Hairspray (2007 film)
Hairspray | |
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Directed by | Adam Shankman |
Screenplay by | Leslie Dixon |
Based on | |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bojan Bazelli |
Edited by | Michael Tronick |
Music by | Marc Shaiman |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 116 minutes[1] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $75 million[3] |
Box office | $203.5 million[4] |
Hairspray is a 2007 musical romantic comedy film based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John Waters's 1988 comedy film of the same name. Produced by Ingenious Media and Zadan/Meron Productions, and adapted from both Waters's 1988 script and Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell's book for the stage musical by screenwriter Leslie Dixon, the film was directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman and has an ensemble cast including John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney, and Nikki Blonsky in her feature film debut. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows the "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad (Blonsky) as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local television dance show and rallies against racial segregation.
The film began development in 2004, and Dixon reworked Meehan and O'Donnell's first draft of the screenplay to tone down the musical's campiness. In 2005, Shankman agreed to direct the film. Composer/lyricist
Hairspray premiered on July 10, 2007, at the
Since its release, it has been cited as one of the best musical films of the 21st century and of all time.[10][11][12][13]
Plot
In May 1962, 16-year-old overweight high school student Tracy Turnblad lives in Baltimore along with her shy best friend Penny Pingleton. Both frequently watch The Corny Collins Show, a local teen dance television show broadcast live on the WYZT station. Several of the dancers on the show, among them lead dancers Amber von Tussle and her boyfriend Link Larkin, attend Tracy and Penny's high school. Amber's mother Velma, the station's manager, ensures that her daughter is prominently featured and, as Corny Collins and the main dancers are white, only allows African-American dancers to appear on the monthly "Negro Day", hosted by local R&B disc jockey "Motormouth" Maybelle Stubbs.
When Corny announces that Brenda, a dancer on the show, will be taking a nine-month leave of absence, Tracy becomes ecstatic, especially when Link announces auditions for a replacement to be held at the WYZT studio the next day. At the audition, Velma rejects her for both being overweight and supporting
Tracy quickly becomes one of Corny's most popular performers, affecting Amber's chances of winning the show's annual "Miss Teenage Hairspray" pageant the following month and her relationship with Link, who grows fonder of Tracy. When Mr. Pinky enlists her as the spokesgirl for his Hefty Hideaway boutique, she persuades her agoraphobic mother, Edna, to accompany her there as her agent, where both receive makeovers, sharply boosting Edna's confidence.
Tracy introduces Seaweed to Penny, and the two become smitten. Later, Seaweed and his younger sister Little Inez take Tracy, Penny, and Link to a party at Maybelle's store. Amber, upset over losing Link to Tracy, follows her mother's advice and anonymously calls Edna to reveal her daughter's current whereabouts, which causes Edna to rush to the store and attempt to take her home immediately, but Maybelle convinces her to stay and take pride in herself. After Maybelle sadly informs everyone that Velma has cancelled Negro Day, Tracy suggests they march for integration. Link, unwilling to endanger his career, sincerely apologizes to Tracy, upsetting her by explaining that he is scheduled to sing in front of talent scouts at the pageant. Edna returns to her husband Wilbur's shop, but Velma gets there first, and tries to seduce him. Though he remains impervious to Velma's advances, Edna arrives to see Velma forcing him into a compromising position and furiously storms out. After accusing Wilbur of infidelity and changing the locks, Edna, out of hatred for Velma, forbids Tracy to be on the show, but changes her mind after reconciling with Wilbur.
The next morning, Tracy sneaks out of the house to join the protest, which is halted by a police roadblock. The protesters engage in a brawl, while Tracy runs to the Pingletons' home, where Penny hides her in a fallout shelter. However, Penny's mother Prudy reports Tracy to the police and ties her daughter to her bed for "harboring a fugitive". Having been bailed out by Wilbur, Seaweed and his friends help Tracy and Penny escape. Link visits Tracy's house to find her, realizing that he loves her. Seaweed and Penny also acknowledge their love during the escape.
