A musical is by definition a celebration of song and dance. This film does both, in this stunning romp of a musical, set in the gritty city of Baltimore in 1962, before integration of the races is completed there.
Zac Efron is the gritty Elvis-like teen idol crush for Nikki Blonsky and one of the stars of her favorite black and white television show. In fact, Nikki and her girlfriend never miss the Corny Collins teen dance show, hosted by handsome James Marsden, similar to Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The Corny Collins show has several peculiarities, however. These include, of course, hairspray as its advertising sponsor, a token "Negro Day," in which the local black population shows off their fascinating dance moves, and a prejudiced and vain former Miss Baltimore producer, hysterically portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. But, Nikki is obsessed with the dance show, even though she and her mother John Travolta, are "two tons of fun" in the weight department and resemble the dancing hippos of Fantasia, most of the time, as they mimic the moves they see on TV.
So, Nikki goes to detention at her high school and learns how to dance in the "Negro Day" way from the blacks also in detention at her already integrated high school. And, Nikki gets her chance to get on the television show. It goes from there, a regular Elvis story, in which a child of the lower classes makes it big in show business and wins the affection of her love interest.
Along the way, we meet fetching portrayals by Queen Latifah of a local civil rights leader and by Christopher Walken of Nikki's affectionate father. If you love song and dance and vivid portrayals of the early 1960s, with all its growing pains and celebrations, you will not just like, but adore "Hairspray."
Zac Efron is the gritty Elvis-like teen idol crush for Nikki Blonsky and one of the stars of her favorite black and white television show. In fact, Nikki and her girlfriend never miss the Corny Collins teen dance show, hosted by handsome James Marsden, similar to Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The Corny Collins show has several peculiarities, however. These include, of course, hairspray as its advertising sponsor, a token "Negro Day," in which the local black population shows off their fascinating dance moves, and a prejudiced and vain former Miss Baltimore producer, hysterically portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. But, Nikki is obsessed with the dance show, even though she and her mother John Travolta, are "two tons of fun" in the weight department and resemble the dancing hippos of Fantasia, most of the time, as they mimic the moves they see on TV.
So, Nikki goes to detention at her high school and learns how to dance in the "Negro Day" way from the blacks also in detention at her already integrated high school. And, Nikki gets her chance to get on the television show. It goes from there, a regular Elvis story, in which a child of the lower classes makes it big in show business and wins the affection of her love interest.
Along the way, we meet fetching portrayals by Queen Latifah of a local civil rights leader and by Christopher Walken of Nikki's affectionate father. If you love song and dance and vivid portrayals of the early 1960s, with all its growing pains and celebrations, you will not just like, but adore "Hairspray."