Hairspray
Starring: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen latifah, Zac Efron
Director: Adam Shankman
Rating: 4/5
Set in 1960’s Baltimore overweight teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) has one dream, to dance on the Corny Collins Show.
But Tracy’s mother Edna (John Travolta) doesn’t share her daughter’s dream. Edna hasn’t left the house since 1951, because she is embarrassed about her size, and she fears that Tracy will be ridiculed and disappointed due to her weight.
Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer) does everything to spoil Tracy’s chances. She controls the Corny Collins Show, 1960’s version of the Mickey Mouse Club, with an iron fist.
She uses the show to promote her daughter Amber and is trying to ban Negro Day, where once a month African American kids dance on the show.
Soon Tracy is fighting Amber for the (miss Hairspray title), calling for intergration, and trying to win the heart of Link (Zac Efron), the most popular boy in school.
Hairspray has lots of lift and plenty of body and is a blast of fresh air after a summer of CGI driven blockbusters.From the opening scenes where Tracy delivers Good Morning Baltimore, an ode to her home town, while arriving at school on top of a garbage truck ,which is reminiscent of Barbra Streisand’s tug boat ride in Funny Girl, you know you are in for a toe tapping, heart-warming ride.
Based on the hit Broadway show of the 1988 non musical version starring Ricki Lake it’s a story of social outsiders who unite to fight oppression.
Despite top performances from the younger members of the cast including newcomer Nikki Blonsky as big hearted Tracy and High School Musical hottie Zac Efron, as the greased up Elvis wannabe Link, it’s the older cast members that really shine.
It took the heavily latexed John Travolta fourteen months to decide whether or not to accept this role. And having turned down roles in previous big screen musicals such as Phantom of the Opera and Chicago it seemed he would never again lend his talent to this movie genre.
He delivers a show stopping, scene stealing performance that could well earn him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor come awards season.
Michelle Pfeiffer also gives a great turn with a surprisingly assured vocal performance as the racist Velma Von Tussle in her first movie in five years.
At the healm of the film is director Adam Shankman . Not much was expected from this film after his previous directing outings such The Wedding Planner and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. However Shankman has proved himself, and like Travolta, may just secure himself an Oscar nod.
In all this is an original, funny movie full of catchy tunes that will have you singing along as well aching with laughter. But the topic and message of fighting racial segregation may have been somewhat diluted despite this issue being resolved come the closing credits.
But it’s the tremendous cast that really make this movie so successful. The older members of the cast Travolta and Pfeiffer really propelling themselves back onto the list of Hollywood heavyweights with Christopher Walken, Allison Janney and Queen Latifah all producing hilarious supporting roles.
The younger members really are the pace of the film all playing their part in this all singing all dancing spectacular with Blonsky and Efron in particular securing bright futures for themselves.
Helen Earnshaw FemaleFirst