Sixteen years after the release of the original film, New Line Cinema brings a feature film adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway production "Hairspray" to life. Based on John Waters' 1988 cult classic about star-struck teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show, the comedy features new and original material.
[from Yahoo! Movies (UK & Ireland)]

Tracy Turnblad, an overweight 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 person on the Corny Collins show. With all of the help of her friend Seaweed, Tracy makes it on the show, angering the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma. Tracy then decides that it's not fair that the black kids can only dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month, 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!
[Written by leoprez1030 from IMDb - The Internet Movie Database]

It's 1962 and teenagers Tracy Turnblad and her friend Penny Pingleton are watching the Corny Collins show. When the chance to dance on the show arrives, Tracy quickly takes the opportunity. Not only does he dancing skills attract Corny Collins, but also the attention of teenage heart throb, Link Larkin. But not everyone is happy with the decision to have her dance on the show. The shows manager, Velma von Tussle will do anything to get Tracy off the show, even if it has to include Tracy's parents of new friends Seaweed and Motormouth Maybelle.
[Written by Film_Fan from IMDb - The Internet Movie Database]

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad and her best friend Penny Pingleton audition to be on The Corny Collins Show and Tracy wins. But when scheming Amber Von Tussle and her mother plot to destroy Tracy, it turns to chaos.
[Written by Written by Corey Semple from IMDb - The Internet Movie Database]

Running time: 110 mins

The Producers started a trend. Mel Brooks' 1968 farce, you'll recall, made a comeback in 2006 as a celluloid adaptation of its Broadway musical remake. Now Hairspray completes the same cyclical journey, returning to where it all began with a big-screen transfer of the stage show it spawned.

It's a bizarrely cannibalistic process that, in the case of the Producers film, ended up with a work that was markedly inferior to both its forebears. With Hairspray, though, it works a treat, the blend of John Waters' anarchic weirdness, a star-studded cast and some splendid retro tunes creating a beguiling 1960s pastiche that's an infectious delight from start to finish.

Much of the attention that will justifiably be heaped on Adam Shankman's film will inevitably focus on John Travolta's outrageous cross-dressing turn as the frumpy Edna Turnblad - a role played by Divine in the 1988 original that the Pulp Fiction star, with the help of a fat suit, beehive wig and a few tons of latex, hilariously makes his own.

Travolta gives an audacious performance - especially given the flack he took from gay activists who complained that Scientology disapproves of homosexuality - but the true star here is newcomer Nikki Blonsky. Plucked from obscurity with only a few high-school acting parts to her name, the Long Island native completely steals the show as bubbly heroine Tracy - a small, rotund bundle of fun we fall in love with the second she appears on screen singing exuberant opening number 'Good Morning Baltimore' from the top of a dump truck.

As fine as her voice is, dancing is Tracy's passion - especially if she can do it on 'The Corny Collins Show', the city's top-rated pop programme. Alas, her flabby frame doesn't suit the size-zero ideals of bitchy station manager Velma Von Tussle (Pfeiffer), especially as she's already lined up daughter Amber (Snow) to scoop the prestigious 'Miss Teenage Hairspray' crown. How Tracy contrives to secure a spot on the show, win the heart of teen heart-throb Link Larkin (Efron) and bring about some overdue racial integration forms the busy plot of a movie that still manages to cram in a dozen or more songs amongst its satirical intrigue.

With Christopher Walken providing priceless support as Tracy's jokeshop-owning father, Amanda Bynes an unlikely bonus as her prim pal Penny and Queen Latifah bringing brassy bravado to the role of Corny's reluctant co-host Motormouth Maybelle, there's not a weak link to be found in Shankman's stellar ensemble. And if the transition from stage to screen isn't quite as smooth as he might have been hoped, especially during a frenetic climax that tries to tie up too many plot strands, it's a small price to pay for a film that will have you walking out of the cinema wanting to hug the first fatso you lay eyes on.

Verdict:
Waters' trashy sensibility combines with some good old-fashioned Broadway pizzazz to create an irresistible, deliciously subversive entertainment.

Our Rating: Four out of Five stars
User Rating: Five out of Five stars

[Review from Film 4]

Brilliantly written, superbly acted and achingly funny, this is a terrifically entertaining musical that will have you grinning from ear to ear throughout.

What's it all about?
Based on the 1988 John Waters movie and the award-winning Broadway musical, Hairspray is set in Baltimore in 1962 and stars newcomer Nikki Blonsky as big-haired, big-hearted Tracy Turnblad, a full-figured girl whose only dream is to be a dancer on the Corny Collins Show - a dream that's encouraged by her loving parents, Edna (John Travolta in a dress and a fat suit) and Wilbur (Christopher Walken).

However, after winning a spot on the show, Tracy has her eyes opened to the issue of racial inequality and vows to do something about it, much to the consternation of the show's scheming producer Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer).

The Good
The songs (courtesy of Marc Shaiman, the genius behind the South Park movie songs) are toe-tappingly terrific throughout and the cast perform with such joyously infectious enthusiasm that's impossible not to be swept along. Nikki Blonsky is a real find - if they gave Oscars for Best Newcomer she'd win it hands down.

Alongside Blonsky, director Adam Shankman has assembled a terrific ensemble cast and they each get a chance to shine but the stand-outs are Travolta (whose weird accent only adds to his hilarious performance) and the always wonderful Walken. Their duet together is a definite highlight and Walken really makes you believe in his love for Travolta in a fat suit.

The Great

The script is screamingly funny and there are several wonderful gags and quotable lines. It's also great that Amanda Bynes has finally found a suitable vehicle for her mugging skills - she's superb as Tracy's best friend Penny, whose relationship with a black classmate inspires Tracy's stand against racial inequality.

Worth seeing?

This is a terrific film that will have you singing, dancing and laughing all the way home. It's easily one of the best films of the year. Unmissable.

Five out of Five stars

[Review by Matthew Turner (20/07/2007) from The ViewLondon Review]

• The Guardian.
• Time Out, London