Hairspray (2007)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 213
Fresh: 194 | 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: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 48
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 2
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
User Ratings: 759,299
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),
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Cast
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John Travolta
Edna Turnblad -
Michelle Pfeiffer
Velma Von Tussle -
Christopher Walken
Wilbur Turnblad -
Amanda Bynes
Penny Pingleton -
James Marsden
Corny Collins -
Queen Latifah
Motormouth Maybelle -
Brittany Snow
Amber Von Tussle -
Zac Efron
Link Larkin -
Elijah Kelley
Seaweed J. Stubbs -
Allison Janney
Prudy Pingleton -
Jerry Stiller
Mr. Pinky -
Paul Dooley
Mr. Spritzer -
Tabitha Lupien
Becky -
Nikki Blonsky
Tracy Turnblad -
Taylor Parks
Little Inez -
Hayley Podschun
Tammy -
Kelly Fletcher
Lu Anne -
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Hairspray Trailer & Photos
All Critics (213) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (194) | Rotten (19) | DVD (12)
For a star-studded big-budget musical, Hairspray does a nice job of retaining the funky sweetness of the original.
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
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.
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.
Hairspray is an infectious aerosol comedy with nearly every hair in place.
Hairspray is one of the most enjoyable translations of a Broadway musical to the big screen ever.
If any movie musical could threaten the standing of retro favourite Grease, it's this one.
Director-choreographer Adam Shankman has come up with one of the purest entertainments of the summer.
It pays respect to the original while also carving its own image as a truly good musical.
Much as Hairspray serves as a showcase for the effervescent charms of newcomer Blonsky, its greatest trick is to revitalise the careers of a few old Hollywood faithfuls.
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.
Much of the fun comes from director-choreographer Adam Shankman's happy acceptance of musical staples
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
It falls to individual efforts by the cast to keep the eye and ear coming back for more.
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.
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.
The most refreshing and enjoyable musical of this century%u2014Hairspray.
Even if the new Hairspray seems a welcome return to camp for Travolta, his mock seriousness is as frozen as ever.
The film works best for me when they are making fun of the racial climate of the 1960s.
An amazing cast sings and dances across the screen with such flair and passion its completely infectious.
Caso tivesse 20 minutos e alguns números musicais a menos, Hairspray poderia ser uma surpresa tão divertida quanto o original (que tampouco é um clássico). Inchado como ficou, porém, é apenas um passatempo pouco memorável.
Like your high school's production of "Grease": A musical about sex with a chastity belt strapped to its waist.
One's enjoyment of Adam Shankman's motion picture will largely depend on one's tolerance for conflict-less, feel good musicals.
Some magical balance between the cast members, the set design, the songs and director Adam Shankman makes it work.
Though colorful, cheery and energetic, there's something missing from this song-and-dance routine.
Audience Reviews for Hairspray
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Movies Like Hairspray
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- Motormouth Maybelle: [to kids] Well, looks like y'all took a step out of bounce, who do we have here?
- Seaweed J. Stubbs: Mama I want you to meet my new friends, this here's Link and this is Tracy Turnblad
- Tracy Turnblad: This is just so afrotastic!
- Motormouth Maybelle: [looks at Tracy]
- Seaweed J. Stubbs: [grabs Penny] and this here is Penny Pingleton
- Penny Pingleton: I'm very pleased and scared to be here
- Motormouth Maybelle: Oh honey we've got more reason to be scared on your street [walks over to Latoya whose messing with a record] Latoya put that record down you gonna scratch it!
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- Tracy Turnblad: [to Miss Whimsey] Miss Whimsey what am I to do? Hair can't just sit there like a dead thing on your cheeks.
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- Edna Turnblad: [to Velma Von Tussle] Smile Miss Crab Meat you're on candid camera.
- Wilbur Turnblad: That was a good shot.
- Velma Von Tussle: [laughs] What are you doing? GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME! GO TO COMMERCIAL! GO!
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- Amber Von Tussle: Right now, as we speak, your daughter has entered a hotbed of moral... turpentine.
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- Prudy Pingleton: Devil's Child! [sprinkles water on Penny] Devil's Child!
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- Penny Pingleton: [kisses seaweed] I've tasted chocolate and I'm not going back!
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Latest News on Hairspray
June 3, 2010:
Hairspray 2 Isn't HappeningAdam Shankman's "Hairspray" remake made money, but don't expect to see a sequel -- Shankman says...
December 8, 2009:
Nikki Blonsky Talks Hairspray 2The "Hairspray" sequel is slated for next year, and if you take Nikki Blonsky's word at face value,...
October 20, 2009:
Adam Shankman Leans on the Rock of Ages"Hairspray" director Adam Shankman has agreed to direct and choreograph a film adaptation of the...
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