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Ricki Lake, Michael St. Gerard, Divine, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Sonny Bono ... see more see more... , Ruth Brown , Deborah Harry , Leslie Ann Powers , Clayton Prince , Jerry Stiller , Mink Stole , Shawn Thompson , Ric Ocasek , Brenda Alford , Scheryll Anderson , W.H. Brown , Josh Charles , Jeff Gardner , Holter Graham , Charlie Hawke , Mary Jefferson , Rosemary Knower , Susan Lowe , Brooke Mills , Matt Myers , James Parisi , Mary Vivian Pearce , David Samson , George Stover , Darrell Taylor , June Thorne , Adam Tucker , Carolyn Walker , Kim Webb , Alan J. Wendl , Pia Zadora , Toussaint McCall , Brook Yeaton , Joseph Eubanks , Dan Griffith , Mark Oliver , Michael Willis , Peter Koper , Kevin Joseph , John Waters , Joey Perillo , Rick Anderson , Lori Keith Douglas , Leo Rocca , Patrick Mitchell , William Rose , Bill Lee Brown

Forever interested in the kitsch built into past eras, director John Waters chooses the TV dance show craze of the early '60s for his playful focus in Hairspray. Ricki Lake plays Tracy Turnblad, just ... read more read more...one of several alliteratively named characters coming of age in 1962 Baltimore, where "The Corny Collins Show" is the most popular American Bandstand-type program, watched by hundreds of young dreamers each day after school. Being chosen to dance on it is the ultimate status symbol and every young girl's dream, and Tracy improbably wins a featured spot when she infiltrates a dance contest and makes a better impression than her favored rival, the catty Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick). Always able to have fun, even when she's being mocked by the jealous popular girls, Tracy wins the affections of Amber's boyfriend and soon begins leading a movement to integrate the dance show, which has previously featured blacks only in a once-weekly theme night. She is arrested following a demonstration at a local theme park owned by Amber's father (Sonny Bono), who subscribes to the same theory of race relations as "The Corny Collins Show." Tracy's adventures are also filtered through her loving but eccentric parents (Divine and Jerry Stiller) and involve a humorous cultural clash with pot-smoking beatniks (Ric Ocasek and Pia Zadora). ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Flixster Users

77% liked it

62,192 ratings

Critics

97% liked it

35 critics

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: John Waters

Release Date: February 26, 1988

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DVD Release Date: November 5, 2002

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Stats: 5,740 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,740)

  • cosmo313
    March 5, 2011
    cosmo313
    The 1960s is one of my favorite decades. While I do prefer the latter half of the decade more (it just suits my sensibilities better), I can find much enjoyment in the first half, which, in many ways was not all that different from the 1950s.

    John Waters is an interesting film... read moremaker who almost always makes a movie that is worth watching for various reasons. This nostalgic little trip to the days of dance shows and racial troubles is one such film. This may not be Waters's best film, but its very good, and actually sees him making an important film since it deals with a topic full of substance. It's also his most tame film, which is a pleasnt shock.

    Here's the thing: even though this film addresses racial segregation, it is still a Waters film, thus it is dealt with in his usual campy way. This might be a problem for some, since it might come across as too silly and not serious enough, but I found the treatment to be delightfully fun, charming, and hilarious.

    The time period is captured in an absolutely brilliant fashion, and the music and performances are dynamite. The cameos and casting are really fun (Ric Ocasek is a scream), and besides doing a great job, this gave Ricki Lake her big break. More importantly, the cast have great chemistry, and you can tell they had a lot of fun making this.

