Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.
Hairspray (2007) is a vibrant, energetic musical remake of the 1988 John Waters film and the Broadway adaptation. The acting is a genuine standout — John Travolta in drag as Edna, alongside Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a breakout Nikki Blonsky — delivering committed, charismatic performances that elevate the material. The plot is feel-good but fairly formulaic: underdog rises, fights prejudice, wins the day, with little genuine tension or complexity. Cinematography is competent and colorful but not cinematically distinctive for the genre. Novelty scores low as this is a remake of a remake (film-to-Broadway-to-film), and while it executes the musical form with enthusiasm, it brings little conceptually new to the table. The ending is satisfying in a crowd-pleasing way but predictable — everything wraps up neatly in classic musical fashion.