Hairspray Film Review

Hairspray has taken the spotlight pushing the all time classics Grease, Chicago and Mamma Mia out of the way. With a mixture of stupendous actors playing unexpected roles Hairspray wows an audience of all ages. With spectacular dance sequences, addictive tunes, big hair and bright, funky costumes it surely is the musical to watch. This remake of the 1988 comical version, which was produced by John Walters who before wrote and directed other comedy movies which include Pink Flamingos and Polyester, is the best yet.

Director Adam Shankman, who also directed well known movies such as The Wedding Planner and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, created a hilarious atmosphere as well as making serious issues heard through music and dance. Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) is mad about dance, knows ALL the latest moves and is obsessed with The Corny Collins Show. Running after school with best friend Penny Pingleton , to watch The Corny Collins Show they drool over Link Larkin played by Zac Efron the obvious heartthrob.

With Edna Turnblad , Tracy’s mom in the background ironing away the girls twist and turn to the incredible dance moves whilst singing along. At the high school dance Tracy wows the audience particularly Corny Collins and sets fire to the heart of Link Larkin with the hip dance moves she got from Seaweed a fellow black friend who then goes out with Penny.

Soon Tracy recognises the inequality when black and white kids were put into separate classes and the disapproving atmosphere surrounding the relationship between Penny and Seaweed. This division motivates Tracy to march through Baltimore alongside the shows co-host Motormouth Maybelle and other African-American residents to fight for integration after the show cancels ‘Negro Day’. However Tracy becomes the headline on every news channel as she hits a police officer with a signpost, does this ruin the chance of her winning Miss Teenage Hairspray?

With Velma Von Tussle and daughter Amber trying to do everything possible to stop Tracy from winning the crown and auditioning for the show by insulting her about her weight it doesn’t stop her from carrying on to follow her dream. But will Miss Tracy Turnblad be crowned Miss Teenage Hairspray? You’ll just have to watch and find out! With a minority of people commenting on Hairspray in a negative way I personally think it’s a movie that’s been a successful hit and one that people will never forget.

I enjoyed the music and dance moves mostly because the lyrics were catchy and the dance moves were cheesy enough to laugh at but imitate at the same time. I also liked the fact that they were obsessed with their hair and had funky hairstyles partly because they were outrageous and very different to hairstyles fashioned now obviously because it was set in the 60’s. However they were actually a very few negative things that catched my eye. These things were everyone was just too cheesy. I didn’t like these things because it didn’t make it as realistic as it should’ve been.

Another negative thing was everyone had no imperfections, they all had a bright, big and white smile, and this made it look fake and unreal. The songs carried on forever and made you think it was never going to end. This was put on the negative side because you’d get bored and annoyed and wish it was all over and got the point. Moving on to the characters played by actors you wouldn’t expect. The characters were, in my view, ok. Why? Because they weren’t too over the top although they were all cheesy. Tracy Turnblad was a character that was music and dance mad.

I quite liked her and Nikki Blonsky did a good job by showing us how vibrant and hilarious Tracy was. I like that she always had a positive vibe around her and made people around her feel themselves without trying to be someone you’re not. Link Larkin was a character that wasn’t going to be pushed around by his girlfriend. He was the perfect guy to fall for. There are numerous reasons why starting from; he had the perfect smile, perfect hair well basically perfect everything from head to toe. I think Zac Efron was suited for the character he played because in every movie role he played he was known as the heartthrob so this was no different.

One of my favourite characters was Penny Pingleton. This was because she was a sweet, soft character that everyone would wish she was their friend. She was fun to hang around with and made no bad remarks to any sort of people. In the film she has a relationship with Seaweed, who is black, and her mother finds out but however much her mother hates it she sticks to him and stands up for herself gaining confidence. Another one of my favourite characters were Motormouth Maybelle because she was a strong black woman that stood up for what was right and also a very sweet, positive one that welcomed anyone.

She was a character that never gave up and encouraged people to do what they dreamt of no matter how hard it was to get there. Overall, I think it is recommended from me at least that you watch Hairspray. It is one that you’ll never forget and with critics pushing the classics; Grease, Mamma Mia and Chicago out of the spotlight it surely is a satisfying musical to watch and sink into with whatever audience. So I say ‘Go for it’ with two thumbs up, with sprinkles and a cherry added on top.