With the pageant underway, Velma assigns police officers to guard the WYZT studio to prevent Tracy from entering and rigs the pageant tallies to guarantee Amber's victory. Penny arrives at the pageant with Edna, while Wilbur, Seaweed, and the Negro Day kids help Tracy infiltrate the studio. Link breaks away from Amber to dance with Tracy; later, he pulls Little Inez to the stage to dance in the pageant.
Amber's attempt to re-claim her championship crown fails. Little Inez wins the pageant after a late surge of support, successfully integrating the program. Edna mans a camera to film Velma revealing her rigging scheme to Amber, resulting in Velma's dismissal. The set turns into a celebration as Tracy and Link cement their love by kissing each other.
Cast
- Main characters
- John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother and a laundry business owner, who is agoraphobic and ashamed of her obesity. Travolta's casting as Edna continued the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, going back to the original 1988 film, which featured drag queen Divine as Edna and at Hairspray's Broadway version, which featured Harvey Fierstein as Edna.[14] Executives at New Line Cinema originally expected the part to be filled by an actor accustomed to playing comic roles, tossing around names such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks.[14] However, Travolta was aggressively sought after by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for this role because he had starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, the second most successful movie musical to date, beaten only by Mamma Mia!.[15]
- Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, an optimistic, overweight teenage girl who loves dancing. Tracy's racial acceptance leads her to become an active supporter for the integration of The Corny Collins Show. Hairspray was Blonsky's debut as a professional actress.[16]
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, the racist and sizeist manager of station WYZT. Velma is invested in keeping her daughter Amber in the spotlight and The Corny Collins Show segregated. Hairspray was the first film featuring Pfeiffer to be released in five years. Stardust, also featuring Pfeiffer, was shot before Hairspray, but released three weeks afterwards.[17] The peculiarity of Pfeiffer and Travolta appearing onscreen together (Travolta starred in Grease, Pfeiffer in Grease 2) was not lost on the production staff;[17] Travolta requested that Pfeiffer play the part of the villainess.[14]
- Amanda Bynes as Penny Lou Pingleton, Tracy's best friend, a sheltered girl who falls in love with Seaweed despite the disapproval of her stern, devoutly religious and racist mother Prudy. A young actress famous for appearances on Nickelodeon TV shows and in feature films, Bynes was one of the few movie stars cast among the teen roles.[18]
- proprietor of the "Hardy-Har Hut" joke shop below the Turnblad family's apartment. John Travolta had asked that Walken be considered for the part,[14] and he eventually beat out Billy Crystal[19] and Jim Broadbent[20]for the role of Wilbur.
- Queen Latifah as "Motormouth" Maybelle Stubbs, a Baltimore rhythm and blues radio DJ who hosts "Negro Day" on The Corny Collins Show. Maybelle also runs a record shop on North Avenue. Queen Latifah appeared in the successful Zadan/Meron film musical Chicago, and worked under Adam Shankman's direction in Bringing Down the House.[21] Aretha Franklin had been previously considered for the role.[19]
- James Marsden as Corny Collins, the host of The Corny Collins Show; his politically progressive attitudes lead him to fight his show's imposed segregation. Corny Collins is based upon Baltimore TV personality Buddy Deane, who hosted an eponymous local teen dance show in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[22] James Marsden beat out both Joey McIntyre and X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman for the part.[23]
- Heroes.[23]
- TV film High School Musical, was initially thought by Shankman to be "too Disney" for the role;[23] however Shankman's sister, executive producer Jennifer Gibgot, convinced him to cast Efron, believing that the teen star would draw a substantial teen crowd.[23]
- Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Maybelle's son, a skilled dancer who teaches Tracy some dance moves and falls in love with Penny. Kelley, a relative newcomer to film, overcame other auditioners and several popular R&B stars for the part of Seaweed.[18]
- Allison Janney as Prudence "Prudy" Pingleton, Penny's mother, a racist Christian fundamentalist whose strict parenting keeps Penny from experiencing social life. Her husband is serving a prison sentence for an unspecified crime.
