Film Review: Hairspray (directed by Adam Shankman, 2007)

Camp is defined as something artificial, yet amusing, and there is no doubt that "Hairspray" is as artificial as the aerosol chlorofluorocarbons for which the film is named. The film is admittedly amusing for most of its 2 hours, with a lot of cheesy jokes and entertaining song and dance numbers. So yes, "Hairspray" (a remake of a 1988 John Waters film) is quintessential camp, but is it worth watching?

The plot revolves around Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), an overweight teenage girl of 60s Baltimore who wants nothing so badly as to be on the local teen dance show, " The Corny Collins Show." On her way to stardom, or at least local notoriety, Tracy comes up against station manager Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer), whose aspirations for her daughter, Amber (Brittany Snow), run in conflict with Tracy's. It's pleasantly plump teenager versus stuck-up daughter of a domineering mother for the opportunity to be Miss Teenage Hairspray. If the stakes weren't already high enough, Tracy gets to know African-American kids at the school, and mutually impressed by each others dance moves, decides to work to integrate the show (which previously reserved one day a year as "Negro Day").

Ok, not exactly a nailbiter, but the film is more a vehicle for dance numbers set to early 60s-style music, which it delivers quite well. "Run and Tell That," is notable for containing a great solo by Taylor Parks as Little Inez. On the other hand, John Travolta and Christopher Walken (Tracy's mother and father, respectively) performing the romantic duet "(You're) Timeless to Me," while being a bit creepy, really has a bit of "old Hollywood" charm, although Travolta's singing parts were overall pretty weak throughout the film.

Overall, the cast performs well in their respective roles, and Blonsky performs her lead role with the high amount of energy the film needed. Essentially, the characters are over-the-top caricatures and could be played by anyone with some acting talent, but all the actors really did well keeping the film high-energy and interesting, which was probably due in no small part to the director.

In the end, "Hairspray" is like a caffeine pill, don't expect to get anything out of it besides energy. The plot is simple and oversimplifies some big issues, as the dancing, music, and happy-go-lucky feel are the real reason the film was made. Don't expect two hours of informed social commentary, "Hairspray" is just ridiculous fun.