Hairspray

Critics Consensus

Hairspray is perhaps John Waters' most accessible film, and as such, it's a gently subversive slice of retro hilarity.

98%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 42

80%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 64,150

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Hairspray Photos

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Movie Info

Forever interested in the kitsch built into past eras, director John Waters chooses the TV dance show craze of the early '60s for his playful focus in Hairspray. Ricki Lake plays Tracy Turnblad, just one of several alliteratively named characters coming of age in 1962 Baltimore, where "The Corny Collins Show" is the most popular American Bandstand-type program, watched by hundreds of young dreamers each day after school. Being chosen to dance on it is the ultimate status symbol and every young girl's dream, and Tracy improbably wins a featured spot when she infiltrates a dance contest and makes a better impression than her favored rival, the catty Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick). Always able to have fun, even when she's being mocked by the jealous popular girls, Tracy wins the affections of Amber's boyfriend and soon begins leading a movement to integrate the dance show, which has previously featured blacks only in a once-weekly theme night. She is arrested following a demonstration at a local theme park owned by Amber's father (Sonny Bono), who subscribes to the same theory of race relations as "The Corny Collins Show." Tracy's adventures are also filtered through her loving but eccentric parents (Divine and Jerry Stiller) and involve a humorous cultural clash with pot-smoking beatniks (Ric Ocasek and Pia Zadora). ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
  • Rating:
    PG
  • Genre:
    Comedy, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts
  • Directed By:
    John Waters
  • Written By:
    John Waters
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    New Line Home Entertainment

Cast

Divine
as Edna Turnblad/Arvin Hodgepile
Ricki Lake
as Tracy Turnblad
Sonny Bono
as Franklin von Tussle
Ruth Brown
as Motormouth Maybelle
Vitamin C
as Amber Von Tussle
Michael St. Gerard
as Link Larkin
Deborah Harry
as Velma Von Tussle
Leslie Ann Powers
as Penny Pingleton
Clayton Prince
as Seaweed
Jerry Stiller
as Wilbur Turnblad
Mink Stole
as Tammy
Shawn Thompson
as Corny Collins
Ric Ocasek
as Beatnik Cat
Pia Zadora
as Beatnik Girl
David Samson
as WZZT Official
Josh Charles
as Iggy
Leo Rocca
as Governor
William Rose
as Amusement Park Patron
Mary Vivian Pearce
as Hairhopper Mother
Joey Perillo
as TV Secruity Guard
James Parisi
as Governor's Aide
Alan J. Wendl
as Mr. Pinky
Kim Webb
as Carmelita
Michael Willis
as Governor's Mansion Newsman
Brook Yeaton
as Tough Guy #1
George Stover
as Governor's Mansion Policeman
June Thorne
as Von Tussle Picket
Darrell Taylor
as Governor's Mansion Picket
John Waters
as The Psychiatrist
Adam Tucker
as Cop
Carolyn Walker
as Trinklette #3
Lori Keith Douglas
as Lead Lafayette
Joseph Eubanks
as Governor's Mansion Picket
Holter Graham
as I.Q. Jones
Brenda Alford
as Trinklette #2
Jeff Gardner
as Tough Guy #2
W.H. Brown
as Governor's Mansion Picket
Rick Anderson
as Von Tussle Picket
Scheryll Anderson
as Amusement Park Patron
Mark Oliver
as Geometry Student
Brooke Stacy Mills
as Lou Ann
Toussaint McCall
as Himself
Susan Lowe
as Angry Mother
Patrick Mitchell
as Teen Street Fan
Matt Myers
as Singing Bum
Dan Griffith
as Brad
Mary Jefferson
as Street Lady #1
Charlie Hawke
as Amusement Park Patron
Peter Koper
as Governor's Mansion Policeman
Kevin Joseph
as Joke Store Customer
Rosemary Knower
as Mrs. Shipley
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News & Interviews for Hairspray

11 Things We Learned About Hairspray Live!
RT on DVD: Live Free or Hairspray This Thanksgiving
Christopher Walken To Shake It In "Hairspray"
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Critic Reviews for Hairspray

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (1)

  • It is absurd and jolly, parodying not only the worst conventions of the teen film but also the Sixties social-conscience movie, with an anti-racist sub-plot.

    December 31, 2017 | Full Review…

    David Robinson

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Perhaps Waters' best known movie.

    September 3, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Kate Muir

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • When Divine's Edna Turnblad is on-screen in the sleeveless dresses she's partial to, the movie has something like the lunacy of a W. C. Fields in drag.

    May 28, 2008 | Full Review…

    Pauline Kael

    New Yorker
    Top Critic

  • Not only Waters's best movie, but a crossover gesture that expands his appeal without compromising his vision one iota; Ricki Lake as the hefty young heroine is especially delightful.

    July 16, 2007 | Rating: 3/4

    Jonathan Rosenbaum

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • John Waters' appreciation for the tacky side of life is in full flower in Hairspray, a slight but often highly amusing diversion about integration, big girls' fashions and music-mad teens in 1962 Baltimore.

    June 30, 2007 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Waters' most hygienically commercial film is a Retro schlock-fancier's delight.

    June 24, 2006 | Full Review…

    Derek Adams

    Time Out
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (42)

Audience Reviews for Hairspray

  • Jul 15, 2014
    Without a doubt, this is John Waters's best film, and he crafts something that is quite enjoyable, funny, entertaining and well worth your time. If you're familiar with Waters' filmography, you'll notice that he was more an exploitation, trash director who made some of film's most bizarre films. With Hairspray, he makes his most accessible picture, a film that is highly enjoyable, well acted and with a good story. The film may not be a perfect effort, but it does manage to be an entertaining film while using the theme segregation and racial issues as its backdrop for its story. With that, I thought it brought something serious to a comedy, and the way it handled it was very well done. John Waters has made his finest film yet with Hairspray, and this is a highly amusing entertaining film that is one of the finest musical comedies that I have seen. Every actor here brings something wonderful to the screen, and it's a satisfying film that will certainly appeal to any viewer looking for a pleasant time waster. Hairspray works well because it's a witty, funny picture with a message and it is a film that shows us that John Waters is a capable director who was able to shift from Exploitation to a more mainstream type of movie. Hairspray is worth seeing, and it's a film that surprised as I didn't expect to really enjoy it, but I did. If you're uncertain about John Waters, give this film a shot, it's easily one of his most accessible works, and with many well thought out characters, it's a memorable musical that ranks among the genres finest films.
    Alex r Super Reviewer
  • Mar 18, 2014
    A plus-sized teen dance sensation campaigns for "Miss Auto Show" and agitates for integration in 1963 Baltimore. This mockingly saccharine PG-rated effort from John Waters lacks his transgressive nastiness, but the tacky decor, elaborate hairstyles, and offbeat casting (Sonny Bono, Debbie Harry, blues singer Ruth Brown, Divine in and out of drag) still reveal his arch worldview.
    Greg S Super Reviewer
  • Mar 24, 2013
    The most interesting part of this movie for me was the cast. Like wow, Debbie Harry and Ric Ocasek were in this. It is definitely a weird Waters film, although it's PG. This is one of the strangest portrayals of the early 60s I have ever seen. I was expecting more singing, though, hearing from others that it's a musical and all. I didn't really get into this movie, but I guess others like it.
    Aj V Super Reviewer
  • Jan 09, 2012
    Slightly better than the remake. Probably didn't deserve to be remade. Waters has made better since.
    John B Super Reviewer
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