- Minor roles
- Paul Dooley as Harriman F. Spritzer, the owner of the "Ultra Clutch" company and the main sponsor of The Corny Collins Show. Although he prefers to keep The Corny Collins Show segregated, he will follow public opinion if it increases sales.
- Jayne Eastwood as Miss Wimsey, Tracy's geography teacher, who gives Tracy the detention note that first leads her to Seaweed.
- Jerry Stiller as Mr. Pinky, the owner of a dress shop called Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway, who hires Tracy as his spokesgirl. In the original film, Stiller played Wilbur Turnblad.
- Taylor Parks as Little Inez Stubbs, Maybelle's teenage daughter and Seaweed's younger sister, and a skilled dancer. Inez is based in part upon Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend a formerly all-White school in the state of Louisiana.[22]
- George King as Mr. Flak, Amber, Link, and Tracy's history teacher. He gives Tracy detentionwhen Amber frames Tracy for drawing a picture of him with breasts. He gives Link detention as well for coming to Tracy's defense.
- Council members
- Curtis Holbrook as Brad
- Hayley Podschun as Tammy
- Phillip Spaeth as Fender
- Cassie Silva as Brenda
- Nick Baga as Sketch
- Sarah Jayne Jensen as Shelley
- Jesse Weafer as I.Q.
- Kelly Fletcher as Lou Ann
- J.P. Ferreri as Joey
- Spencer Liff as Mikey
- Laura Edwards as Vicky
- Tabitha Lupien as Becky
- Corey Gorewicz as Bix
- Joshua Feldman as Jesse
- Becca Sweitzer as Darla
- Everett Smith as Paulie
- Tiffany Engen as Noreen
- Brooke Engen as Doreen
- The Dynamites
- Nadine Ellis
- Arike Rice
- Tanee McCall
- Cameos
In addition to the principal actors, the film contained several cameo appearances by individuals involved in the history of Hairspray:
- Ricki Lake (Tracy Turnblad in the original film) as William Morris Talent Agent #1,[24] (Audio) performs "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now".
- Adam Shankman (choreographer/director of the film) as William Morris Talent Agent #2 (Audio) sings "Tied Up in the Knots of Sin" with Shaiman which is heard when Prudy turns the record player on while she ties Penny up.[24]
- Marc Shaiman (co-lyricist/writer of the film) as William Morris Talent Agent #3 (Audio) sings "Tied Up in the Knots of Sin" with Shankman which is heard when Prudy turns the record player on while she ties up Penny.[24]
- Scott Wittman (co-lyricist and music writer of the film) as William Morris Talent Agent #4.[24]
- John Waters (writer and director of the original film, who also cameoed as Dr. Frederickson in the original film) as the "flasher who lives next door" during "Good Morning Baltimore"
- Jamal Sims (Associate choreographer) as one of the Detention Kids
- Anne Fletcher (Associate choreographer) as the school nurse
- Zach Woodlee (Associate choreographer) as Smoking teacher
- Singing cameos
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (Original Broadway cast's Tracy) performs "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now"
- Harvey Fierstein (Original Broadway cast's Edna) as brief singing cameo in the end credits "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now"
- Corey Reynolds (Original Broadway cast's Seaweed) as singer of "Trouble on the Line". The song is heard shortly after "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" until Maybelle announces the cancellation of Negro Day.
- Arthur Adams (One of the Broadway cast's Seaweed) performs "Boink-Boink" which is heard during "Big, Blonde and Beautiful".
- Chester Gregory (One of the Broadway cast's Seaweed) performs "Breakout", which is heard during Tracy's introduction to Seaweed in detention.
