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Hairspray,
2007, 107 minutes, Not Rated
By Marona Lowe
At
a time when an adhesive aerosol spray helped hairstyles reach
unusual heights, Tracy Turnblad overcomes the slender girl bias of
the Corny Collins Show in the film musical Hairspray. A Rubenesque,
idealistic and effervescent teen with an urge to boogie, Tracy has a
colorblind view of the world. Although living in Baltimore during
the 1960s where segregation still permeated aspects of American
society, Tracy envisions a day when her black and white television
will include Blacks and Whites on screen at the same time. MORE >>>
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Another
instance of a film that becomes a play and subsequently made into a
film, Adam Shankman’s Hairspray is a finger-snapping, feel good
crowd pleaser featuring strong performances by a multi-talented
cast. More reincarnation that film remake, Shankman’s musical is
nevertheless, likely to disappoint fans of the John Waters cult
classic. Missing from Shankman’s film is the mocking comedic tone
that characterized the original production. What results is a
tempered examination of body image and race.
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For instance, Waters pushed the envelope in depicting
a parent’s overreaction to what is deemed a taboo love affair.
Shankman, on the other hand, downplays such reaction and thereby
misses an opportunity to point out the ridiculousness of trying to
“reprogram” someone who follows her heart wherever that may lead.
Also, the hair in Water’s film is big, teased and
frizzy with home-styled coiffures signaling volumes about the
characters sporting the ‘dos. Conversely, the hair of Shankman’s
film is more reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy with too many salon
perfect variations.
Moreover, the distinctiveness of Baltimore, a
well-known bastion of the bouffant hairstyle, is oddly absent from
Shankman’s Hairspray. The setting is instead ordinary lacking the
specificity to firmly root the film in one of the United States’
major port cities.
In the musical, certain characters from the
original film are eliminated and others are bolstered. But appearing
in outstanding fashion are the characters Edna Turnblad (John
Travolta) and Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer). Pfeiffer vamps
with irresistible appeal as the controlling mom of Tracy’s
archrival, Amber (Brittany Snow). And despite portraying his
character with an accent that vacillates between soprano and
baritone, Travolta crafts a delightful BBW that dances and sings
with the best of them. Hairspray also stars, Queen Latifah,
Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah
Kelley and James Marsden. In homage to the original, Hairspray
includes cameos by Jerry Stiller and John Waters.
M
July 2007
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Writer(s) |
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Leslie Dixon (screenplay),
John Waters (1988 screenplay), Mark O'Donnell (musical play)
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Michael Disco |
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Executive Producer |
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Toby Emmerich |
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Executive Producer |
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Jennifer Gibgot |
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Executive Producer |
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Garrett Grant |
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Executive Producer |
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Mark Kaufman |
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Executive Producer |
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Neil Meron |
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Producer |
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Marc Shaiman |
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Executive Producer |
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Adam Shankman |
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Executive Producer |
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Robert Shaye |
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Executive Producer |
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John Waters |
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Executive Producer |
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Scott Wittman |
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Executive Producer |
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Craig Zadan |
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Producer |
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John Travolta |
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Edna Turnblad |
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Michelle
Pfeiffer |
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Velma Von Tussle |
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Christopher Walken |
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Wilbur Turnblad |
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Nikki
Blonsky |
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Tracy Turnblad |
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Amanda Bynes |
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Penny Pingleton |
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James
Marsden |
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Corny Collins |
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Queen
Latifah |
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Motormouth Maybelle |
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Brittany
Snow |
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Amber Von Tussle |
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Zac
Efron |
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Link Larkin |
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Elijah
Kelley |
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Seaweed |
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Bojan Bazelli |
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Cinematographer |
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Ryan Wise |
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Editor(s) |
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Marc Shaiman |
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Music |
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Tina Gerussi, Richard Hicks and David Rubin |
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Casting |
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Rita Ryack |
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Costume
Design |
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Distributor |
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New
Line Cinema
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