Hairspray

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[4.0
stars] [IMDb Link]

This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek musical set in 1962 Baltimore. It centers on Tracy Turnblad (played to, as near as I can tell, perfection by Nikki Blonsky); you would have to have a heart of cold stone not to love her. She is the dictionary definition of ebullience. But she's also "different": obese—but in a totally cute and perky way—with a mom who hasn't left the house in over a decade and a father who runs a joke shop.

In addition to Ms. Blonsky, the rest of the cast is excellent, too. Christopher Walken plays Tracy's eccentric dad; John Travolta plays her reclusive even-fatter mom. Tracy's near-term ambition is to dance on the local TV show, hosted by Corny Collins, played by James Marsden, the prince from Enchanted. She's opposed by the station's manager, snooty Velma von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer), but helped out by the saintly Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah). The wonderful Jerry Stiller and Paul Dooley also show up in smaller roles.

So it's pretty good, and mostly a lot of fun to watch. The plot driver in the beginning is Tracy's quest to satisfy her aspirations for self-expression and acceptance. In the latter half, it switches over to a civil rights struggle, as Velma von Tussle is revealed to be not only snooty, but also an open racist. She's easily defeated in the end by plucky Tracy and her black and white allies, unified in their love of music and dance. This part is treated ham-handedly enough to make my cynical side bubble up: "And that's why we don't have any racial problems in this country any more, kids."


Last Modified 2024-02-01 5:47 AM EDT