- Aimee Allen performs "Cooties"
Musical numbers
- "Good Morning Baltimore" – Tracy (Nikki Blonsky)
- "The Nicest Kids in Town" – Corny and Council Members (James Marsden)
- "It Takes Two" – Link (Zac Efron)
- "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs" – Velma and Council Members (Michelle Pfeiffer)
- "I Can Hear the Bells" – Tracy (Nikki Blonsky)
- "Ladies' Choice" – Link (Zac Efron)
- "The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)" – Corny, Council Members, Penny, Edna, Wilbur (James Marsden)
- "The New Girl in Town" – Amber, Tammy, Shelley, and The Dynamites (Brittany Snow)
- "Welcome to the 60's" – Tracy, Edna, The Dynamites, and Hefty Hideaway Employees (Nikki Blonsky & John Travolta)
- "Run and Tell That" – Seaweed, Little Inez, and Detention Kids (Elijah Kelley ft. Taylor Parks)
- "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" – Motormouth (Queen Latifah)
- "Big, Blonde and Beautiful (Reprise)" – Velma and Edna (Michelle Pfeiffer & John Travolta)
- "(You're) Timeless to Me" – Wilbur and Edna (Christopher Walken & John Travolta)
- "I Know Where I've Been" – Motormouth (Queen Latifah)
- "Without Love" – Link, Tracy, Seaweed, Penny, and Detention Kids (Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky, Elijah Kelley, Amanda Bynes)
- "(It's) Hairspray" – Corny and Council Members (James Marsden)
- "You Can't Stop the Beat" – Company (Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley, John Travolta and Queen Latifah)
- "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" (end credits) – (Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky, and Elijah Kelley)
- "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" (end credits) – Ricki Lake, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Nikki Blonsky with Harvey Fierstein
- "Cooties" (end credits) – Aimee Allen
Music producer/composer/co-lyricist Marc Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman were required to alter their Broadway Hairspray song score in various ways in order to work on film, from changing portions of the lyrics in some songs (e.g., "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs", "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful", and "You Can't Stop the Beat") to more or less completely removing other songs from the film altogether.
"Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now", a popular number from the stage musical, features Tracy, Penny, and Amber arguing with their respective mothers. Neither Shankman nor Dixon could come up with a solution for filming "Mama" that did not require a three-way split screen — something they wanted to avoid[25] — and both felt the number did not adequately advance the plot.[25][26] As a result, "Mama" was reluctantly dropped from the film during pre-production, although it is used by Shaiman as an instrumental number when the Corny Collins kids dance the "Stricken Chicken". A special version of "Mama" was recorded for the film's end credits in May 2007, during the final score recording process, which featured vocals from each of the three women most famous for portraying Tracy Turnblad: Ricki Lake from the 1988 film, Marissa Jaret Winokur from the original Broadway cast, and Nikki Blonsky from the 2007 film.[27] Harvey Fierstein, who portrayed Edna as part of the original Broadway cast, has a brief cameo moment in the end credits version of "Mama" as well.[27]
"It Takes Two", a solo for Link, was moved from its place in the stage musical (on Tracy's first day on The Corny Collins Show) to an earlier Corny Collins scene, although only the coda of the song is used in the final release print, and the song's background music can be heard immediately after the reprise of "The Nicest Kids in Town". "Cooties", a solo for Amber in the stage musical, is present in this film as an instrumental during the Miss Teenage Hairspray dance-off. As with "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now", a version of "Cooties", performed in a contemporary pop rendition by Aimee Allen, is present during the end credits.
The performance of a vintage dance called The Madison, present in both the 1988 film and the stage musical, was replaced for this version by a newly composed song, "Ladies' Choice". Portions of the Madison dance steps were integrated into the choreography for the musical number "You Can't Stop the Beat", and the song to which the dance is performed on Broadway can be heard during Motormouth Maybelle's platter party in the film, re-titled "Boink-Boink". "The Big Dollhouse", "Velma's Revenge" (a reprise of "Miss Baltimore Crabs"), and the reprise of "Good Morning Baltimore" were the only numbers from the musical not used in the film in any way.
