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Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken
Rated: PG
Back in 1988 a movie called Hairspray was 'spritzed' on the big screen. Set against the significant and controversial backdrop of integration, it upstaged the topic with its raucous singing and dancing.
Former talk-show host Ricki Lake played the leading role of a pleasantly plump, exceptionally proficient teenage dancer, who takes Baltimore on a memorable ride into urban desegregation. Her mother, Edna Turnblad, was played by the famous transvestite, Divine, and Jerry Stiller played her father, Wilbur Turnblad. In addition, Deborah Harry, from the famous 80s rock band Blondie, played the notoriously conniving and seductive Velma Von Tussel.
Fast forward to the 2007 remake and we find the theme has remained the same, only the names and faces have changed...well sort of. Tracy Turnblad, played by newcomer, Nikki Blonsky, is a sweet, fun-loving, spunky teen, whose determination to change the mindset of Baltimore's conservative, white suburbanites is more than just a little infectious. It's outrageously heart-pounding, butt-slapping, and melodic. Her "nothing-will-ever-stop-me" attitude to earn a place on her favorite dance show, The Corny Collins Show, catapults her into a little more heat than she expects.
She's not a naughty student, per se, she just doesn't believe her hair should lay flat on the sides of her face. It's her "hair height" that lands her into detention, and thankfully so. For it's in detention where Tracy meets Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), an African American student, who introduces her to the very dance moves that earn her a shot on the dance show.
Tracy's home life is a bit avant-garde, to say the least. Her mother, a laundress, is played by (and no, this is not a misprint) John Travolta. This sort of casting makes one wonder, at first glance, if Hollywood is so hard up for an overweight, middle-aged actress who can sing and dance, that they needed to stuff Mr. Saturday Night Fever into a fat woman's body suit and dress him up like a drag queen. Believe it or not, it worked fantastically. John was unbelievably magnificent. Yes, he got more than his fair share of laughs, but it was all in good fun. Actually, in spite of the controversial theme, the whole show was real good, harmless, light-hearted jest.
Christopher Walken plays Tracy's father, Wilbur Turnblad, who owns a joke shop and supports his daughter's dream of dancing with her heartthrob, Link Larkin (Zac Efron), the Corny Collin Show's hotty. While all of this is going on, there are several delightful and some not-so-delightful subplots tinting the main story.
One subplot involves Penny Pinkerton (Amanda Bynes) and Seaweed's secret love affair. Amanda Bynes, whose been seen in previous screen work such as She's the Man, Robots and What a Girl Wants, plays Tracy's "Best Friend For Life". Her mother is a conservative Christian fundamentalist who is convinced that while Penny remains friends with Tracy, her insubordinate actions are equivalent to running with the Devil. Seaweed's mother, Motormouth Maybelle, (Queen Latifah) is only slightly less shocked with Seaweed and Penny's relationship, but she supports their being together.
Another subplot, that really echoes the calls of change about to occur during this period of the early 60s, is Corny Collin's desire to racially integrate his show. He sees the ratings and how his television audience is tuning in faithfully everyday to see the latest dance steps so exquisitely executed by Tracy and Seaweed. Velma Von Tussel (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the television show's producer. Her small-minded, racially discriminating mentality tries to undermine Corny Collin's unacceptable changes from ever coming to fruition. She strives to "steer the show in the 'white' direction".
Velma takes her measures too far when she declares that there will be no more "Negro Day" on the show. With this distasteful declaration, Tracy, Motormouth Maybelle and many others take to the Baltimore streets to conduct a protest. It is at this moment that the movie accelerates.
Hairspray, in spite of the sensitive theme that it deals with, is a wonderfully written show. Its hilarity, wit, and music will leave its audience entertained and dancing in the aisles long after the credits have rolled by. Ricki Lake and Jerry Stiller's cameo appearances only add to the sentimental touches of the original production. John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Queen Latifah's performances demonstrate the very reason why some make it in Hollywood, while others don't.
Nikki Blonsky's movie debut is refreshingly delightful and memorable. She has the energy of a steam engine and her "no-regrets" attitude and moxy abound, speak fathoms about her future in this business. Bravo to all!
Excellent review. I can't wait to see how this one looks. I've heard such good things. Good design!
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