Hairspray

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Elizabeth M I find this movie to be very enjoyable and entertaining to watch either by yourself or with friends. I personally love to watch musicals so that's mainly the reason why I enjoy Hairspray so much. I think the songs and performances are greatly executed by the talented actors that are in the film. I especially enjoyed watching John Travolta and Zac Efron impersonate their roles, I think they contributed heavily to plot of the film. What I also like about this film is that there's so much depth and meaning that is conveyed through the plot lines and themes that brings awareness to the division that society used to live in and thought was "normal." I would definitely recommend this movie to others to be able to enjoy entertaining musical performances as well as get a good laugh in. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/09/25 Full Review Rae B Aggressively mid. I enjoyed Link (Zac Efron), Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), Little Inez (Tayla Parx), and Corny Collins (James Marsdon)- they actually had incredible talent and showed it through the whole movie. And that's saying something because three of those characters have little to no screentime. Other actors fell short- either through terrible acting or simply getting hardly enough screentime to make me care about them. I did tear up when they marched, but Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) ruined it almost immediately by being... I don't want to say naive, that feels too polite. But if you've seen the movie, you know that she does something incredibly stupid with no consideration for common sense or consequences. I understand the idea is to communicate a serious message through comedy, but the entire movie falls short due to slap-stick humor being either overdone or misplaced. Or simply undermining the message entirely. Also, Tracy is almost entirely unlikeable- her interactions with her mother were the best scenes for her, and gave a hint at an actual personality, but past that she felt terribly one-dimensional. "Oh, here's this fat girl. She's never going to actually face any hardship, and all of her supportive actions are going to be appear shallow at one point and a whim the next. Also, she's fat. And we're going to reduce her to being fat and nothing else for at least 4/5ths of the runtime." There was no chemistry between anyone in the cast- I got the most vibes from Maybelle and Corny during the last musical number (and Link, but it was like watching a truck hit a wall because Tracy, again, felt one dimensional and about as emotionally deep as a teaspoon). The entire thing, the whole movie, felt like white-knightism at its most egregious. Also, a little fetishizing? Just a few of the comments made by some of the characters (Penny Pingleton- Amanda Bines- in particular) made me wince. I think if I had seen this as a kid, I would have enjoyed it more and might have a better opinion as an adult. But I didn't. As for the music........ there were three songs I liked. Out of the entire two-hour movie. I'd honestly give it a lower score but the characters I mentioned in the beginning really saved it from a 0/5. I know their backs hurt from how hard they had to carry with the few scenes they were in. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/25 Full Review Rebecca C Absolute garbage. Every part of it sucked-especially the clunky noisey songs. It was lukewarm and quite frankly, painful to watch. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/18/25 Full Review Andrew R I am writing this review for the film "Hairspray". After watching, I can say that I have never been much of a fan of musicals, but this movie was actually one worth watching. I thought that it was a very good movie and did a decent job of "accurately" depicting the 1960s, and the teen culture that was accurate and accepted in the 60s. To be quite honest,  I think that the topic of becoming an overnight sensation, which is what Tracy Turnblad, the main character of the story did. I feel that this is the case for modern society with people becoming overnight sensations on TikTok and such simply just for making up a 15 second dance. As I said before, I think this is was still a pretty good film, and I would rate it a 7.5/10. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/04/25 Full Review Audience Member A rather interesting and invigorated ride of invigorated characters and music. The setting of the narrative is in the early 1960’s which goes extremely well with the music that is being presented. In addition, the acting is extremely well done especially capturing the early 60’s which for many was one of the best time periods. The music is something that kept me drawn to the film which was also the tool that allows the plot to progress. It captures the characters extremely well especially with how they express their emotions which was very good characterization. Something to also note was the color variety present within the film especially for the Corny Collins Show with the two different contrasts through the television and then witnessing the actual set later within the narrative. Even though it was an interesting movie to watch I was not all for it as it's not my favorite film simply because I am not a fan of musicals. However, this is one of those films that has a recognizable cast and would be recommended to friends to watch. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/25 Full Review Audience Member Hairspray is a colorful, high-energy musical with good intentions, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It’s undeniably a musical through and through, packed with upbeat numbers from start to finish. While the vibrant soundtrack and lively performances keep things moving, the storyline left me feeling underwhelmed. The plot is predictable, with little character development, and even when some characters do evolve, (such as the mom who gains the confidence to ignore her insecurities) their limited screen time makes it feel rushed or unrealistic. A lot of events unfold conveniently or out of nowhere like (spoiler) the winner of the contest, who wasn’t even supposed to be a contender after being kicked off the show. Moments like these pulled me out of the experience and made the story feel more like a fairy tale than something grounded in reality. That said, the movie’s message of inclusivity and equality is a positive one, celebrating people of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. While I appreciate the intent, the way it’s presented felt a bit too simplistic for my taste. I wouldn’t say Hairspray is a bad movie it’s just not my style. If you love feel-good musicals with happy endings and don’t mind some unrealistic but heartwarming moments, you might enjoy it. But if you prefer a more nuanced story with deeper character development, this might not be the film for you. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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