Shaiman and Wittman composed two new songs for the 2007 film: "Ladies' Choice", a solo for Link, and "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)", a song performed during the end credits by Queen Latifah, Blonsky, Efron, and Kelley. Another "new" song in the 2007 film, "The New Girl in Town", had originally been composed for the Broadway musical, but was deemed unnecessary and discarded from the musical. Director Shankman decided to use the song to both underscore a rise-to-fame montage for Tracy and to showcase Maybelle's "Negro Day", which is never actually seen in either of the earlier incarnations of Hairspray.[28]
One additional Shaiman/Wittman song, a ballad entitled "I Can Wait", was composed for the film as a solo for Tracy, meant to replace the stage musical's reprise of "Good Morning Baltimore". "I Can Wait" was shot for the film (Tracy performs the number while locked in Prudy's basement), but was eventually deleted from the final release print. The audio recording of "I Can Wait" was made available as a special bonus track for customers who pre-ordered the Hairspray soundtrack on iTunes, and the scene itself was included as a special feature on the film's DVD release.[29]
Post-production took place in
Production
Early development
Following the success of the
Adaptation changes
Dixon was primarily hired to tone down much of the campiness inherent in the stage musical.[25] The 2007 film's script is based primarily on the stage musical rather than the 1988 film, so several changes already made to the plot for the stage version remain in this version. These include dropping several characters from the 1988 version (such as Arvin Hodgepile (the role Mr. Spritzer fills), Velma's husband Franklin, Corny's assistant Tammy, the beatniks, et al.), removing the Tilted Acres amusement park from the story, and placing Velma in charge of the station where The Corny Collins Show is filmed.
One notable difference between the stage musical, the original film, and the 2007 film version of Hairspray is that Tracy does not go to jail in the 2007 version (thus eliminating the musical's song "The Big Dollhouse"). In both previous incarnations of Hairspray, Tracy is arrested and taken to jail along with the other protesters. Edna is presented in this version as an insecure introvert, in contrast to the relatively bolder incarnations present in the 1988 film and the stage musical.
Dixon restructured portions of Hairspray's book to allow several of the songs to blend more naturally into the plot, in particular "(You're) Timeless to Me" and "I Know Where I've Been". "(You're) Timeless to Me" becomes the anchor of a newly invented subplot involving Velma's attempt to break up Edna and Wilbur's marriage and keep Tracy off The Corny Collins Show as a result. The song now serves as Wilbur's apology to Edna, in addition to its original purpose in the stage musical as a tongue-in-cheek declaration of Wilbur and Edna's love for each other.[25] Meanwhile, "I Know Where I've Been", instead of being sung by Maybelle to the kids after being let out of jail, now underscores Maybelle's march on WYZT (which takes place in the stage musical at the end of "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful").[25]
The song "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful" was inspired by a line that Tracy delivered in the original film ("Now all of Baltimore will know: I'm big, blonde and beautiful!"), but in the stage version and in this film, Motormouth Maybelle performs the song. A reprise of the song was added to the 2007 film, which is sung by Edna and Velma.[citation needed]
Pre-production and casting
Hairspray was produced on a budget of $75 million.
