:
Ricki Lake,
Ricki Lake,
Michael St. Gerard,
more...
:
John Waters,
John Waters
see all cast/crew...
: 
: New Line Home Video
: Comedies, Independent, Dysfunctional Families
: 92 min.
: English
: English
see additional details...
|
|
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 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, All Movie Guide
|
| cool waters
by crankeley
November 9, 2003 - 8:03 PM PST
|
|
|
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
|
| i am not very well-versed in all of waters' films, but having seen this film and pink flamingos i can say that this film is fantastic, especially for fans of other waters' flicks. waters lays out the campiness of this thing from the beginning, and follows it all the way through, true to form, including some lines that had me laughing out loud. Divine is at her acting best, taking on a male and a female role. always a fan of making people uncomfortable, the movie has some scenes depicting racial violence and a bit about special education that will make the politically correct wiggle a little bit. anyway - this was my first green cine movie and review and it was good ... hopefuly many more to come in the future. |
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.23)
175 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
naydn
JRosha
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.