Hairspray

Hairspray

Starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow & Christopher Walken

When pudgy, happily young Tracy Turnbald (Nikki Blonsky) sings of her yearning to be on the hit TV dance show hosted by Corny Collins (James Marsden), "Hairspray" is on. Set in a 1962 Baltimore where every girl's hair exceeds the height of their boyfriend's head, Turnbald is determined to get on the show, dance her heart out, and win the heart of the boy of her dreams, Link Larkin (Zac Efron). Sidekicked by her corky pal Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), Tracy skips school one day to try out, but quickly rejected by the evil, stepmother-esque Velma Von Tussle, played devilishly by the new and improved Michelle Pfeiffer. What seems to be a story of a silly girl's dreams turns into a battle of moral and racial prejudices. As the "negro night" of the dance show is canceled, Tracy bans with her friends and with the black community to bring justice to the television station.

With such a tremendous all-star cast, "Hairspray" has no trouble at all pulling in loads of expertise; from new-comers like Blonsky, Efron and Bynes to veterans like Pfeiffer, John Travolta as Tracy's dismaying mother, and Christopher Walken as Tracy's loopy dad the film is highly qualified in the field of acting. Of course Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle acted no different than in most of her other roles, but other than that it was a great and fun cast.

"Hairspray" also has a great way of turning the table on what's to be expected in what seems to be a sugar-coated musical. The message of integrating the black dancers with the white is both beautiful and profound. Storyline conflicts and resolutions are subtle and nicely placed, lined with great music that will have your foot tapping against the seat in front of you.

But recollecting the film, it's hard to see it as being a great film. When thinking of "Dreamgirls," though it lacked in many areas of song placement and plot, the cinematography was stunning, refined, and dead-on. In "Hairspray" it was like watching a Disney Channel movie. With poor angles and not a whole lot of movement which collided badly with the lot of dancing around streets and stages, the film looks, feels and acts poorly, though the movie as it is is fun and very entertaining.

Grade: B+