Since Hairspray's plot focuses heavily on dance, choreography became a heavy focus for Shankman, who hired four assistant choreographers, Jamal Sims, Anne Fletcher, and Zach Woodlee, and put both his acting cast and over a hundred and fifty dancers through two months of rehearsals.[33][38] The cast recorded the vocal tracks for their songs as coached by Elaine Overholt in the weeks just before principal photography began in September.[38]
Principal photography
Principal photography took place in Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from September 5 – December 8, 2006.[39]
Hairspray is explicitly set in
Most of the film was shot at Toronto's Showline Studios.[42] Most of the street scenes were shot at the intersection of Dundas Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue. A PCC streetcar with Toronto Transit Commission livery is seen in the opening sequence. Some of the signs for the 1960s-era stores remain up along the street. Toronto's Lord Lansdowne Public School was used for all of the high school exteriors and some of the interiors, while the old Queen Victoria School in Hamilton was also used for interiors. Scenes at Queen Victoria were shot from November 22 to December 2, and the school was scheduled to be demolished after film production was completed.[citation needed] As of the 2017–2018 school year, there are no plans to close this school.[43]
Thinner than most of the other men who have portrayed Edna, Travolta appeared onscreen in a large
Shankman's inspirations
Shankman included a number of references to films that influenced his work on Hairspray:[15]
- The film's opening shot — a bird's eye view of Baltimore that eventually descends from the clouds to ground level — is a combination of the opening shots of West Side Story and The Sound of Music.[15][45]
- Before we see a full shot of Tracy, we see individual shots of her upraised right and left arms. This is reminiscent of our first views of Sadie Thompson (Joan Crawford) in the 1932 film Rain.
- Several scenes involving Tracy, such as her ride atop the garbage truck during the "Good Morning Baltimore" number and her new hairstyle during "Welcome to the '60s", are directly inspired by the Barbra Streisand musical film version of Funny Girl.[15][45][46][47]
- During "Without Love", Link sings to a photograph of Tracy, which comes to life and sings harmony with him. This is directly inspired from the The Broadway Melody of 1938, in which a young Judy Garland swoons over a photo of actor Clark Gable as she sings "You Made Me Love You".[15]
- The dress that Penny wears during "You Can't Stop the Beat" is made from her bedroom curtains, which can be seen during "Without Love". This is homage to The Sound of Music, where Maria uses old curtains to make play clothes for the von Trapp children.[48]
Reception
Box office
Hairspray debuted in 3,121 theaters in North America on July 20, 2007, the widest debut of any modern movie musical.
Two weeks after its original release, new "sing-along" prints of Hairspray were shipped to theaters.[53] These prints featured the lyrics to each song printed onscreen as subtitles, encouraging audiences to interact with the film. On January 4, 2008, Hairspray was re-released in New York City and Los Angeles for one week because John Travolta was present for Q&A and autographs.[54]
Critical reception
Hairspray has garnered acclaim from film critics such as Roger Ebert, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, as well as a smaller number of reviews comparing it unfavorably to the Waters original. The film is one of the top picks on Metacritic, with an average of 81 from 37 critics.[55] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 219 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80,[56] making it one of 2007's best-reviewed films. The site's consensus states: "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".[57] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[58] Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor named it the 4th best film of 2007.[59]
Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, saying that there was "a lot of craft and slyness lurking beneath the circa-1960s goofiness," also stating that "The point, however, is not the plot but the energy. Without somebody like Nikki Blonsky at the heart of the movie, it might fall flat, but everybody works at her level of happiness..."[60] Ebert also noted that this film is "a little more innocent than Waters would have made it..."[60] Krishna Shenoi, of the Shenoi Chronicle, called the movie "Shankman's masterpiece," saying that it moved away from his previous works into a different direction, making a light comedy that deals with serious issues maturely. Shenoi also said that the film was everything he wanted Grease to be. New York Daily News critic Jack Matthews called the film "A great big sloppy kiss of entertainment for audiences weary of explosions, CGI effects and sequels, sequels, sequels."[61] The Baltimore Sun review offered Michael Sragow's opinion that "in its entirety, Hairspray has the funny tilt that only a director-choreographer like Shankman can give to a movie," pointing out that Shankman skillfully "puts a new-millennial zing behind exact re-creations of delirious period dances like the Mashed Potato."[62] Dana Stevens from Slate called Hairspray "intermittently tasty, if a little too frantically eager to please."[63] Stevens noted that "Despite its wholesomeness, this version stays remarkably true to the spirit of the original, with one size-60 exception: John Travolta as Edna Turnblad," saying "How you feel about Hairspray will depend entirely on your reaction to this performance..."[63]
