brchthethird
Arguably the high point of John Waters' career, HAIRSPRAY is a fun, energetic and infectious movie with a top-notch soundtrack and earnest performances from everyone involved. The story centers around Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), a "pleasantly plump" teenager who spends her afternoons watching the Corny Collins Show, where teenagers dance the most popular dances to the latest tunes. She manages to get on the show, and from there hopes to bring integration to Baltimore, Maryland (this takes place in 1962). While still maintaining some of the weirdness which made John Waters (in)famous, this film rises above campiness because of the social ideas it embraces, e.g., racial equality. There's also hints of commentary on fame and child stars, akin to themes explored in more explicit ways in his previous films, but the focus here is on bringing people together. And what better way than through music and dancing? Just about everything in the movie works, from the retro fashion which has been lovingly recreated/exaggerated to the choreography and music. It's so catchy that you just want to get up and dance yourself. Still, the movie isn't without its negatives. The narrative is a bit thin, and the conflict is resolved a little too easily, but this can be mostly forgiven because of the strength of everything else around it. Recommended for moviegoers of all ages.
lastliberal
It is hard to believe that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this film this week. It is even harder to believe that just one week after it opened Divine left the world's stage forever.But, the star of the show was Ricki Lake in her first year as a film actress. She camped up John Water's script and delivered an enjoyable musical movie with a message that is just as important today as it was 20 years ago.It was really interesting seeing people like Sonny Bono, Blondie, Jerry Stiller, Pia Zadora, and, of course, writer/director John Waters himself.A goofy satire that is just as good today as it was then.
evanston_dad
John Waters acolytes will hate me for this, but I saw the recent movie musical version of "Hairspray" before I saw Waters' original, and I couldn't get over the feeling that the original fails in comparison.Ricki Lake does not have what it takes to play Tracy Turnblad, the chubby girl with the big hair who lands a spot on a teen dance show and becomes a Baltimore sensation. Tracy should be so engaging and lovable that no one can help but root for her, and Lake is definitely not that girl. It doesn't help that the rest of the cast acts like they're reading their lines off of cue cards, or that Waters lost all ability (or interest) in bringing his movie to a coherent conclusion. It's like Waters sets out to make his film too weird for the mainstream, but the directing and acting are too pedestrian to elevate it to the level of camp. So by the end it's just sort of boring.I'm vaguely turned off by John Waters movies. They're always so cheap looking and lazily directed, like no one, not Waters, the actors or the film artists, could be bothered to take anything very seriously. My question is: why should I expend the energy in watching this movie if the people who made it weren't even interested in the project to begin with? Grade: C
julzie61295
Personally, some parts of this movie have left me laughing to death. And these weren't the "meant to be funny" parts. This version of Hairspray is definitely cheesy. However, it was alright. When I saw this movie for the first time on ABC Family, I was really excited. Then, as it began, I was getting the feeling the whole movie would be filled with cheesy jokes and corny acting. ***Spoilers begin here***The scene where Penny and Tracy are watching the "Cory Collins Show" to the time where Penny said "I'm always punished," was where the worst acting took place. The rest of the movie was pretty good, except for the parts where Tracy and her classmates where playing dodge ball, and when the riot broke out at Tilted Acres.All in all, I gave Hairspray a 6/10 for alright acting, good dancing, good laughs and corny (so to speak) moments.
AD
