Hairspray Remake is Good Clean Fun
New Film Provides Great Music, Something to Think About
Stars shine and supporting cast excels in this quirky, upbeat remake of the musical comedy.
Based on the 1988 John Waters cult film and the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Hairspray manages to maintain its eccentric storytelling qualities from the original film while broadening its appeal to a squeaky clean, mainstream musical movie-going audience. This new Hairspray isn’t a fine, light mist that easily evaporates, but rather a heavy application of larger-than-life characters broadly played by an all-star ensemble and hard-hitting issues delivered with a smile, a dance, and a musical flourish (which earned a Grammy nomination).
The Desire to Dance
Starring John Travolta as the plus-sized mother of teenager Tracy Turnblad, an equally hefty daughter (newcomer Nikki Blonsky), the film centers around the girl’s efforts to become a professional dancer on the “The Corny Collins Show,” the grooviest, hippest television program in early 1960’s Baltimore. Working against Tracy, however, are her short stature, excess poundage, and unusual family (Edna Turnblad hasn’t left the house for years because of her weight and her strange husband, Wilbur [Christopher Walken] runs a magic shop next door to their home). An outsider at school, her only friends are a sweet girl (Amanda Bynes) dominated by her abusive mother and a few black students who, like Tracy, are thrown into detention on a regular basis. During one of these detention visits, she discovers something else they have in common: They all love to dance.
When Tracy finally manages to win a spot on the dance show, against the wishes of network honcho Velma Von Tussel (Michelle Pfeiffer), she strives to integrate the show with her black dancer friends. Her radical ideas make her an outcast and an outlaw. Yet Tracy continues her attempts to usher in a new era of acceptance by participating on the show. She believes the people of Baltimore must confront their views on conformity – so that people with different body types, skin colors, and age variances can all work together.
The Ability to Sing
Rather than preaching about acceptance or evoking emotionalism to get the point across, this film uses humorous situations, clever song lyrics, and fun dance sequences to deliver its message. Blonsky radiates innocence and inner beauty in her role as the oppressed teen. Travolta keeps the laughs coming in his portrayal of an obese middle-aged housewife. Walken, Pfeiffer, and the rest of the supporting cast (including Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, and James Marsden) fully bring their characters to life. Only Bynes (as poor Penny Pingleton) is underutilized here; her enormous talent for comic delivery is suppressed for the first two acts (limited to lollypop licking and following Tracy around town), and isn’t allowed to emerge until the final few scenes.
Watch this movie for the lively music, stellar performances, and entertaining dance numbers. If nothing else, you’ll want to stay until the end to find out who finally wins the coveted title of “Miss Hairspray.”
- Hairspray
- Director: Adam Shankman
- Run time: 117 minutes
- Rating: PG