Despite critical and commercial success, Hairspray garnered some criticism upon its release from the
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards[68] | Best Grownup Love Story | John Travolta and Christopher Walken | Won |
Alliance of Women Film Journalists[69][70] | Best Newcomer | Nikki Blonsky | Nominated |
American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical | Michael Tronick | Nominated |
Artios Awards[71] | Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Studio Feature – Comedy
|
David Rubin and Richard Hicks | Nominated |
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Top Box Office Films | Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman | Won |
Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Cast Ensemble | Nominated | |
BET Awards | Best Actress | Queen Latifah | Nominated |
British Academy Film Awards[72] | Best Makeup and Hair | Judi Cooper-Sealy and Jordan Samuel | Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards[73] | Most Promising Performer | Nikki Blonsky | Nominated |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards[74] | Best Comedy Movie | Nominated | |
Best Family Film | Nominated | ||
Best Young Actress | Nikki Blonsky | Won | |
Best Acting Ensemble | Won | ||
Best Song | "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" Music and Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | |
Detroit Film Critics Society Awards[75] | Best Newcomer | Nikki Blonsky | Nominated |
Empire Awards[76] | Best Soundtrack | Hairspray | Nominated |
FilmInk Awards | Best Musical | Won | |
Best Hair | John Travolta | Won | |
Gold Derby Awards[77]
|
Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |
Best Ensemble Cast | Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, Paul Dooley, Zac Efron, Allison Janney, Elijah Kelley, James Marsden, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Jerry Stiller, John Travolta and Christopher Walken |
Nominated | |
Best Art Direction | David Gropman and Gordon Sim | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Rita Ryack | Nominated | |
Best Makeup/Hair | Judi Cooper-Sealy and Jordan Samuel | Nominated | |
Best Original Song | "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" Music and Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | |
Best Sound Editing/Mixing | Ron Bartlett, Susan Dawes, D.M. Hemphill, Rick Kline and Mildred Iatrou Morgan |
Nominated | |
Golden Globe Awards[78] | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
|
Nikki Blonsky | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | John Travolta | Nominated | |
Golden Reel Awards[79] | Best Sound Editing – Music – Musical Feature Film | Sally Boldt, Lisa Jaime and Will Kaplan | Won |
Grammy Awards[80] | Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | Hairspray | Nominated |
Hollywood Film Awards[81] | Ensemble of the Year | Won | |
Hollywood Post Alliance Awards | Outstanding Color Grading Feature Film in a DI Process
|
Steven J. Scott | Nominated |
Houston Film Critics Society Awards[82] | Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast | Won | |
International Film Music Critics Association Awards | Special Award | Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman | Won |
International Online Cinema Awards | Best Costume Design | Rita Ryack | Nominated |
Best Ensemble Cast | Nominated | ||
Best Makeup and Hairstyling | Nominated | ||
Locarno Film Festival[83]
|
Audience Award | Adam Shankman | Nominated |
MTV Movie Awards (2007) | Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet | Nominated | |
MTV Movie Awards (2008) | Best Breakthrough Performance | Nikki Blonsky | Nominated |
Zac Efron | Won | ||
NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Queen Latifah | Nominated |
Online Film & Television Association Awards[84] | Best Breakthrough Performance: Female | Nikki Blonsky | Nominated |
Best Original Song | "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" Music and Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | |
Best Adapted Song | "Good Morning Baltimore" Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | |
"I Can Hear the Bells" Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | ||
"You Can't Stop the Beat" Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | ||
Best Costume Design | Nominated | ||
Best Makeup and Hairstyling | Won | ||
Online Film Critics Society Awards[85] | Best Breakthrough Performance | Nikki Blonsky | Won |
