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| DETAILS | Released
16 July 2007 | | Composer
Marc Shaiman | | Label
New Line |
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Hairspray
 Review
John Waters’ fabulous 1988 film is not only a genuine cult hit but also the campest film to have ever dealt with the issue of racial segregation. In truth, it didn’t really warrant a remake, but we should at least be thankful that director Adam Shankman has done such a surprisingly superb job.
Certainly, it helped he was blessed with a top-notch cast (especially John Travolta’s fat-suited, scene-chewing turn as very curvy housewife Edna Turnblad), but the film’s single greatest asset is that, like the original, it has a formidably peppy soundtrack that puts most Broadway shows to shame.
Composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman - whose previous form as musical director to Bette Midler’s stage shows proves utterly suitable - oversees a simply marvellous set of 19 tunes which only the black-hearted and humourless could fail to enjoy.
Even better, there isn’t a dud voice in the cast in which non-singers like Christopher Walken, James Marsden and Zac Ephron warble with impressive confidence and zest alongside tried-and-tested vocal talents like Travolta (albeit not even attempting a female voice, weirdly), Michelle Pfeiffer (whose Velma von Tusle is wonderfully spiky on The Legend of Miss Baltimore) and Queen Latifiah.
Yet, as the story’s heroine Tracy Turnblad, newcomer Nikki Blonsky showcases a voice tailor-made for such bouncy show-tunes, instantly arresting in the opening track “Good Morning Baltimore” and parlaying infectious optimism on I Can Hear The Bells - and fans of Waters original film will enjoy her climactic tune featuring original Tracy Ricki Lake .
Despite the consistently strong material, special mention must be made of the Travolta-Walken duet You’re Timeless To Me, which benefits from Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman’s witty lyrics as well as Walken’s gleeful performance. Like everything else here, it’s overblown and unapologetically camp, but done with such irrepressible verve and charm it sweeps you up and is hard to resist.
Reviewer: Danny Graydon
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