For a star-studded big-budget musical, Hairspray does a nice job of retaining the funky sweetness of the original.
Hairspray
When you follow your own beat, the world will follow you.
2007 · 1h 57m · PG
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Directed by
Adam Shankman
Overview
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.
Director and cast
- Adam Shankman Director
- John Travolta as Edna Turnblad
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle
- Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad
- Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton
- James Marsden as Corny Collins
- Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle
- Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle
- Zac Efron as Link Larkin
- Elijah Kelley as Seaweed
- Allison Janney as Prudy Pringleton
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Bright, campy and wonderfully light, Hairspray reminds us that fun comes in all shapes and sizes. It's also one of the few 'event' movies this summer that doesn't outstay its welcome. That's worth singing about, no matter what your name is.
Waters cultists have ample reason to be wary, but the film retains a surprisingly subversive edge that undercuts its blinding surface gloss.
It's amiable, it's bouncy, it's got a sweet unknown in the lead flanked by a cast of bankable stars and, providing as it does an amiable and bouncy and sweet escape from a summer's worth of clunky blockbusters.
Hairspray is an infectious aerosol comedy with nearly every hair in place.
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