Palm Springs International Film Festival | Ensemble Cast Award | Won | |
Rising Star Award | Nikki Blonsky | Won | |
People's Choice Awards | Favorite Song from a Soundtrack | "You Can't Stop the Beat" | Won |
Satellite Awards[86] | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
Art Direction and Production Design | Dennis Davenport and David Gropman | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Rita Ryack | Nominated | |
Best Original Song | "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" Music and Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman |
Nominated | |
Screen Actors Guild Awards[87] | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, Paul Dooley, Zac Efron, Allison Janney, Elijah Kelley, James Marsden, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Jerry Stiller, John Travolta and Christopher Walken |
Nominated |
Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Movie: Comedy/Musical | Won | |
Women Film Critics Circle Awards[88] | Best Female Images in a Movie | Won[a] | |
Best Music | Nikki Blonsky and Queen Latifah | Won | |
Hall of Shame | John Travolta | Won | |
Young Artist Awards[89] | Best Family Feature Film (Comedy or Drama) | Nominated | |
Young Hollywood Awards | One to Watch | Nikki Blonsky | Won |
Zac Efron | Won |
Home media
Hairspray was released on
An HD DVD version of the film was originally slated for release in 2008, but was canceled due to New Line Cinema's announcement that it would go Blu-ray exclusive with immediate effect, thus dropping HD DVD support.[90][91]
Cancelled sequel
Due to Hairspray's financial success,
The story would have looked at Tracy's entering the late 1960s era of music and the British Invasion,[94] and used the Hippie movement and Vietnam War as backdrops.[95] While no official casting was announced, New Line said that they hoped to "snag much of the original Hairspray cast."[92] John Travolta, however, publicly announced that he would not return because he is "not a big sequel guy".[96]
The sequel was set for a mid-July 2010 release by Warner Bros., which owns New Line Cinema.[92] However, in June 2010, Shankman told British press that Hairspray 2: White Lipstick was no longer in development.[97] Shankman has also said that there will be no sequel.[98] In February 2019, John Waters announced he had written a sequel for HBO, but did not produce it.[99]
See also
- Cross-dressing in film and television
- Hairspray (musical)
- Hairspray (1988 film)
- Civil rights movement in popular culture
- Civil Rights Movement
Notes
- ^ Tied with Life Support.
References
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By the way, for those who don't know the agents are Marc Shaiman, uh, that's [Adam Shankman] in the sunglasses, there's Ricki Lake, and Scott Wittman, the other lyricist, smoking....
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Except that opening shot of Baltimore is the only shot of Baltimore in the entire movie. That and the newspaper going down on the stoop were actually shot in Baltimore. The Baltimore film commission made a big play to try and have us come there. We asked the question 'Do you have big sound stages?' and, uh, unfortunately the answer was no. When you do a movie musical you need big sound stages to build big sets, so because Baltimore did not have any big sets we shot in Toronto.
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So the opening shot, basically coming down through the clouds and finding Baltimore is our homage to Robert Wise, to the director of West Side Story and The Sound of Music because both of those movies begin with shots through the clouds coming down. In West Side Story, it was through the streets of New York to find the Jets on this... schoolyard, and in, of course, the classic Sound of Music coming down through the clouds and finding Maria spinning on the mountaintop. And the other homage that we have in this song is, uh, our homage to Funny Girl. When Tracy Turnblad eventually gets on top of that garbage truck, that was our homage to Barbra Streisand in a tugboat during "Don't Rain on My Parade" in, in that great sequence in Funny Girl.
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This was Michelle Pfeiffer's first scene, and [Blonsky's] hairstyle I stole... as a joke off of Funny Girl, which is also what the garbage truck was too, which is like the tugboat in Funny Girl, but Barbra Streisand has, like, a hairdo just exactly like this in, umm, the scene where she goes over to Nicky Arnstein.
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I think we had to sew Amanda into that dress.... It's her curtains from her bedroom which is an homage to Sound of Music. Another one of my little musical references.
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External links
- Hairspray at IMDb
- Hairspray at AllMovie
- Hairspray at the TCM Movie Database
- Hairspray at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Hairspray at Box Office Mojo
- Hairspray at Rotten Tomatoes
- Hairspray at Metacritic