|
Hairspray (1988) 6.7
Ratings:
6.7/10 from 11,442 users
Metascore: 76/100
Reviews: 59 user | 33 critic | 13 from Metacritic.com A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show. Director:John WatersWriter:John Waters |
| 0Share... |
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Hairspray (1988)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
Music and Lyrics
(2007)
Comedy
|
Music
|
Romance
Director:
Marc Lawrence
Stars:
Hugh Grant,
Scott Porter,
Nick Bacon
Victor Victoria
(1982)
Comedy
|
Music
|
Musical
Director:
Blake Edwards
Stars:
Julie Andrews,
James Garner,
Robert Preston
What's Up, Doc?
(1972)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
Peter Bogdanovich
Stars:
Barbra Streisand,
Ryan O'Neal,
Madeline Kahn
The Wedding Singer
(1998)
Comedy
|
Romance
|
Music
Director:
Frank Coraci
Stars:
Adam Sandler,
Drew Barrymore,
Christine Taylor
Who's That Girl
(1987)
Comedy
|
Music
|
Romance
Director:
James Foley
Stars:
Madonna,
Griffin Dunne,
Haviland Morris
Little Voice
(1998)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Mark Herman
Stars:
Brenda Blethyn,
Jane Horrocks,
Ewan McGregor
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
(1985)
Comedy
|
Music
|
Romance
Director:
Alan Metter
Stars:
Sarah Jessica Parker,
Lee Montgomery,
Helen Hunt
High Fidelity
(2000)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Music
Director:
Stephen Frears
Stars:
John Cusack,
Iben Hjejle,
Todd Louiso
Impromptu
(1991)
Biography
|
Comedy
|
Music
Director:
James Lapine
Stars:
Judy Davis,
Hugh Grant,
Mandy Patinkin
Clueless
(1995)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
Amy Heckerling
Stars:
Alicia Silverstone,
Stacey Dash,
Brittany Murphy
The School of Rock
(2003)
Comedy
|
Music
Director:
Richard Linklater
Stars:
Jack Black,
Adam Pascal,
Mike White
A Mighty Wind
(2003)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Music
Director:
Christopher Guest
Stars:
Jim Moret,
Michael McKean,
Christopher Guest
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Sonny Bono | ... | ||
 |
Ruth Brown | ... | |
| Divine | ... | ||
| Deborah Harry | ... |
Velma Von Tussle
(as Debbie Harry)
|
|
| Ricki Lake | ... | ||
| Jerry Stiller | ... | ||
| Colleen Fitzpatrick | ... | ||
|
|
Michael St. Gerard | ... | |
|
|
Leslie Ann Powers | ... | |
|
|
Clayton Prince | ... | |
| Mink Stole | ... | ||
| Shawn Thompson | ... | ||
| Ric Ocasek | ... | ||
| Pia Zadora | ... | ||
| Joann Havrilla | ... | ||
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See more »
Storyline
'Pleasantly Plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all integration. In doing so, she earns the wrath of the show's former star, Amber Von Tussle, as well as Amber's manipulative, pro-segregation parents. The rivalry comes to a head as Amber and Tracy vie for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>
Plot Keywords:
integration | dance | civil rights | irreverence | cross cultural relations |Taglines:
The 60's Comedy That Shows No Mercy! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
26 February 1988 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
White Lipstick See more »Box Office
Budget:
$2,000,000 (estimated)Gross:
$6,671,108 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Ultra StereoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Tracy Turnblad: Come on! Come on!
Penny Pingleton: Okay, all right.
Tracy Turnblad: Will you hurry up?
See more »
Written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell
Performed by Chubby Checker
Courtesy of ABKCO Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
During the picket scene at Tilted Acres, a woman lights and throws a cherry bomb-type firecracker that makes the sound of a string of firecrackers exploding. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Tracy Turnblad: Come on! Come on!
Penny Pingleton: Okay, all right.
Tracy Turnblad: Will you hurry up?
See more »
Crazy Credits
During the ending credits, there are footsteps moving to the beat of the song playing in the background. See more »Soundtracks
"Dancin Party"Written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell
Performed by Chubby Checker
Courtesy of ABKCO Records
See more »
Hairspray both this version and the new 2007 one are a pair of great satirical films about teenage mores in the early Sixties of the Civil Rights Era. Sometimes our heroes and heroines for civil rights and human decency can be found where you least expect.
Such a person is Tracy Turnblad played by later television host Rikki Lake who's a full figured gal in every sense of the word. Her biggest desire growing up in Baltimore of the Early Sixties is to get on the local teen hop show hosted by Corny Collins. The regulars who dance there have a celebrity status, but something a fat girl dare not hope to dream.
Tracy doesn't hope, she lives the dream and actually gets picked to dance and be a regular to the distress of plastic teen princess Colleen Fitzpatrick. But it's a cause for celebration for Tracy's parents played by Divine and Jerry Stiller and her best friend Leslie Ann Powers.
All this is against the background of the civil rights era and Baltimore had its problems also. The Corny Collins show is segregated with a prescribed Negro Day once a month. That seems as bogus to Tracy as baseball being segregated not too long ago and she joins the fight to integrate the show. She's even convinced her teen dream new boyfriend Michael St. Gerard to join in as well.
A subplot is Powers finding love herself in the person of Clayton Prince who is black and that's upsetting to a lot of people, not the least is Powers's mother. It would be within that same decade that the Supreme Court did away with miscegenation laws, so these kids are running some real risks.
Hairspray is a very funny film with a very serious message about live and live. In fact that's the main problem with the world today right now, certain people feeling they've got the right through religion or secular philosophy or plain out and out wealth who just feel they've the right to dictate the lives the rest of us are supposed to lead in conforming to how they see the world.
In the remake of Hairspray, Queen Latifah who plays Ruth Brown's role of Motormouth Mabel says to the characters playing the Powers and Prince roles that as a racially mixed couple that those young people should be prepared for a whole lot of stupid in the world to deal with. One cast member of this version of Hairspray had occasion to deal with a whole lot of stupid back in 1994.
In the cast he's listed as Keith Douglas, lead singer of the Lafayettes DooWop group, but he was Keith Douglas Pruitt, a talented musician, actor, and composer. He and his partner were attacked by a trio of suburban rednecks who were dismayed at seeing two members of the same sex holding hands on Waverly Place. Keith sustained a fractured skull and a hearing loss for a while looked to permanently impair his career in music.
It was in my working days with New York State Crime Victims Board that I met Keith Pruitt. I did the claims for both he and his partner, giving them what my agency could provide for both of them. He did go back to work eventually to the applause of his friends and admirers of his work.
Keith Pruitt died only a week ago at the age of 47. He left a legacy in art, but he also left a legacy in life as a genuine hero. One who certainly never started out to be one, but things are thrust upon us in life sometimes. He stood up to the homophobic bigots and bashers with dignity and pride. I'm really proud I knew him and was part of his story in a small way.
And so this review of Hairspray is dedicated to Keith Pruitt, someone we can all emulate in life.