Hairspray
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
The 2007 Hairspray remake landed as one of that summer's most warmly received films, with most critics charmed by its energy, its social conscience worn lightly, and Nikki Blonsky's breakout lead performance. The sharpest fault line ran through John Travolta's casting as Edna Turnblad — for some a cheerful novelty, for others a blandly earnest misfire that stripped the material of its camp edge — while a handful of critics argued the whole adaptation sands down the dangerous, anarchic spirit of John Waters' original in favor of something more eager to please.
“a lot of craft and slyness lurking beneath the circa-1960s goofiness”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“A great big sloppy kiss of entertainment for audiences weary of explosions, CGI effects and sequels, sequels, sequels.”
Jack Matthews·New York Daily News
“intermittently tasty, if a little too frantically eager to please.”
Dana Stevens·Slate
“the idea of substituting John Travolta for Harvey Fierstein as Tracy's hefty mother ... a blandly earnest betrayal.”
David Denby·The New Yorker
“Waters' original was a crazy sprawl that made perfect sense; this Hairspray toils needlessly to make sense of that craziness, and something gets lost in the translation.”
Stephanie Zacharek·Salon.com
Genres
Comedy, Romance, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAdam Shankman
StarringNikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes
ComposerMarc Shaiman
Hairspray
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.
What critics thought
The 2007 Hairspray remake landed as one of that summer's most warmly received films, with most critics charmed by its energy, its social conscience worn lightly, and Nikki Blonsky's breakout lead performance. The sharpest fault line ran through John Travolta's casting as Edna Turnblad — for some a cheerful novelty, for others a blandly earnest misfire that stripped the material of its camp edge — while a handful of critics argued the whole adaptation sands down the dangerous, anarchic spirit of John Waters' original in favor of something more eager to please.
“a lot of craft and slyness lurking beneath the circa-1960s goofiness”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“A great big sloppy kiss of entertainment for audiences weary of explosions, CGI effects and sequels, sequels, sequels.”
Jack Matthews·New York Daily News
“intermittently tasty, if a little too frantically eager to please.”
Dana Stevens·Slate
“the idea of substituting John Travolta for Harvey Fierstein as Tracy's hefty mother ... a blandly earnest betrayal.”
David Denby·The New Yorker
“Waters' original was a crazy sprawl that made perfect sense; this Hairspray toils needlessly to make sense of that craziness, and something gets lost in the translation.”
Stephanie Zacharek·Salon.com
Genres
Comedy, Romance, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAdam Shankman
StarringNikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes
ComposerMarc Shaiman
Rent/Purchase