Do you want to see ‘Hairspray’?

Hairspray (2007)

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Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 212
Fresh: 193 | Rotten: 19

Hairspray is an energetic, wholly entertaining musical romp; a fun Summer movie with plenty of heart. Its contagious songs will make you want to get up and start dancing.

Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 1

Hairspray is an energetic, wholly entertaining musical romp; a fun Summer movie with plenty of heart. Its contagious songs will make you want to get up and start dancing.

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Average Rating: 3.9/5
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Movie Info

Adam Shankman's adaptation of the stage musical Hairspray, itself an adaptation of the non-musical John Waters film of the same name, stars Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, an overweight high-school student whose only dream is to be on a local Baltimore teen dance program. While her father (Christopher Walken) tells her to follow her dreams, her mother Edna (John Travolta in drag) reminds her that she doesn't look like the girls on that show. After impressing the show's host (James Marsden),

PG, 1 hr. 57 min.

Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

Directed By: Adam Shankman

Written By: Leslie Dixon, Mark O'Donnell

In Theaters: Jul 20, 2007 Wide

On DVD: Nov 20, 2007

Box Office:$118.8M

New Line Cinema

For a star-studded big-budget musical, Hairspray does a nice job of retaining the funky sweetness of the original.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org

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Bob Mondello

NPR.org

Top Critic

'Hairspray': An unabashed, unapologetic movie musical that nearly jumps off the screen and challenges all of your silly hang-ups about movie musicals

August 22, 2007 Full Review Source: Passionate Moviegoer

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Passionate Moviegoer

Top Critic

Bright, campy and wonderfully light, Hairspray reminds us that fun comes in all shapes and sizes. It's also one of the few 'event' movies this summer that doesn't outstay its welcome. That's worth singing about, no matter what your name is.

July 28, 2007 Full Review Source: CNN.com

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(CNN.com) Paul Clinton

CNN.com

Top Critic

It's amiable, it's bouncy, it's got a sweet unknown in the lead flanked by a cast of bankable stars and, providing as it does an amiable and bouncy and sweet escape from a summer's worth of clunky blockbusters.

July 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

Hairspray is an infectious aerosol comedy with nearly every hair in place.

July 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Denver Post

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John Moore

Denver Post

Top Critic

Hairspray is one of the most enjoyable translations of a Broadway musical to the big screen ever.

July 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

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Lawson Taitte

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

In alchemy the transmuting of materials between forms distills them to their purest elements. In film, the opposite is true. The more iterations, the more muddled things get. Hairspray is good at what it does but not everything it does is good.

March 22, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net

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Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Much of the fun comes from director-choreographer Adam Shankman's happy acceptance of musical staples

August 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

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Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Shankman's crassly theatrical attenuation of Hairspray only draws gay culture away from a moment of American history with which it ought to have a great deal in common

August 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Reverse Shot

| Comments (2)

Leo Goldsmith

Reverse Shot

It falls to individual efforts by the cast to keep the eye and ear coming back for more.

July 23, 2009 Full Review Source: JWR

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S. James Wegg

JWR

Hairspray is an energetic romp, but as a social statement -- which it pretends to be -- it's cartoonish. And as a playful look back at a time and place, it's simplistic shtik. It's a mountain of whipped cream, with an occasional chocolate sprinkle.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly

| Comments (5)

Tony Macklin

Fayetteville Free Weekly

I will confess that Travolta totally turned me around. A mountain of a woman in his female fat suit, he commits 150% to the role.

August 23, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com

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Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com Source: ReelzChannel.com

The most refreshing and enjoyable musical of this century%u2014Hairspray.

July 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine

| Comment (1)

Tim Basham

Paste Magazine

Even if the new Hairspray seems a welcome return to camp for Travolta, his mock seriousness is as frozen as ever.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Bright Lights Film Journal

| Comment (1)

Matthew Sorrento

Bright Lights Film Journal

The film works best for me when they are making fun of the racial climate of the 1960s.

March 3, 2008 Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review

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Jeff Bayer

The Scorecard Review

An amazing cast sings and dances across the screen with such flair and passion its completely infectious.

February 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

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Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

Caso tivesse 20 minutos e alguns n�meros musicais a menos, Hairspray poderia ser uma surpresa t�o divertida quanto o original (que tampouco � um cl�ssico). Inchado como ficou, por�m, � apenas um passatempo pouco memor�vel.

January 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena

| Comment (1)

Pablo Villaca

Cinema em Cena

Like your high school's production of "Grease": A musical about sex with a chastity belt strapped to its waist.

December 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Snobs

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Stephen Himes

Film Snobs

One's enjoyment of Adam Shankman's motion picture will largely depend on one's tolerance for conflict-less, feel good musicals.

December 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com

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Jordan Hiller

Bangitout.com

Some magical balance between the cast members, the set design, the songs and director Adam Shankman makes it work.

December 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

To borrow a phrase from Waters' original movie, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

November 30, 2007 Full Review Source: MSN.com

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Sean Axmaker

MSN.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Hairspray

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I'm not sure what the point is of this film. A film version of a musical version based on the original film. Talk about bastardised. I had no problem with the cast, although John Travolta was an odd choice as the Divine replacement but it worked with the rest of the film, which is to say, not particularly well. I think

March 1, 2012

Anthony Lawrie

Super Reviewer

Let me get something off my chest about this film: John Travolta looks terrible in a drag role, and he must feel so humiliated just for that role. Whew! HAIRSPRAY isn't perfect, but it feels good, and it is danceable and free-spirited. Though extremely quirky and highly overrated, I enjoyed it, and I thought it was

June 14, 2011

Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

Hairspray Quotes

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1. Prudy Pingleton: Devil's Child! [sprinkles water on Penny] Devil's Child!
– Submitted by Matthew D (3 months ago)
1. Penny Pingleton: [kisses seaweed] I've tasted chocolate and I'm not going back!
– Submitted by Matthew D (3 months ago)
1. Wilbur Turnblad: [time lapse] And, my personal favorite, 'X-ray Specs' [he is wearing them]. I can see through anything. Skin, clothes, you name it.
2. Velma Von Tussle: [carrying a large bunch of items, looks at her watch, obviously fed-up]
– Submitted by Diego T (6 months ago)
1. Mr. Spritzer: That big little girl [shows Velma the records] is sending my sales through the roof. More people are breathing aerosol, than oxygen!
– Submitted by Diego T (6 months ago)
1. Prudy Pingleton: Penny, pray for her. [hands her a rosary] She's gonna need it. [smirks to herself]
– Submitted by Diego T (6 months ago)