    My grade is perhaps just a tad inflated, but I don't care. I got onto this film's wavelength and it entertained the hell out of me. I highly recommend giving this one a watch.
  • FrizzDrop
    August 2, 2010
    FrizzDrop
    The original is always best. Ricki Lake is the perfect Traci, and the drag is quiant.
  • MeetMeinMontauk
    June 21, 2010
    MeetMeinMontauk
    I still haven't gotten used to John Waters style, but I am getting there. Definitely has a Grease vibe, but sillier. Much sillier. What social class was in Cry Baby was segregation was in this. Still, it was well acted on Miss Lake's part and Divine was fantastic. I'm looking for... read moreward to seeing the remake, I heard it was good. Plus, the wigs, were fantastically ridiculous. Loved it.
  • SirPant
    September 30, 2009
    SirPant
    Classic John Waters. It?s very funny and probably did do a good job educating people about integration. Ricki Lake is really good and Divine is still, very sadly missed (the dirty bugger that he was)!
  • fernandorafael
    January 10, 2008
    fernandorafael
    Since i first saw the 2007 version, i'm gonna base my review on it. The original, John Waters-directed version is not a musical (i didn't know that), it's darker, dirtier, weird, not so happy, and it contains foul language, BUT it's funny and the dance sequences and art directio... read moren are great. Ricki Lake and Sonny Bono are awesome, while Ruth Brown, Debbie Harry, Leslie Ann Powers, Shawn Thompson and Joann Havrilla give notable performances. Divine is just creepy.
  • matertenebraum
    January 8, 2008
    matertenebraum
    ohn Waters reveals a somewhat more sentimental side with "Hairspray", a movie several people have told me they absolutely hated. I wondered what it was about Waters' style as a filmmaker that could provoke such anger? I think it's his affection for '60's movie-clichés transposed ... read morethrough askewed nostalgia and Waters' own gross-out sensibilities (his personal brand of humor, which can be quite wicked). I didn't much care for the film the first time I saw it, but I gave it a second chance and it grew on me. The reckless amateurishness is off-putting at first, but you have to meet "Hairspray" halfway. There is much to enjoy here, not the least of which is Divine as Ricki Lake's mom (and also as a bigoted network bigwig); wheeling and dealing after her daughter finds TV fame, Divine becomes a coiffed society queen, twisting away in front of the television and tossing off jaded quips like, "It's the times...they're a-changin'." The performances are all happily hammy, colorful and amusing, and the lightweight story comfortably shoehorns-in relevant political issues to counterbalance the slapstick. Ricki Lake is very appealing in her debut; also hilarious, Pia Zadora as a beatnik and Debbie Harry as the mother of Lake's main rival ("1-2-cha-cha-CHA, 1-2-cha-cha-CHA!"). It's not a seamless, polished picture, but it does have heart and charm and this sold me--but on the second time around.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    August 4, 2007
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Another gem from John Waters.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    June 9, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A very light and fun movie. An enjoyable John Waters collection of characters. Not intended to be realistic, but has some important messages about society not being accepting of those who are different. Hilarious outlook on the life of ladies who like to make their hair unique. T... read morehere's nothing trashy or offensive in here, like many other of John Waters' movies.
  • garyX
    March 15, 2007
    garyX
    Not trashy enough for fans of Waters' early stuff, and not sophisticated enough for a more "adult" audience.
  • dreamfaeries
    March 5, 2007
    dreamfaeries
    Yep... makes you want to get jiggy with them. :)

View All Hairspray Reviews

Critic Reviews

Pauline Kael
May 28, 2008
Pauline Kael, New Yorker

When Divine's Edna Turnblad is on-screen in the sleeveless dresses she's partial to, the movie has something like the lunacy of a W. C. Fields in drag. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
July 16, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Not only Waters's best movie, but a crossover gesture that expands his appeal without compromising his vision one iota; Ricki Lake as the hefty young heroine is especially delightful. Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

The actors are best when they avoid exaggeration and remain weirdly sincere. That way, they do nothing to break the vibrant, even hallucinogenic spell of Mr. Waters's nostalgia. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie is a bubble-headed series of teenage crises and crushes, alternating with historically accurate choreography of such forgotten dances as the Madison and the Roach. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Waters writes warmth into his caricatures, lifting Hairspray above cartoon cult. Full Review

Heather Boerner
December 18, 2010
Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media

A kitschy teen fantasy you can dance to. Full Review

Leo Goldsmith
August 8, 2009
Leo Goldsmith, Reverse Shot

The shock Waters's cinema offers, then, is not transcendent, but almost reflexive, implicating the viewer in the awkward complexities of his own humanity and forcing him to either celebrate it or run ... Full Review

Tim Brayton
September 12, 2007
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

The Waters film for your grandma, who will probably be only a little bit freaked out by it. Full Review

Kim Newman
July 16, 2007
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

Thoroughly deserving of its cult status. Full Review

July 16, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Controversial filmmaker John Waters finally hits his commercial stride in this film, parlaying his keen social observation and great compassion for society's outsiders into a colorful and engaging com... Full Review

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Facts

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    • Beatnik Chick: When I'm high, I AM Odetta! Let's Get naked and smoke!
    • Amber von Tussle: Tracy Turnblad is a human roach nest.
    • Tammy: Penny Pingleton, you know you are punished. From now on you're wearing a giant P on your blouse EVERY DAY to school so that the whole world knows that Penny Pingleton is permanently, positively, punished.
    • Tracy Turnblad: I'm a bad, bad girl who needs to be punished.
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Hairspray : Watch Free on TV

Hairspray Trivia

  • My first starring role was in Grease 2, and since then I've lost a son and regained him, played Catwoman and starred in a remake of Hairspray. Who am I?  Answer »
  • What famous Baltimore director made Cecil B. DeMented, Serial Mom, Cry-Baby and Hairspray (the original)?   Answer »
  • Which actor am I who has starred in the following: Hairspray Pulp Fiction and Sleepy Hollow  Answer »
  • Who does John Travolta play in the move Hairspray?  Answer »
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