So tough to sit through, even though Zac was in it.

Hmm! This movie tries so hard 2 be liked that abt half way through u feel exhausted by the effort the cast & crew r making on ur behalf. This movie should be so much better than it is. It looks great, has a couple of catchy songs and has a great mess... (read more) Hmm! This movie tries so hard 2 be liked that abt half way through u feel exhausted by the effort the cast & crew r making on ur behalf. This movie should be so much better than it is. It looks great, has a couple of catchy songs and has a great message abt loving people whatever their colour or size. It has a cast of Hollywood's 'oldies' Walken, Travolta and Pfeiffer along with 'newbies' Amanda Bynes and Zac Efron who all sing and dance their socks off bt somehow it just didn't work 4 me. Having seen the original I found it hard to recognise in this sorry remake. If it weren't 4 original director Jon Waters' cameo as a dirty old man in the opening credits u would never believe this was a remake of one of his movies. Divine as Edna Turnblad needs 2 b seen 2 b believed and despite Travolta's best efforts his predecessor is sadly missed. I'm a big fan of Travolta in every guise from danceman to comedian to hitman but Travolta in drag masked everything I like about him. Walken shows once again what a lovely mover he is bt doesn't have much 2 do bt pretend to be tubby and dress in drag at the end of the movie. Pfeiffer is coldly gorgeous and shows a flair for comedy. She's probably the best thing in ithis yawn of a movie bt is fighting against the tide. This film is a 'proper' musical in that the characters do break into song at strange moments in the old tradition. It has recaptured the period well with moments reminiscent of West Side Story, Sandra Dee movies and even Grease. It doesn't take itself 2 seriously with a show host called Corny Collins and the cast's cheesy grins to camera but you can't help feeling the film doesn't know what it wants to be - A fun film or a movie tackling racism & society's fear of fat? Neither work because the script constantly apologises if it offends or gets 2 serious. For a film that tries to tackle prejudice the stereotypes are so pronounced that even a 5 year old would get the message- beautiful blondes are baddies, all black people are good dancers and fat people are bubbly and full of fun. I think the word 'fat' is only used once in the whole movie instead using phrases like 'a person of size' but then flounders with lines like and I'm paraphrasing here bt not far off the original,'Tracy I love you more and more each day, I love you no matter what you weigh'. Oh please!! In the end though the sad reality is that despite Tracy's 'enormous' talent as a dancer (sorry I couldn't resist!) does anybody really believe that Zac Efron would choose the chubby one as his girl in real life?

incredibly reverse racist

What a rocker this movie was! Important subject, working plot and nice dancing scenes. Singing wasn't that bad either, really loved this one.

7/10-Hairspray is a decent musical, but I felt that they tried to make it too much like Grease, and failed in that aspect. Nikki Blonsky, Brittany Snow, and Michelle Pfeiffer give the best performances of the cast. John Travolta's singing was bad, p... (read more) 7/10-Hairspray is a decent musical, but I felt that they tried to make it too much like Grease, and failed in that aspect. Nikki Blonsky, Brittany Snow, and Michelle Pfeiffer give the best performances of the cast. John Travolta's singing was bad, plus he didn't need that fat suit.

It's hard to keep a smile off your face and your toes from tapping during this unpretentious and spirited adaptation of the stage musical by director/choreographer Adam Shankman.

Marc Shaiman's peppy music conspires with Shankman's energized, retro-musical choreography to make for a giant cinematic grin -- a dimpled dental testament of faith in the powers of nice over nasty, tolerance over bigotry and aerosol over the ozone.

Hairspray is just plain fun.

John Travolta is no Divine. And this shiny musical just doesn't have the crazy, messy charm of John Waters' original.

It rocks the house! Guaranteed to be an unqualified 100% summer smash, it's a total blast. You have got to see Travolta's hilarious, risk-taking performance to believe it! He (or is it she) and the entire cast are terrific.