Erin Britton, 22/11/2007
Despite the fact that the original Hairspray launched “My skin may have melded to my sofa but I still love a bout of midget wrestling” talk show diva Ricki Lake onto TV and into the living room of a student house near you, not to mention the much publicised chubby John Travolta in even chubbier drag factor, this remake is not the horror show that it might have been. In what is essentially a musical with a message, director Adam Shankman has taken inspiration for character and tone from the 2002 version of the Hairspray musical and so has succeeded in creating a far more joyous and energetic film than the still highly entertaining original version directed by John Waters. Nikki Blonsky plays large and lovely Tracy Turnblad, owner of the biggest beehive on the block, a girl who loves nothing more than dancing away to the Corny Collins Show. When the chance comes to audition for the show, Tracy ignores the shape-related warnings of her mother (Travolta) and sets out to pursue her dream of being a dancer. Success doesn’t come easy for Tracy, in the battle for dance floor supremacy she has to face station manager Velma von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her acid-tongued daughter Amber (Brittany Snow), the reigning ‘Miss Teenage Hairspray’. Tracy’s perseverance pays off as she catches the eye of teen heartthrob Link Larkin (Zac Efron) and, along with her friends Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and Seaweed (Elijah Kelly), uses her television appearances to help fight racial segregation in Baltimore. Admittedly Hairspray is somewhat of a cheese-fest and certain aspects of the film do make the mind boggle; after all, who would have thought that a love scene set amongst drying laundry between Christopher Walken and John Travolta could be so touching? However, the film has an energy and vibrancy that draws in and gets the toes tapping of even the most doubtful viewer. A hugely entertaining film.
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