Film Review:Hairspray Finds Its Roots

The long awaited film version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Hairspray” is a hit!

Based on the 2002 stage musical version of the 1988 John Waters film, the story, set in 1962 Baltimore, centers around Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a teenager whose life’s dream is to dance on a local daytime music TV show, the “Corny Collins Show.” She makes it onto the cast, only to realize that they do not allow her African American friends to join the program, or to dance with the “white” dancers. Fighting prejudice of her fellow cast mates, and the prejudice of the rest of the world, she becomes a civil rights activist with the goal of integration on TV. Through the course of it, she shows that being different is a good thing.

This was a great movie. It was funny, touching, had amazing choreography and good music. This is one of the best Broadway- to-film translations in recent years. Seeing the original 1988 movie may be beneficial before seeing this musical version because this version is rife with cameos from many of the actors from the original film. Make sure to look for John Waters, the 1988 director, in his role as a flasher, and Ricky Lake, who played the original Tracy, in her role as an agent from the William-Morris Agency. In this version, John Travolta plays Tracy’s hefty mother, Edna Turnblad, and he was fantastic. Not many actors can go from playing Danny Zuko, the coolest kid in high school from 1978’s “Grease,” to playing Edna. He follows in the lovely, albeit large, foot steps of Divine from the 1988 film.And having Travolta opposite Christopher Walken as Tracy’s father Wilbur Turnblad was the perfect choice. Their chemistry was evident from their first scene. Elijah Kelley, who plays Seaweed — an African American boy who fights the network alongside Tracy — has an astounding voice. It came as a total surprise that his voice was that good, as he is a relative unknown. But now he is rumored to be in discussion to play Sammy Davis Jr. in an upcoming bio-pic.

The cast overall was great, the music and book wonderful, everything to make this one of the best musical movies.

Rated PG and directed by Adam Shankman. I give this film 5 out of 5 stars.