ThiefHott Too much of everything

PodBill Just what I expected

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

TheLittleSongbird Being a fan of musicals and admiring admiration for a lot of the cast, as well as hearing nothing but good things about it, watching 'Hairspray' (which has been on my to see list for a while, having been behind with film watching and reviewing) was a must.After seeing 'Hairspray', it left a huge positive impression on me and is a simply wonderful film all round. One of the better musicals in recent years and the most fun personally had for some time. It filled me with joy and uplifted me, it was such irresistible fun and a few elements left me pleasantly surprised. It is essentially a remake of the 1988 comedy and very much a worthy one.The cast are one of 'Hairspray's' biggest strengths. John Travolta's performance has divided audiences, count me in as someone who found him delightful. Christopher Walken is enormous fun and very likable, have heard him sing before with wildly variable success having been a disaster in 'Peter Pan Live' and rather out of place in the live action remake of 'The Jungle Book' (an excellent film otherwise) but in this regard it's one of his better vocal performances.Michelle Pfeiffer and Amanda Byrnes also enjoy themselves and Nikki Blonsky makes a stunning debut. The teens are also on top form, even Zac Efron is good.'Hairspray' is audaciously designed and film and is buoyantly directed. The musical numbers are catchy and infectious, as well as performed with enormous enthusiasm. They are also slickly choreographed.Script is very funny, sometimes even hilarious, and the story is filled to the brim with energy and easy to follow.Overall, irresistible and joyous fun. Well worth catching, in fact a must. 10/10 Bethany Cox

creddick-95744 Hairspray is such a fun musical! Not only does it have fantastic music and a great cast it has a very important message. It really speaks to anyone who has ever struggled with body image issues. It shows that no matter your size you can do whatever you put your mind to, even when most people doing that thing look differently. It also shows women that we can do anything, even in an age where women couldn't do much for a living. The musical is also so inclusive. It expresses a mentality that race does not change the kind of person you are and that we are truly all equal. Just wow, it's hard to make a fantastic show that is so good at handling big issues.

Python Hyena Hairspray (2007): Dir: Adam Shankman / Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes: Hilarious musical remake about time and culture all embraced within the enthusiasm of teenage experimentation. Nikki Blonsky stars as teenage Tracy Turnblad who dreams of being on the Corny Collins Show but due to her weight she is rejected by station manager Miss Von Tussle. At home Tracy is encouraged by her father while her mother Edna is insecure herself. Despite predictable storytelling director Adam Shankman is given convincing 1950's art direction. This is a huge improvement for a director who previously made such crap as The Wedding Planner and The Pacifier. Blonsky is a burst of life while John Travolta in drag as Edna is a scene stealer. This is a reminder that Divine, who portrayed Edna in the original John Waters film was a transvestite. What Travolta does here is a tribute, not an insult. Christopher Walken is hilarious as Tracy's father who works in a toy store. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the snide Miss Von Tussle whose daughter is her top pride. Amanda Bynes plays Blonsky's best friend who is locked up in her bedroom. While remakes are often frown upon, and for good reason, Shankman creates a film that extends the budget while maintaining the same spirit. The result is a colourful expression of dance, culture and race. Score: 9 / 10

d-delehanty If you enjoy light-hearted, family friendly, fun movies, then the musical Hairspray is the movie for you! Like every movie, there are always negative and positive sides of a film. This particular movie has many features and factors that make it a worthwhile watch. Hairspray is about a young girl in high school that has a hard time fitting in but ends up making important decisions that affect her life immensely. In this movie, Tracy, the main girl, decides to audition for a dance and singing show that is popular among the town. Throughout the movie she realizes that the TV show she stars in has segregation between white and black people; she uses her popularity from the show to change that. Each actor and actress the director chose for the movie play the parts well. In this movie the director chose big name actors and actresses such as Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Brittney Snow, and John Travolta to help make this a successful and shining movie. This film was based off of the 1988 version made starring Ricki Lake and has now been made more modernly. Although this film isn't an original, there is definitely originality in the plot as this movie has much controversy between the colors of skin, which was a true phase in American history. With the history used, the director of Hairspray made the movie very entertaining with a deep, historical background of the past. Adam Shankman, the director, did a wonderful job producing the movie. He knew how to film at certain angles, focus in, and edit the material. At the start of the movie one can already see some of the camera techniques this movie uses. One common method used is focusing on the main character(s) and blurring the surroundings where the scene is being shot. Each transition from scene to scene has been done smoothly. In most movies, the scenes have many fade-outs and black outs, however, Hairspray didn't have as many of these techniques. There transitions simply jump over to the scene except in doing so it's almost unnoticeable. The development of this movie increased throughout the film. Just looking at the script alone without the movie made yet was a work of art. The scriptwriter really used diction and syntax to emphasize certain points. For example, a word used often in the film is "Negro." This word in today's society is not tolerated so hearing the word in the movie built a strong statement. Another big factor that helped shape the movie is the costume design. Costumes in any movie help develop the characters and define their personality. The white people in this movie wear fancier and simple quality clothing while the black people wear colorful and fun outfits. For example, in the show when both groups sing "The New Girl in Town" the whites wear simple dresses with their hair done up neat while the blacks wear tight orange dresses with wavy flowing hair. Hairspray has many up beat and fun loving scenes with great sing-along songs. This is a famous movie that should not be unseen. This movie points out an important historical controversial event and helps show that people can make a difference. This is a movie for all ages and welcomes anyone who wants to watch it.