Hairspray (2007)

Hairspray (2007)

Directed by: Adam Shankman

Starring: Nikki Blonsky

Genre: Musical

Run Time: 117 min.

Release Date: July 2007

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

More proof that Hollywood has run out of original ideas. A remake of HAIRSPRAY?

Okay.

Regardless of Glamour City’s lack of originality, this new Hairspray is a glitter-rama of song, dance, music and the battle over racism, and it fills the screen with enough enjoyable moments to make it a film worth your while.

Comparisons between this 2007 update and the 1988 version abound, so we won’t travel that overdone road here. What we’ll do is give you a few glimpses into what awaits you if you should choose to pick up a DVD copy of this newest remake.

Racial integration is the focus once again. Newcomer Nickki Blonsky fills the screen as the plumped-up Tracy Turnblad, a teen in love with dance and the social changes surrounding her. Her mother Edna is played by the sexually changed and fat-suited John Travolta (WILD HOGS). Most movie-goers probably haven’t heard Travolta sing since GREASE (1978) and his voice doesn’t shine through here because he’s acting as a woman and moving his voice up in octaves to stay in character, which made his singing a painful event. But much of that can be whisked aside due to the fact that we get to watch he and Christopher Walken (BALLS OF FURY) do a fantastic dance number through a myriad of clothes lines. The production is so well done here that Travolta’s over-the-top singing fades. Walken plays Wilbur Turnblad (Edna/Travolta’s husband) and this aforementioned dance number harkens Walken back to his early acting days when dancing was his forte. You can really tell that he was enjoying himself here.

The all-star cast also helps move this movie up a notch thanks to its star power. James Marsden (ENCHANTED) stars as TV personality Corny Collins and hosts the dance show that Tracy thinks is totally neat. His desire for racial change matches that of Tracy’s. But both are stymied by the twisted Velma von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer, STARDUST) who helps run the Corny Collins show and also cheats, connives, and misguides in order to ensure her only daughter Mandy (Brittany Snow) wins every televised competition.

Queen Latifah (STRANGER THAN FICTION) stars as Motormouth Mabelle, a black dancer who’s “Negro Day” on the Corny Collins show is in jeopardy of being cancelled when the white-bread Velma decides that Corny’s show would be better off without the colored element.

The battle between long-held beliefs of racial separation battle the new integration sweeping the nation, and the songs, dances, and physical attractions can’t be put off any longer.

Nikki Blonsky is to be commended for doing such a fantastic breakout role as the plumpy integrationist Tracy Turnblad. Her singing, swaying, and acting were spot-on for the referenced movie times, and she carries the weight of the entire production perfectly. But strangely enough, most older generation watchers might enjoy more the scenes with Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, and John Travolta as they watch them return to a time when their acting careers were just starting.