Hairspray (1988)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters (written by)

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Baltimore, 1962. The heyday of hair-dos and hair-don'ts, Heartthrobs and hefty girls, hot dates and hip talkers, beatniks and hair hoppers, and one magical potion that keeps it all together.

Plot:

A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Integration | Hair Bangs Fringe | Racism | Obese Woman

Awards:

7 nominations

Cast

Sonny Bono	...	Franklin von Tussle
Ruth Brown	...	Motormouth Maybelle
Divine	...	Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile
Deborah Harry	...	Velma Von Tussle (as Debbie Harry)
Ricki Lake	...	Tracy Turnblad
Jerry Stiller	...	Wilbur Turnblad
Colleen Fitzpatrick	...	Amber von Tussle
Michael St. Gerard	...	Link Larkin
Leslie Ann Powers	...	Penny Pingleton
Clayton Prince	...	Seaweed
Mink Stole	...	Tammy
Shawn Thompson	...	Corny Collins
Ric Ocasek	...	Beatnik Cat (special apperances)
Pia Zadora	...	Beatnik Chick (special apperances)
Joann Havrilla	...	Prudence Pingleton

Also Known As:

White Lipstick (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:S | UK:PG | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The musical Hairspray opened at the Neil Simon Theater on August 15, 2002 and ran for 2641 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Tracy is modeling on the Corney Collins show, the snowball that Tracy eats already has a bite taken out, then it reverts to the original state before she picks it up.

Quotes:

Velma Von Tussle: And you HAD to pick a colored song, didn't you? What's wrong with Connie Francis? Shelley Fabares? I LOVE Shelley Fabares!
Amber Von Tussle: Mother, Shake a Tale Feather has a wild song. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jeff Gordon/Avril Lavigne (#28.9)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

You'll Lose a Good Thing

I'm an integrationist. We shall overcome someday.

It is hard to believe that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this film this week. It is even harder to believe that just one week after it opened Divine left the world's stage forever.

But, the star of the show was Ricki Lake in her first year as a film actress. She camped up John Water's script and delivered an enjoyable musical movie with a message that is just as important today as it was 20 years ago.

It was really interesting seeing people like Sonny Bono, Blondie, Jerry Stiller, Pia Zadora, and, of course, writer/director John Waters himself.

A goofy satire that is just as good today as it was then.