Hairspray

This movie was a lot of fun! It's one of the few genuine feel good movies you will see this summer. It took me a bit to get around and see it because musicals are not something I typically go to. I am more into the dark dramas and comedies (the ones that try to deliver anyway). But I knew that sooner or later, I had to see "Hairspray," as it has quite a history behind it.

I should mention that I have not see John Water's original version of this story, nor have I seen the Broadway musical which was inspired by John Water's movie. So, I came into this film as a total "Hairspray" virgin, not knowing what the hell it was about. But after seeing it, I can definitely say that it stands above a lot of other musicals I have seen recently.

The movie takes place in Baltimore, Maryland (albeit filmed in Toronto) in 1962. Its main character in this story is Tracy Turnblad, who is a fat, overweight high school girl whose infectiously perky spirits can never be beaten down. She is crazy crazy crazy about a local American Bandstand knock off show called The Corny Collins Show which features dancers and dancing that Tracy and her friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) can get enough of.

She gets an opportunity to audition for the show one day when one of the dancers has to drop out for some unexplained reason. Of course, being gone for 9 months seems to imply something very big. Anyway, Tray's mother Edna (John Travolta) is desperate to keep her daughter from auditioning for the show because she is convinced that she will get hurt tremendously because of her rather large waistline. But nothing stops Tracy from realizing her dream. Not even the villainous snob that is Velma Von Tussle (Michele Pfeiffer) or her spoiled rotten brat of a daughter, Amber (Brittany Snow).