| | | You Can't Stop the Beat!
Features: DVD
It's 1962 and change is in the air in Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad, a girl with big hair and big dreams, has only one passion in life - to dance on The Corny Collins Show. When her chance arrives, she grooves her way into instant stardom and the eyes of teen dream Link Larkin (Zac Efron). But with the program's scheming stage manager (Michelle Pfeiffer) against her, trend-setting Tracy will need the help of her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), her big-hearted mother (John Travolta) and sassy co-host Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) to show the world that all it takes to make a dream come true is a toe-tappin' beat and a little Hairspray!
"...the funniest, dancingest screen musical since "Singin' in the Rain."" Albert Williams, Chicago Reader
"A rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle." Claudia Puig, USA Today
"An explosion of talent, energy, and fun!" Jeffrey Lyons, NBC/Reel Talk
"The best and most entertaining movie adaptation of a stage musical so far this century..." Lou Lumenick, New York Post
"A feel-good musical that, for a change, actually makes you feel good." Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
"Two big thumbs up!" Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
"One of the best movies of the year!" Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV
Editor's Note
Originally written and directed by filmmaker John Waters in 1988, and then put on Broadway, the camp musical HAIRSPRAY could easily have run its course with viewers. But thanks to playful direction, flashy costumes, over-the-top performances, and a positive message of peace, this newest spin proves to be yet another enjoyable incarnation. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the story follows a plump young girl named Tracy Turnblad (played by impressive newcomer Nikki Blonski) on an amazing journey as her dream of dancing on the popular Corny Collins Show becomes a reality. The local television program is a shiny spectacle spear-headed by Corny Collins (James Marsden), a gang of young dancers, and producer Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer), a seductress ice queen whose manipulative ways ensure her daughter Amber (Brittany Snow) gets more than her fair share of screen time as one of the show's stars. When Tracy shows up at an open call, Velma can barely contain her rage, and sets out to rid the show of Tracy and the talented black dancers who make up the show's popular "Negro Day." Thus begins a war of talent and a battle for justice, with those in favor of integration meeting many obstacles along the way.While less out-there than Waters's original, the film still contains some very quirky humor. John Travolta playing Tracy's overweight mother may seem an odd concept at first, but in this context it works. Scenes that would ordinarily be cheesy are made more interesting due to the odd dynamic between Christopher Walken and John Travolta playing man and wife. As the two dance and woo one another, the strange smile on Travolta's lipsticked lips and the grace of Walken's dancing will be sure to fascinate viewers. Viewers should also watch for cameos by Ricki Lake, and by John Waters as a Baltimore streaker. With all the wacky comedy, it's often easy to forget that the meat of HAIRSPRAY is a battle over racial integration. The film manages to create some touching moments in the midst of sparkling musical numbers.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: New Line |
| Release Date: 11/20/2007 |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 1000032067 | | UPC: 00794043111020 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | MTV Award, Hairspray, Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[You] get the off-kilter joy of Trav tripping the light flabtastic with screen hubby Christopher Walken. Their surprisingly touching believability as a couple is complemented by Blonsky's charm-stocked performance..." 07/01/2007 p.48Entertainment Weekly
"HAIRSPRAY is a fizzy and delirious high-camp message-movie musical that may turn out to be the happiest movie of the summer....The climactic number sends you out on a high." -- Grade: A- 07/27/2007 p.48-49 USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "HAIRSPRAY is a consistently flashy, rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle....It's hard to keep a smile off your face and your toes tapping during this unpretentious and spirited adaptation..." 07/20/2007 p.2D New York Times
"[The songs] are sung with impeccable diction and unimpeachable conviction by a a lively young cast....HAIRSPRAY is so joyful, so full of unforced enthusiasm, that only the most ferocious cynic could resist it." 07/19/2007 p.E1 Rolling Stone
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "HAIRSPRAY earns knockout status for its humor, heart and high spirits. As Tracy, trumpet-tonsiled newcomer Nikki Blonsky is a dynamo..." 08/09/2007 p.97 Sight and Sound
"HAIRSPRAY's confident combination of a Cinderella story with infectious tunes, all glossed with winking noughties irony and a feelgood message, has found our collective sweet spot." 09/01/2007 p.58 Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "Pfeiffer delivers a stinging performance....Zac Efron shines...while Elijah Kelley is sensational..." 09/01/2007 p.53 Reel.com 9 of 10
While the source material has always seemed like a bit of a curio, its themes of inclusion, equality, and embracing the new and different provide a strong jumping-off point here. The mega-success of the stage production made a big-screen version inevitable and, despite a plot that still teeters from marginal to meaningful, this latest incarnation has much to recommend...The large cast, also including James Marsden as glib TV host Corny Collins, Allison Janney as Penny's bible-toting mother, and Jerry Stiller (who played Wilbur Turnblad in the first film) as big-gal dress shop owner Mr. Pinky, gives their all, with a special shout out to Pfeiffer, a hilarious Bynes, and vivacious newcomer Blonsky. John Waters and the original Tracy, Ricki Lake, also pop up in amusing cameos...As for Travolta, he's game and quite funny in the wacky part, but aside from looking pretty odd (even for a middle-aged man in fat lady drag); he doesn't always cut loose enough to make the character his own. And why is he the only one to attempt a Baltimore accent? Let's just say, his Edna Turnblad is a far cry from the career-making studs he played in Saturday Night Fever and Grease. But that's show biz. - Gary Goldstein
ReelViews 8 of 10
Hairspray follows in the footsteps of Little Shop of Horrors and The Producers as campy movies that became even more campy stage musicals before returning to the screen in lavish song-and-dance productions...While no one would accuse Hairspray of occupying the upper echelon of movie musicals, it's an entertaining diversion, which is about the most anyone could hope for from something ultimately spawned in the mind of John Waters...Hairspray is the kind of movie that could become a sleeper success if it wasn't being publicized so relentlessly. Its agenda is deceptively simple: an opportunity to spend a pleasant two hours in an air-conditioned auditorium. There are no special effects (unless you count Travolta's fat suit), no explosions, no chase scenes, and no shoot-outs. The film isn't deep or thematically rich or filled with amazing characters. Instead, it's an excursion into song and dance, and works admirably on that level. Hairspray exceeded my expectations and, while it isn't my favorite movie of the pool-and-beach season, it's enjoyable enough to earn a recommendation. - James Berardinelli
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