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Show all servicesHairspray Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Tracy Turnblad
Edna Turnblad , Arvin Hodgepile
Wilbur Turnblad
Franklin von Tussle
Amber von Tussle
Motormouth Mabel
News & Interviews for Hairspray
Critic Reviews for Hairspray
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (1)
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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… -
Perhaps Waters' best known movie.
September 3, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
While it's corny by design, Hairspray also aims to get at something truthful, about the various kinds of prejudice [...] and how youthful optimism and music made a difference [...].
March 10, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
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… -
Thoroughly deserving of its cult status.
July 16, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
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
Audience Reviews for Hairspray
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Jul 15, 2014Without 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
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Mar 18, 2014A 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
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Mar 24, 2013The 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
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Jan 09, 2012Slightly better than the remake. Probably didn't deserve to be remade. Waters has made better since.John B Super Reviewer
Hairspray Quotes
Beatnik Chick: | When I'm High, I AM Odetta! Let's Get naked and smoke! |
Beatnik Chick: | When I'm high, I AM Odetta! Let's Get naked and smoke! |
Amber von Tussle: | Tracy Turnblad is a human roach nest. |
Tammy: | Penny Pingleton, you know you are punished. From now on you're wearing a giant P on your blouse EVERY DAY to school so that the whole world knows that Penny Pingleton is permanently, positively, punished. |
Tracy Turnblad: | I'm a bad, bad girl who needs to be punished. |
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