of movies do I like?
12:56 And my mum and dad instantly said Marvel movies.
12:59 So this is just kind of like an umbrella for the Marvel movie in general.
13:03 So Marvel movies are quite like a nice connection between me and my dad because every time one
13:06 is released me and him go and see it in the cinema.
13:09 We do have a running joke that my mum's not invited because she talks in the cinema unfortunately.
13:12 So when we go to see Marvel movies it's just me and my dad so we can go and enjoy it together.
13:17 Does she talk during all movies or just Marvel films?
13:20 Just Marvel movies because no matter how many times she watches it she forgets who the characters
13:24 are so she'll be like is that Iron Man?
13:26 And you'll be like no mum that is not Iron Man and it's just like that throughout the
13:29 whole movie.
13:30 So she's allowed to watch them at home with us but when we go to the cinema it's just
13:33 me and my dad.
13:34 I've had some fascinating experiences watching Marvel films with people who are kind of like
13:38 one step ahead of everyone else and having this out of body experience.
13:42 But it sounds like you've had them too.
13:46 But the soundtrack in Guardians of the Galaxy is actually awesome.
13:50 In all of those films they've got these big 70s classics and they do something with them
13:55 that kind of then appeals to a completely new audience.
13:58 Yeah I think the big datement piece for Guardians of the Galaxy throughout the whole movies
14:03 is just their volume sets.
14:05 So you've got I think volume 1, volume 2, volume 3 now which you can find on Spotify,
14:09 CD, Vinyls and everyone just loves them.
14:11 And I remember going to the cinema and you're sitting there and then the opening scene is
14:15 happening and you have this song and everyone's like this is a really familiar song and it
14:19 was just amazing.
14:20 And I think what I really liked about it as well you're listening to it through his headset
14:25 so when he takes his headset off the music stops but then he puts it back on and it starts
14:28 again.
14:29 So you're kind of watching him listen to it but you're listening to it and I think that's
14:33 what actually really makes it a really cool thing because usually when you're listening
14:38 to the music it's coming out of the car, it's coming out of the headphones, it's not just
14:41 playing in the background, it's correlated to the movie.
14:44 Yeah that's a really good point actually.
14:45 I know that Scorsese did a lot of that and Tarantino as well and you're right that there's
14:50 something about the way that we're then immersed in this that we're listening to what they're
14:54 listening to in the same way.
14:55 But also my memory of particularly watching the first Guardians of the Galaxy is that
15:00 it starts with a boy, there's loss in his life, there's a death and the film kind of
15:04 takes you on an adventure.
15:05 It's a bit like The Wizard of Oz in that sense I thought that not these great otherworldly
15:09 things happen and it has lots of fantasy and invokes the imagination but there's something
15:15 in there that is really about human loss and how we cope with that and that was kind of
15:22 the hook that worked for me.
15:23 Yeah I actually 100% agree.
15:25 It's only really occurred to me now when you're talking about it.
15:28 I experienced loss quite young, I think five year old when I was actually introduced to
15:32 it and I think that's when he was introduced to it as well and I think it's kind of nice
15:36 that he could kind of go away and he didn't really experience grief because I think when
15:41 you're younger you don't really understand it as much so I think it was kind of nice
15:45 to see it for a kid's eyes that you go and you kind of live your life but you never really
15:50 understand it.
15:51 You're older, that that person's gone but you've kind of lived your life now so yeah
15:56 that's a really interesting point.
15:58 And also this is the sort of film because obviously there are three of them to date
16:01 and this is the sort of film that you can watch with a big audience, maybe with certain
16:06 people not invited but when you watch this does it sort of like grow with you?
16:11 How does this compare to all the other Marvel films because often characters appear from
16:14 other Marvel films in this.
16:16 There's that sort of like the running joke almost that somebody will appear in one film
16:20 that you wouldn't necessarily expect to see and then they disappear again but what is
16:24 it that really kind of works about this franchise in particular?
16:29 I think I love a character development moment and I think with the three movies you kind
16:35 of get an insight to each character a little bit more with obviously the third one being
16:38 Rocket and his journey.
16:40 I forgot the guy on the end what his name is called but I love his obviously he lost
16:45 his family and it was about revenge but then he kind of finds a new family and he makes
16:50 friends with these and his kind of journey was to get revenge but then it was just kind
16:54 of to just go on a journey and live in the moment with these lot and I think that's what
17:00 I really like about it is that you see a lot of these people angry from their past but
17:05 then they find their own family and just kind of want to live in the moment rather than
17:09 kind of just live for the anger and the revenge and I think that's really nice.
17:13 Yeah because there are some journeys that are about the destination and some journeys
17:17 are about the journey itself and I guess watching these films it's quite sort of circuitous.
17:23 You don't always know quite where it's going but the journey along the way and all the
17:26 different people and the assortment of characters that they meet along the way is kind of exciting.
17:31 I suppose Labyrinth did that in the late 80s which was a beautiful film using different
17:35 Muppet characters.
17:36 I love that movie.
17:37 That is actually one of my mum's favourite movies and weirdly in my family we always
17:42 say it's a Christmas movie because it's always on around Christmas time and I don't
17:45 actually think it correlates to Christmas at all but Labyrinth, yeah, it's one of those
17:49 movies that you can watch and we find it hilarious because you watch it back and it's just so
17:54 bizarre and again with the imagination of these people who've created it, it's just
17:58 so crazy.
17:59 And there's a very big link because you're watching Guardians of the Galaxy and that's
18:04 the film that it made me…
18:05 And I actually saw Labyrinth Christmas Eve on the TV in 1989 so that for me was almost
18:11 like the way in to Guardians of the Galaxy, different generation but kind of the same
18:16 adventure.
