Go, Ricki!

We love Ricki Lake. Ever since she made her name as Tracy Turnblad in John Waters’s original Hairspray, she sang, danced, and shook her fabulous fanny all the way into our hearts. Even when she was giving a televised platform to reluctant baby daddies and plastic-surgery junkies on her eponymous talk show, we still loved her. Why? Because she’s a supremely relatable star. She’s bubbly and bright, and we can see a reflection of ourselves in her. Which is why we’re so psyched to see her latest project, The Business of Being Born.

Lake’s film took three years to complete and reveals her controversial and dismaying discoveries about the childbirth industry. According to the film, there are ugly financial motivations behind the upsurge in C-section births and epidurals. Lake chose to deliver her second child at home, in her bathtub, with a midwife present. The screening is being hosted by the Women and Children’s Healthcare Access Fund and will benefit uninsured women and children of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. See it tonight at the Tower Theater, 1508 SW Eighth St., Miami. The screening begins at 6:30, and VIP admission ranges from $100 to $250. Saturday’s showing is more affordable, with prepurchased tickets going for $10, and $15 at the box office; pregnant women and midwifery students get in free. Call 305-663-5555 for tickets, and visit www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com to see an amazing trailer.
Fri., Feb. 1, 2008