Hairspray (2007)

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.

Director:

Adam Shankman

Writers:

Leslie Dixon (screenplay), John Waters

Stars:

John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 21 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Edna Turnblad
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Velma Von Tussle
Christopher Walken	...	Wilbur Turnblad
Amanda Bynes	...	Penny Pingleton
James Marsden	...	Corny Collins
Queen Latifah	...	Motormouth Maybelle
Brittany Snow	...	Amber Von Tussle
Zac Efron	...	Link Larkin
Elijah Kelley	...	Seaweed
Allison Janney	...	Prudy Pingleton
Nikki Blonsky	...	Tracy Turnblad
Tayla Parx	...	Little Inez (as Taylor Parks)
Jayne Eastwood	...	Miss Wimsey
Paul Dooley	...	Mr. Spritzer
Jerry Stiller	...	Mr. Pinky

Storyline

Tracy Turnblad, a teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, she and her best friend Penny run home to watch the show and drool over the hot Link Larkin, much to Tracy's mother Edna's dismay. After one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins holds auditions to see who will be the next teen regular. With the help of her friend Seaweed, Tracy is chosen, angering evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma. Tracy then decides that it's not fair that black kids can only dance on the show once a month (on "Negro Day"), and with the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle, her father, and Edna, she's going to integrate the show.....without denting her 'do.

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Plot Keywords:

tv dance show | racial tension | racial segregation | racial integration | remake | 

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Taglines:

Remember when a movie can make you dream, make you dance, and make you feel on top of the world?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, some suggestive content and momentary teen smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve Martin, Robin Williams, and Tom Hanks were considered for the role of Edna Turnblad.

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Goofs

In almost every scene in the Corny Collins studio, the red "tally" lights for every camera are active at the same time. A "tally" light indicates to the talent and operator which camera is live, thus having them all on at once would defeat the purpose. During "The Nicest Kids In Town" when the film transitions from the television in the Turnblad's home to the viewfinder on the camera, that camera's tally lamps are all off.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tracy Turnblad: [singing] Oh, oh, oh, woke up today, feeling the way I always do. Oh, oh, oh, hungry for something that I can't eat. Then I hear that beat. That rhythm of town starts calling me down. It's like a message from high above. Oh, oh, oh, pulling me out to the smiles and the streets that I love. Good morning, Baltimore!

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Alternate Versions

Starting in August, in select theaters, a sing-along version of the film with on-screen lyrics was released.

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Connections

Featured in The O'Reilly Factor: Miller Time! (2008)

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Soundtracks

You Can't Stop the Beat
(2001)
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Performed by Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley,
John Travolta and Queen Latifah
© 2001 Winding Brook Way Music (ASCAP)/Walli Woo Entertainment (ASCAP)
All Rights Reserved
Queen Latifah appears courtesy of Flavour Unit Records

User Reviews

Hairspray

I went to see this film only a few hours ago. I can only say that as fantastic as it was , I was expecting more. Each person played their part very well, but unfortunately for the younger audience the characters they wanted to see the most weren't shown as much as they would have liked. Yes the film was very good, but Zac Efron who played Link Larkin very well, only had very few parts and his story kind of jumps from one thing to another. One moment he has just met her and the next he's in love with her, the role was played well but the time sync was a bit weird. The most seen characters on the film is Tracy (obviously) her mother ( John Travolta in a fat suit... gets boring but a bit funny) Velma Von Tussle ( Ambers mother .. evil cow .. not funny .. gets slightly boring) and Moter Mouth Maybelle ( Queen Latifa .. played well) who were very good , but i would have liked to see more form the other characters. Unfortunately though .. when I looked around the cinema , i saw that many young girls were in there, most probably to see Zac Efron. They did not understand the complex story line , which is a shame because it held such a strong and important messege Over all .. a Very Good and memorable film , but things moved a bit too fast , it held a strong messege throughout and was full of laughs. I'd give it a 8/10 WELL DONE

Details

Country:

USA UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hairspray

Filming Locations:

Lakeview Restaurant, 1132 Dundas Street. W, Toronto, Ontario

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,800,000, 22 July 2007

Gross USA:

$118,871,849

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$203,552,922

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Ingenious Film Partners, Zadan / Meron Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1