18:17 I thought that's so peculiar because my family have always had a love for Labyrinth
18:20 and always had a love for Guardians of the Galaxy but I've never actually seen them
18:24 correlating before but now you've said that you kind of go on the adventure but you don't
18:28 know where the end point is really and I think that's the nice connection between it.
18:32 Well there we've got two films out of one.
18:34 Well it's time now Daisy to move on to your final chosen film and oh I saw this in 2001
18:40 at the cinema and I loved Legally Blonde.
18:42 Legally Blonde is just…
18:44 I had to pick a chick flick so I looked up some of them and this one just stood out to
18:50 me because it is just a woman living her best life and there's nothing more that you can
18:55 love than that.
18:56 Yeah and it appears on lots of philosophy courses as well.
18:59 This is sort of…
19:00 I know that she's…
19:01 Is it law that she wants to practice?
19:02 And of course she's dismissed in this film as someone who doesn't fit the archetype
19:07 of what it would be to be a law student but of course she excels in this.
19:11 But there's something very uplifting, it's a very feminist movie but it's about empowerment
19:16 isn't it?
19:17 Yeah so what I love about this movie is that she actually goes to law to chase after her
19:22 ex-boyfriend who broke up with her to go to there.
19:25 She goes there and finds out he's in a new relationship and rather than just dropping
19:29 out she actually starts to enjoy it and then she goes ahead and does it and she starts
19:34 making friends because she moved to go to this school and she makes friends with the
19:38 nail lady who's a little bit insecure of herself, she's just been through a breakup
19:41 as well, lost her dog so each of them go to the caravan and she's practicing her law
19:51 and they get the dog back and I think that's just one of the most powerful scenes is that
19:54 two women have just gone through something really bad but they've come together to
19:58 kind of get themselves out of it and help each other regain their confidence.
20:02 And the thing that I remember most from this is that idea that if you really want to do
20:07 something, if you have a dream, you can do it irrespective of what convention tells you
20:13 that you're allowed to do and this really worked.
20:18 At the time that this came out it felt really so refreshing.
20:21 Yeah I think because Legally Blonde, her whole icon is just being pink and I think when she,
20:28 there's a really iconic scene where she's walking up the steps and everyone's walking
20:31 down in their grey and black suits and she's walking up in a bright pink suit with her
20:35 little chihuahua in her bag and no one's even taken notice of her which is what I think
20:40 is quite interesting is that you can go and do these different things and just do it because
20:46 no one's actually going to be watching you.
20:48 Go and do it, don't let these stereotypes hold you back.
20:51 And there's the stage musical, I saw the sequel, the first sequel with Sally Field in it.
20:57 I'm not sure I've seen Legally Blonde 3 but have you seen any of those?
21:01 I haven't gone to see the musical actually, probably the first movie I haven't gone to
21:05 see but I have seen Legally Blonde 2.
21:09 I must have seen Legally Blonde 3 but I can't really remember what it's about but I remember
21:14 Legally Blonde 2 again is about, obviously she has a little chihuahua and she finds out
21:19 that his mum is in a lab being tested on and the whole story is about her coming together
21:25 with her friends from home so fit in the stereotype of being really girly girls but they come
21:31 together and use different ways like mob dances to kind of raise awareness and break these
21:38 dogs out of the situation they're in.
21:41 So I really like it because it's going against what you're usually told to go and do and
21:45 they're thinking outside the box and they get it done still.
21:49 And is it one of those films that you watch it and you, obviously you love it while you're
21:53 watching it but you almost want to do something differently to change your life in some way.
21:57 You almost think I want to do that, I wish I could be like Reese Witherspoon's character.
22:02 Has there ever been situations when you've thought of this film and felt empowered to
22:08 do something that maybe otherwise you wouldn't have done?
22:12 Every time I watch this movie I'm like I'm just going to go and do it.
22:14 I'm not going to care what other people think about me anymore every time I watch it.
22:18 It's just so inspiring even though she is a character that's completely made up, you
22:23 really correlate to her in some sense because she has all these barriers put up against
22:28 her but she just doesn't care, she doesn't see why she shouldn't be able to do it.
22:33 And a really iconic scene in it that her boyfriend is surprised that she got into law school
22:39 and she goes 'what, like it's hard?'
22:42 And I think that's just a really important point is that he was surprised because it
22:45 was her and she shouldn't have been able to get into it and she was like 'well it wasn't
22:48 hard, it wasn't difficult for me.'
22:50 And she's kind of just putting him down for thinking that about her and that's what I
22:54 just love.
22:55 So it's all about that sort of like flipping of gender expectations, flipping of stereotypes?
23:01 Yeah, I think most of my movies are just kind of a flipping of stereotypes really that I
23:06 really like about it.
23:07 You go and watch someone that's facing a challenge but they don't see that challenge themselves,
23:12 it's everyone else that sees that challenge about them and I think that's like a really
23:15 important thing is that if you don't see that challenge about yourself and no one should
23:20 really be seeing challenges about themselves but just go and do it.
23:24 No one's watching you and if people do doubt you, say what that's on them, they can go
23:29 and doubt you.
23:30 Absolutely, well thank you Daisy.
23:32 Well I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today.
23:35 Many thanks to Daisy Page for joining us and being such a brilliant guest and many
23:39 thanks to you all for tuning in.
23:41 Be sure to come back and join us again at the same time next week.
23:45 Until then, that's all from us.
23:47 Goodbye.
23:48 [Music]
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