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Sadly Over-hyped

Memorable, crazy movie

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

What we learn from this film? That Michelle Pfeiffer can play as well a nasty woman, that John Travolta can be a convincing obese wife and Christopher Walken can play himself (boring) as usual. The other actors, Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, are all OK. It's the story of a fat teenager who dreams of going to dance on a TV show. And she succeeds to do it. She manages even more than that, giving a slap to the racial segregation from America in the '60s. All songs in the film are super cool. The choreography is also at height. Worth seeing on a big screen and sound volume, at least stereo, to the maximum.

Hairspray (2007): Dir: Adam Shankman / Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes: Hilarious musical remake about time and culture all embraced within the enthusiasm of teenage experimentation. Nikki Blonsky stars as teenage Tracy Turnblad who dreams of being on the Corny Collins Show but due to her weight she is rejected by station manager Miss Von Tussle. At home Tracy is encouraged by her father while her mother Edna is insecure herself. Despite predictable storytelling director Adam Shankman is given convincing 1950's art direction. This is a huge improvement for a director who previously made such crap as The Wedding Planner and The Pacifier. Blonsky is a burst of life while John Travolta in drag as Edna is a scene stealer. This is a reminder that Divine, who portrayed Edna in the original John Waters film was a transvestite. What Travolta does here is a tribute, not an insult. Christopher Walken is hilarious as Tracy's father who works in a toy store. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the snide Miss Von Tussle whose daughter is her top pride. Amanda Bynes plays Blonsky's best friend who is locked up in her bedroom. While remakes are often frown upon, and for good reason, Shankman creates a film that extends the budget while maintaining the same spirit. The result is a colourful expression of dance, culture and race. Score: 9 / 10

Hairspray was an uplifting movie with ideas of acceptance of others. The main character, Tracy Turnblad fights throughout the movie about how she thinks black people should be treated equally on television. This reflects the ideas of the civil rights movement and the peaceful protests used during that time period. In addition, Tracy is a character throughout the movie that represents the need for acceptance because of her weight. The dancers on television are not accepting of her because of her weight and she proves them wrong. The movie is entertaining with its music and humor. A character that stands out is the mother, played by John Travolta. He takes on a female part as a larger woman and Tracy's mother. The character brings comic relief to the movie. The theme of the movie is serious, but there is also an idea of hope and acceptance of others in the future.

While there is certainly a lot to like about the movie version of the 2002 Broadway revisal of the cult 1988 John Waters hit, some of the rawness has been taken out in the favor of cuteness. Yes, it is still 1962 Baltimore, and racism is rampid for the Corny Collins Show where "Negro Day" is once a month and black teens are not allowed to be seen dancing on T.V. with the white kids. Many changes were made between 1988 and 2002, obviously because the producers wanted a more "family friendly" version of "Hairspray" on Broadway, and even more were made between the time the show won a ton of Tony's and the time that the movie was made.Still, the show focuses around "pleasantly plump" teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky in a star-making role) who can dance rings around the snooty Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow), stealing her boyfriend Link (Zac Efron) in the process. I guess it would turn any teen into accusing her rival of having "cooties" or being easy, but sympathy is there for Tracy the minute the film starts and she wakes up to wish Baltimore "Good Morning". Amanda Bynes is cute and adorable as the nervous Penny Pingleton who finds she has "chocolate fever" for the likable Seaweed (Elijah Kelley).The adults here are a mixed bag. I have to vote "thumbs down" for John Travolta's nervous Edna Turnblad, preferring the tough but vulnerable Divine and the raspy Harvey Fierstein. Travolta does really look like a middle-aged woman, but he tries too hard to make her soft when really Edna should be a lioness ready to scratch in order to protect her cub. Tracy seems more protective than vice versa, and that takes away from the strength of Edna's character. Bravo, however, to Christopher Walken as Wilbur who makes Edna's husband extremely likable and even sexy in a rough sort of way. Their duet, one of the showstoppers of the Broadway production, is well preserved here, and is one of the few moments where Travolta really does come alive in the part.For a "Grease"-like show, the presence of Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer ("Grease II") is quite ironic, although "Miss Baltimore Crabs" does remain one of the tackiest songs ever to be kept in the movie version of a Broadway musical. Pfeiffer takes her one-note character and has fun with it, but unfortunately, the one-note is sour because of the coldness which oozes off the screen every time she comes on. The amazing Queen Latifah shows that she is more than just a one-hit wonder when it comes to musicals, having rocked "Chicago", she now does the same as Motor Mouth Maybelle, and tears the roof off of "I Know Where I've Been", an anthem for freedom if I've ever heard one.The teens steal the thunder here though, and they are all truly likable and amazing. You want to see them all have their chance, both their fictional characters on "The Corny Collins Show" and the real performers, either on Broadway or in the world of pop music. Taylor Parks gets to do more as Little Inez than any other actor has had in that role in previous incarnations. The plot is altered a bit to try and make it more modern, but in retrospective, it really doesn't make sense, even if the surprise ending is touching in spite of not being true to the times.Still, you will want to "Stomp the Beat", not "Stop the Beat", as the music guides the movie into becoming a shining example of how movie producers can turn a Broadway show into a feel good hit. Alterations always needed to be made to bring in the non-theater going audiences, and some wise decisions were made. Ironically, the closing credits takes one of the cut songs ("Stop! Don't! No! Please!") right off the cast recording (with Harvey Fierstein obviously present) and helps give the film a nice feel at its exit.