Hairspray (film)
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| Hairspray | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for Hairspray |
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| Directed by | John Waters |
| Produced by | John Waters Robert Maier Sara Risher Robert Shaye Rachel Talalay |
| Written by | John Waters |
| Starring | Rikki Lake Divine Sonny Bono Ruth Brown |
| Cinematography | David Insley |
| Editing by | Janice Hampton |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | February 26, 1988 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$ 2 million |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Hairspray is a 1988 cult film written and directed by John Waters. It is known for an unusual portrayal of racial issues through Waters' characteristic edgy humor. The film itself can be considered monumental when compared to Waters' earlier works. Hairspray earned a 'PG' rating from the MPAA; all of Waters' earlier films had been rated X with the exception of Polyester which was rated 'R'. Hairspray was the last of Waters' films to star Divine. Months after the premiere, Divine died in his sleep.
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[edit] Plot summary
The film is told from the perspective of teenager Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) in 1962. Although, in her own words 'pleasantly plump', Tracy achieves her ambition of joining the regular dancers on The Corny Collins Dance Show, which airs daily in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. Once there, she has to deal with the constant "raggings-on" of rival dancer Amber von Tussle, who will do everything in her power to see that Tracy fails in her efforts. However, after referring to Tracy in front of Corny Collins as a "Trash-Can", she is given demerit points and loses her on-air crush, Link Larkin, to Tracy. Tracy uses her new-found fame to champion the cause of racial integration and ends up winning the title of Miss Auto Show 1963.
The amusement park scenes in the movie were filmed at Allentown, Pennsylvania's Dorney Park.
[edit] Cast
- Sonny Bono .... Franklin Von Tussle
- Ruth Brown .... Motormouth Maybelle
- Divine .... Edna Turnblad/Arvin Hodgepile
- Colleen Fitzpatrick .... Amber Von Tussle
- Michael St. Gerard .... Link Larkin
- Debbie Harry .... Velma Von Tussle
- Ricki Lake .... Tracy Turnblad
- Leslie Ann Powers .... Penny Pingleton
- Clayton Prince .... Seaweed
- Jerry Stiller .... Wilbur Turnblad
- Mink Stole .... Tammy
- Shawn Thompson .... Corny Collins
- Josh Charles as Iggy
- Jason Downs as Bobby
- Holter Ford Graham as IQ
- Dan Griffith as Brad
- Regina Hammond as Pam
- Bridget Kimsey as Consuella
- Frankie Maldon as Dash
- Brooke Mills as Lou Ann
- John Orofino as Fender
- Kim Webb as Carmelita
- Debra Wirth as Shelly
- Dawn Hill as Nadine
- Cyrkle Milbourne as Lil’ Inez
- Alan Wendl as Mr. Pinky
- Joann Havrilla as Prudence Pingleton
- Doug Roberts as Paddy Pingleton
- Leo Rocca as Governor
- John Waters as Dr. Fredrikson
- Toussaint McCall as Himself
- Kathleen Wallace as Gym Teacher
- Keith Douglas as Lead Lafayette
[edit] Soundtrack
- 1. Rachel Sweet - Hairspray
- 2. The Ray Bryant Combo - The Madison
- 3. The Ikettes - I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)
- 4. Jan Bradley - Mama Didn't Lie
- 5. Gene Pitney - Town Without Pity
- 6. Gene & Wendell - The Roach
- 7. The Flares - Foot Stompin'
- 8. The Five Du-Tones - Shake a Tail Feather
- 9. Jerry Dallman and the Knightcaps - The Bug
- 10. Barbara Lynn - You'll Lose a Good Thing
- 11. Little Peggy March - I Wish I Were a Princess
- 12. Toussaint McCall - Nothing Takes the Place of You
[edit] Box Office
- Hairspray opened on February 26, 1988 in 79 North American theatres, where it grossed $577,287 ($7,307 per screen) in its opening weekend. On March 11, it expanded to 227 theatres, where it grossed $966,672 ($4,258 per screen) from March 11-13. It ended its theatrical run with $6,671,108.[1]
[edit] Miscellaneous
In 2002, the film was adapted into a Broadway musical, also called Hairspray. The Broadway musical will be re-adapted as a musical film in 2007, as has happened in the case of The Producers and The Little Shop of Horrors. It will star John Travolta and Queen Latifah as Edna Turnblad and Motormouth Maybelle, respectively.
The Corny Collins Dance Show was modeled on the Buddy Deane Show, which appeared on local television in Baltimore and was similar to American Bandstand.
The film marks the first screen appearance of Josh Charles, who went on to star in Dead Poets Society and Sports Night.
[edit] External links
- Hairspray at the Internet Movie Database
- Stanley Kubrick Wouldn't Do This (Interview with John Waters on the making of "Hairspray" from the L.A. Weekly) by Michael Dare
