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Hairspray

PG Released Jul 20, 2007 1h 55m Musical Comedy List
92% Tomatometer 219 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
In 1960s Baltimore, dance-loving teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) auditions for a spot on "The Corny Collins Show" and wins. She becomes an overnight celebrity, a trendsetter in dance, fun and fashion. Perhaps her new status as a teen sensation is enough to topple Corny's reigning dance queen and bring racial integration to the show.
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Hairspray

Hairspray

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Critics Consensus

Hairspray is an energetic, wholly entertaining musical romp; a fun Summer movie with plenty of heart. Its contagious songs will make you want to get up and start dancing.

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Critics Reviews

View All (219) Critics Reviews
Deborah Ross The Spectator This film leaps at you with such joy and vigour and generosity you cannot reject it. Aug 23, 2018 Full Review Bob Mondello NPR For a star-studded big-budget musical, Hairspray does a nice job of retaining the funky sweetness of the original. Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Though colorful, cheery and energetic, there's something missing from this song-and-dance routine. Rated: B- Nov 30, 2007 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Marc Shaiman and Chris Wittman's score sparkles and the film's production design and appearance remain faithful to Waters' vision of 1960's Baltimore. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 10, 2020 Full Review Micheal Compton Bowling Green Daily News The latest version is just as good, if not better, with an infectious soundtrack and an all-star cast that precisely hits every note. This is easily the most entertaining major studio release of 2007. Nov 21, 2019 Full Review Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) Nikki Blonsky is a complete delight. Rated: A Jun 18, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Tore Sergei M Great movie with great songs! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/05/24 Full Review Simon T Froth, but infectiously performed. The plot could be written on a stamp, and is the least interesting element, but several of Marc Shaiman's numbers - not least the climactic You Can't Stop the Beat - are genuine crowd-pleasers, and to see John Travolta cocooned in prosthetics sending up his Saturday Night Fever and Grease appearances is glorious. Christopher Walken and Michelle Pfeiffer lend terrific support, and if you can park your brain you'll have a good time. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/24 Full Review CDM 1 I first watched this reluctantly on a plane and discovered then and with countless rewatches that it is the best ever feel-good movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/02/24 Full Review Ashley H The music, the message, the iconic hair, the dance moves, what an exciting film to watch! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/25/23 Full Review Montgomery M Im not a musical person for the most part. But there is just something about this movie that I cant help but enjoy. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/12/23 Full Review Red T A Classic Musical The acting, cinematorapgy, and music is all really well done. And the pacing and editing is good too. Some numbers a re a bit catchier than others with the last number being the best one. Really the main issue is this needed a bit more time with the nonmusical sections as 80% of the runtime if not more so is musical numbers and while more do fit with the plot, they can crowd out the nonmusical scenes and make them feel quite rushed to get to the next number. 30 minutes in and were already on song 6-7 which is more than a lot of musicals have in the whole 2 hour runtime. It also does just throw us in very quickly right from the start and doesn't give us much backstory on Tracy though it still works well thanks to the eye popping musical numbers, great dancing, and just infectious fun that raidates from this entire film. I'm able to look past the problems with the nonmusical scenes not given as much time to develop because of how fun, charming, and good natured this is. It does a solid job of integrating Tracy's story with the integration of Baltimore ina fun clever way that had me bopping my head the entire time. Anyone who is a big fan of musicals, any actors in this, or the director will like this a lot. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1960s Baltimore, dance-loving teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) auditions for a spot on "The Corny Collins Show" and wins. She becomes an overnight celebrity, a trendsetter in dance, fun and fashion. Perhaps her new status as a teen sensation is enough to topple Corny's reigning dance queen and bring racial integration to the show.
Director
Adam Shankman
Producer
Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Screenwriter
Leslie Dixon
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema, Zadan/Meron Productions, Ingenious Film Partners
Rating
PG (Momentary Teen Smoking|Language|Some Suggestive Content)
Genre
Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 20, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$118.8M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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