Hairspray (1988 film)

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This article is about the 1988 film. For the 2002 stage musical, see Hairspray (musical). For the 2007 film, see Hairspray (2007 film).
Hairspray

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Waters
Produced by John Waters
Robert Shaye
Rachel Talalay
Written by John Waters
Starring Sonny Bono
Ruth Brown
Divine
Debbie Harry
Ricki Lake
Jerry Stiller
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date(s) February 26, 1988
Running time 92 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $2 million
Gross revenue $8,271,108
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Hairspray is a 1988 comedy written and directed by John Waters. The film features Divine, Ricki Lake, Sonny Bono and Debbie Harry. Hairspray was a dramatic departure from Waters' earlier works, with a much broader intended audience. In fact, Hairspray's PG is the mildest rating a Waters film has received; most of his previous films were rated X by the MPAA. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the film revolves around self-proclaimed "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad as she simultaneously pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation.

Hairspray was only a moderate success upon its initial theatrical release, earning a modest gross of $8 million. However, it managed to attract a larger audience on home video in the early '90s and became a cult classic.[1][2] Most critics praised the film, although some were displeased with the overall campiness. In 2002, Hairspray was adapted into a Broadway musical of the same name, which won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 2003. A second film version of Hairspray, an adaptation of the stage musical, was released by New Line on July 20, 2007 — which included many changes of scripted items from the original.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) and her best friend, Penny Pingleton (Leslie Ann Powers), audition for The Corny Collins Show, a popular Baltimore teen dance show based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. Despite being overweight, Tracy becomes a regular on the show, infuriating the show's reigning queen, Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick), a privileged, beautiful high school classmate whose pushy stage parents, Velma (Debbie Harry) and Franklin Von Tussle (Sonny Bono), own Tilted Acres amusement park. Tracy steals Amber's boyfriend, Link Larkin (Michael St. Gerard), and competes against her for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963, fueling Amber's hatred of her.

Tracy's growing confidence leads to her being hired as a plus-size model for the Hefty Hideaway clothing store owned by Mr. Pinky (Alan Wendl). She is also inspired to bleach, tease and rat her big hair into styles popular in the '60s. When a teacher brands her hairstyle a "hair-don't" and sends her to the principal's office, Tracy is banished to special education classes, where she meets several black classmates who have been put there to hold them back academically. The students introduce Tracy to Motormouth Maybelle (Ruth Brown), an R&B record shop owner and host of the monthly "Negro Day" on The Corny Collins Show. They teach Tracy, Penny and Link dance moves and Penny begins an interracial romance with Motormouth Maybelle's son, Seaweed (Clayton Prince). This horrifies Penny's mother, Prudence (Jo Ann Havrilla), who imprisons her daughter in her bedroom and tries to brainwash her into dating white boys with the help of a quack psychiatrist (John Waters).

Undeterred, Tracy uses her newfound fame to champion the cause of racial integration with the help of Motormouth Maybelle, Corny Collins (Shawn Thompson), his assistant Tammy (Mink Stole), and Tracy's slightly overbearing and grossly overweight mother, Edna Turnblad (Divine). After a race riot at Tilted Acres which results in Tracy's arrest, Franklin and Velma Von Tussle grow more defiant in their opposition to racial integration. They plot to sabotage the Miss Auto Show 1963 pageant by planting a bomb in Velma's bouffant hairdo. The plan literally blows up in Velma's face when the bomb detonates prematurely. Tracy, who had won the crown but was disqualified for being in reform school, dethrones Amber as the queen after the governor of Maryland pardons her.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

John Waters wrote the screenplay under the title of White Lipstick, deriving the film partly from real events. The Corny Collins Show is based on the real-life The Buddy Deane Show, and the film's climax is based on an actual event that took place on that show in the summer of 1963.[3].

The scenes set at Tilted Acres amusement park were filmed at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

A number of scenes were filmed but eventually cut, including:

  • Tracy breaking into the Von Tussles' home after Franklin and Velma leave, vandalizing Amber's bedroom, and bleaching her hair blonde (which is seen later, but never explained)
  • Nadine's refusal to let Penny and Seaweed into her basement after their escape from Penny's house
  • A rumble that includes Tracy spraying hairspray into the eyes of toughs
  • After Wilbur and Edna see Tracy on TV the second time, Prudence chases Penny around the Turnblads' living room before going out the door.
  • Corny making an announcement at the record hop that Penny should call her mother immediately if she is in the dance hall
  • Tracy having actual roaches in her hair

[edit] Reception

[edit] Box office

Hairspray opened on February 26, 1988 in 79 North American theaters, where it grossed $577,287 ($7,307 per screen) in its opening weekend. On March 11, it expanded to 227 theaters, where it grossed $966,672 ($4,258 per screen) from March 11–13. It ended its theatrical run with $8,271,108.[4] The film was nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards, and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.[5]

[edit] Broadway musical

Main article: Hairspray (musical)

In mid-2002, New Line teamed with writers Marc Shaiman and Thomas Meehan to turn Hairspray into a Broadway musical production. The show opened on August 15, 2002 starring Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tracy and Harvey Fierstein as Edna. The show has gone on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 2003.

[edit] 2007 remake

Main article: Hairspray (2007 film)

In 2006, New Line joined forces with Adam Shankman to make the Broadway show into a movie musical. The film was released on July 20, 2007 and stars John Travolta as Edna, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma, Christopher Walken as Wilbur, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, James Marsden as Corny Collins, Zac Efron as Link, and newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy. The film cost $75 million to make and earned $200,624,851 worldwide.[6]

[edit] Merchandising

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Hairspray (1988 soundtrack)

The soundtrack was released January 1, 1995 by MCA Records. The CD featured one original song by Rachel Sweet and eleven other songs mostly from the 1960s by Gene Pitney, Toussaint McCall, among others.

[edit] Additional songs

Other songs appear in the movie, but are not on the soundtrack. They are:

[edit] Home video releases

[edit] VHS

The film was released on video in 1994 by Sony.

[edit] DVD

The film was released on DVD by New Line in 2003. The disc included an audio commentary by John Waters and Ricki Lake and a theatrical trailer.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hairspray (1988). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  2. ^ Hairspray at Rotten Tomatoes; last accessed May 5, 2007.
  3. ^ Polar Levine. Hairspray’s Revolting History. Mediachannel.org.
  4. ^ Box Office Mojo
  5. ^ Awards for Hairspray. IMDB.
  6. ^ Hairspray at Box Office Mojo

[edit] External links

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