Zac Efron is certainly making his name as a new musical matinée idol for the 21st century. Temporarily leaving the lucrative High School Musical franchise which made his name, he stars in the new big-screen adaptation of Hairspray. Efron is part of a stellar cast which puts on a slick song-and-dance show that certainly gets the toes tapping but has a brain and soul as well as a heart and feet as it tackles issues such as racial prejudice.
The premise is simple enough – in 1962 Baltimore, Tracey Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky in her first role) is a slightly overweight girl who is fanatic about dancing, specifically the Corny Collins show and its lead dancer Link (Zac Efron), after she catches a lucky break and manages to get onto the show, the typical shenanigans and machinations kick in as the usual bitchy blonde characters feel threatened in their position of top dog etc you know the rest of that. Meanwhile Tracey's mother Edna (John Travolta in a fat-suit – he's come a long way from Grease and Saturday Night Fever!) plays her daughter's agent as she tries to cement her place in the big time and win the heart of the matinée idol that is Link Larkin.
Hairspray is generally quite an enjoyable musical with some great song-and-dance routines and little of the awful clichés that dragged down High School Musical. A strong sense of light-hearted fun is present in the majority of the songs, particularly the toe-tapping 'Welcome to the 60s,' 'Without Love' and the ultra-catchy 'You Can't Stop the Beat,' while the more poignant 'I Know Where I've Been' highlights the fact that the film is not glossing over the growing racial tension present at the time of the film's setting. Further, seeing Christopher Walken dancing and dueting with the fat-suit-wearing John Travolta is certainly an image that will sear its way permanently into your retinas. What makes the scene even more memorable is that the actors are clearly having the time of their lives - rather than wondering what on earth they are doing there. While the vocals and choreography may not win many awards, there is little doubt that Hairspray is a fun film. This sense of fun transmits itself to the rest of the cast, as Michelle Pfieffer plays a truly pantomime-level hissable villain, while Queen Latifah tones down her usual brash persona to good and soulful effect.
However, underneath the singing and slick dancing is a serious and sharp observation of racism and segregation in 1960s America – note the dividing rope between the white and black students at the school dance, as well as the 'Negro Day' on the Corny Collins show; it does the film credit that it does not overlook or try to gloss over the racial tension that was prevalent at the time.
Yet for all its toe-tapping quality and political impetus, the film does feel as if something is missing, as if it does not have the pizazz of Chicago or the power of the Phantom of the Opera. While there are a number of standout songs, there are none with the raw passion of 'Music of the Night' or the snappiness of 'All That Jazz', the power of 'The Phantom of the Opera' or the aggression of 'Cell Block Tango'. This is possibly the film's only real failing - assuming of course that you find John Travolta dressed in a dress and fat-suit amusing.
But while the racial tension is not overlooked, it is not allowed to overshadow what is, at its heart, a fun and enjoyable musical. Hairspray is probably the musical with the biggest crossover appeal since Chicago (at least until Mamma Mia came along) made them fashionable once more. It is slick, sharp and sassy. It just perhaps needs more of a standout song or two.
The premise is simple enough – in 1962 Baltimore, Tracey Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky in her first role) is a slightly overweight girl who is fanatic about dancing, specifically the Corny Collins show and its lead dancer Link (Zac Efron), after she catches a lucky break and manages to get onto the show, the typical shenanigans and machinations kick in as the usual bitchy blonde characters feel threatened in their position of top dog etc you know the rest of that. Meanwhile Tracey's mother Edna (John Travolta in a fat-suit – he's come a long way from Grease and Saturday Night Fever!) plays her daughter's agent as she tries to cement her place in the big time and win the heart of the matinée idol that is Link Larkin.
Hairspray is generally quite an enjoyable musical with some great song-and-dance routines and little of the awful clichés that dragged down High School Musical. A strong sense of light-hearted fun is present in the majority of the songs, particularly the toe-tapping 'Welcome to the 60s,' 'Without Love' and the ultra-catchy 'You Can't Stop the Beat,' while the more poignant 'I Know Where I've Been' highlights the fact that the film is not glossing over the growing racial tension present at the time of the film's setting. Further, seeing Christopher Walken dancing and dueting with the fat-suit-wearing John Travolta is certainly an image that will sear its way permanently into your retinas. What makes the scene even more memorable is that the actors are clearly having the time of their lives - rather than wondering what on earth they are doing there. While the vocals and choreography may not win many awards, there is little doubt that Hairspray is a fun film. This sense of fun transmits itself to the rest of the cast, as Michelle Pfieffer plays a truly pantomime-level hissable villain, while Queen Latifah tones down her usual brash persona to good and soulful effect.
However, underneath the singing and slick dancing is a serious and sharp observation of racism and segregation in 1960s America – note the dividing rope between the white and black students at the school dance, as well as the 'Negro Day' on the Corny Collins show; it does the film credit that it does not overlook or try to gloss over the racial tension that was prevalent at the time.
Yet for all its toe-tapping quality and political impetus, the film does feel as if something is missing, as if it does not have the pizazz of Chicago or the power of the Phantom of the Opera. While there are a number of standout songs, there are none with the raw passion of 'Music of the Night' or the snappiness of 'All That Jazz', the power of 'The Phantom of the Opera' or the aggression of 'Cell Block Tango'. This is possibly the film's only real failing - assuming of course that you find John Travolta dressed in a dress and fat-suit amusing.
But while the racial tension is not overlooked, it is not allowed to overshadow what is, at its heart, a fun and enjoyable musical. Hairspray is probably the musical with the biggest crossover appeal since Chicago (at least until Mamma Mia came along) made them fashionable once more. It is slick, sharp and sassy. It just perhaps needs more of a standout song or two.