Hairspray

Hairspray started off its life as a film by trash maestro John Waters, before being converted into an all-out stage musical in 2002. This 2007 edition of the film is based on the musical rather than the original 1988 film, but the basic story elements remain the same.

Tracy Turnblat (Nikki Blonski) is a pudgy teenager who is just desperate to dance on the Corny Collins show, a variety show on the local TV network. Her mother, the similarly rotund Edna (John Travolta) is a borderline recluse, too ashamed to venture outside lest she be goaded by passers by.

Tracy meets up with a group of equally dance-obsessed black kids in detention, and voila we have an underclass ready to take on the prejudices of the Corny Collins show. In the flesh, the film is a lot less politically-inclined than it sounds, propelled by good intentions rather than a staunch manifesto. The edginess from the Waters original has been shaved off entirely, but Hairspray is pure entertainment. Newcomer Blonski is a pleasure to watch and Travolta, despite an accent that is baffling for the first half of the film, pulls off his gender-bending duties with real skill. Occasionally the sheer number of songs seems to hinder narrative progresion, but It's impossible to walk out of the cinema without a smile on your face after having seen this.

Released 20th July 2007 by Storyline Entertainment.

Written by Andrew Williams.