Hairspray

So, the back story: Hairspray was originally released in 1988, written and directed by John Waters (who brought us Crybaby!) and starring Ricki Lake. It was then adapted into a Broadway musical. And now, 20 years later, the musical has been adapted back into a movie. Here’s the story: In early 60s Baltimore, a young girl named Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) is ultra obsessed with the Corny Collins Show that comes on each day after school. She rushes home to click on the tv and dance her heart out with Corny and his little group of dancers (especially Link). She’s a big girl with a lot of moves and she just can’t hold them in; her big dream is to become part of the show, and she gets a chance when there is an open audition.

There is a huge star cast and everyone is cast just perfectly. We have John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle and Zac Efron as Link. Also in the film are Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney and Elijah Kelly. The music is ultra catchy and makes you want to move around in your seat. It’s no wonder that Tracy spends three quarters of the movie dancing in some way, even if its in place while she’s having a conversation. She decides to take on the skinny people and segregation, and gets her friends involved too. Just being on the show isn’t enough. She wants it to be integrated too.

I spent 75% of this movie with a huge grin on my face. There are lewd little jokes that you won’t catch if you’re not paying attention; the same goes for cameos (look for John Waters as a flasher on the street and Ricki Lake as a talent agent). I wanted to watch it again as soon as it ended. And, silly me, I left the theater and went straight to a store to buy the soundtrack. A little update for everyone: I liked it more the second time.