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 & 40 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
Taylor Parks	...	Little Inez
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:

For anyone who wanted something bigger, there comes a time to break all the rules.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lak za kosu

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,476,745, 20 July 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$118,871,849

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$202,548,575

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:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Allison Janney's character, Prudy Pingleton, reads nine verses of the Holy Bible aloud to herself, she is reading Genesis Chapter 19: verses 30-38. This is when Lot's two daughters get their father drunk and conceive children with him, becoming mothers. This occurred shortly after they both lost their unnamed husbands (& mother), as two Biblical cities, Sodom & Gomorrah, were destroyed.

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Goofs

All during the movie, the blond portions of Tracy's hair change. The blond streaks below her headband don't appear until her first appearance on the Corny Collins show. Especially during "Welcome to the Sixties", the blond streaks above Tracy's headband constantly change, even during the same scene as the camera shots are from different directions or they change locations, such as from room to room in the home and from inside to outside.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Sex Drive (2008)

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Soundtracks

Come So Far (Got So Far To Go)
Written by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Performed by Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron and Elijah Kelley

User Reviews

Brings Joy to Summer....

So far I've seen this movie twice and both times the audience was involved 100%. "Hairspray: The Musical" is the definition of a feel good movie.

The storyline has been tweeked a bit from the original film. Whereas the original film had Sonny Bono's Franklin Von Tussle as the main antagonist, this one has Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Phieffer) as the head adversary; now seen as the station manager for the TV station airing The Corny Collins Show. Velma's goal is to ensure that her daughter, Amber stays Miss Hairspray in the face of the rising success of Tracy Turnblad (played wonderfully by Nikki Blonsky).

The musical numbers are fantastic, and while there's less of an emphasis on the dancing which was a big part of the original film, it doesn't detract from the wonder of the musical sequences.

Other differences is the take on the individual characters. Whereas Ricki Lake's Tracy was brash and confident, Blonsky's Tracy is more subdued. John Travolta, as Edna gives the character the sensitivity that wasn't evident in Divine's portrayal.

Although still done in connection with John Waters, it does lack Waters edginess, making an already mainstream Waters film even more mainstream for family audiences. However, the cast and the direction more than makes up for this.