Information about Hairspray (1988 Film)

Hairspray (1988)
Movie poster for Hairspray
Directed by	John Waters
Produced by	John Waters Robert Maier Sara Risher Robert Shaye Rachel Talalay
Written by	John Waters
Starring	Ricki Lake Divine Sonny Bono Ruth Brown Debbie Harry
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
Followed by	Hairspray (2002) Hairspray (2007)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Hairspray is a 1988 musical film written and directed by John Waters. The film features Divine, Ricki Lake, Sonny Bono and Deborah Harry. Hairspray was a dramatic departure from Waters' earlier works, with a much broader intended audience, most of his previous films having been rated X by the MPAA. Hairspray has become notable for an unusual portrayal of racial issues through Waters' characteristic edgy humor.

Set in 1963 Baltimore, the film follows "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad (Lake), as she simultaneously pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation. 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.

Hairspray was only a moderate success upon its initial theatrical release in the United States, grossing only $6,671,108, however it became a success on home video rentals and sales. Many critics praised the film, while some where displeased with the overall campiness. The film's popularity was further boasted with the 2002 stage adaptation, and the 2007 version and has since become a cult film.

Plot

Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) is an optimistic, self-proclaimed "pleasantly plump" high school student from Highland, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1962. She endures a day's worth of boring classes so that she and her best friend Penny Pingleton (Leslie Ann Powers) can race home to view their favorite TV program, The Corny Collins Show. The program, a dance show featuring teenagers aimed at the youth group, is broadcast from Baltimore's station WYZT on weekday afternoons. Some dancers featured on the show attend Tracy’s school, including Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick), whom Tracy proclaims as being "stuck up", and is very wealthy. Her heartthrob boyfriend, Link Larkin (Michael St. Gerard), is Tracy's idol, with whom she is madly in love.

However, after referring to Tracy in front of Corny Collins (Shawn Thompson) as a "trash can," Amber is given demerit points and loses her on-and-off-air boyfriend, Link Larkin, to Tracy. Tracy uses her newfound fame to champion the cause of racial integration with the help of her equally-plus-size, obnoxious but loving mother Edna Turnblad (Divine), and Penny. Corny Collins' Negro Day host Motormouth Maybelle (Ruth Brown) and her son / Penny's boyfriend Seaweed (Clayton Prince) and ends up winning the title of Miss Auto Show 1963 which erupts into a huge celebration.

The Corny Collins Show is based on a real show, The Buddy Dean Show, and the movie's climax is based on an actual event that took place on that show in the summer of 1963.[1]

Cast

• Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad
• Divine as Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile
• Jerry Stiller as Wilbur Turnblad
• Colleen Fitzpatrick as Amber Von Tussle
• Deborah Harry as Velma Von Tussle
• Sonny Bono as Franklin Von Tussle
• Leslie Ann Powers as Penny Pingleton
• Joann Havrilla as Prudence "Prudy" Pingleton
• Doug Roberts as Paddy Pingleton
• Ruth Brown as "Motormouth" Maybelle
• Clayton Prince as Seaweed J. Stubbs
• Cyrkle Milbourne as Little Inez
• Michael St. Gerard as Link Larkin
• Shawn Thompson as "Corny" Collins
• Mink Stole as Tammy Turner

Council members

• Josh Charles as Iggy
• Jason Downs as Bobby
• Holter Graham as IQ
• Dan Griffith as Brad
• Regina Hammond as Brenda
• Bridget Kimsey as Consuella
• Frankie Maldon as Dash
• Brooke Stacy Mills as Lou Ann
• John Orofino as Fender
• Kim Webb as Carmelita
• Vincent De Paul as Carmelita's Partner
• Debra Wirth as Shelly

Other characters

• Dawn Hill as Nadine
• Verna Day as Nadine's mom
• Lydia Troy as Mrs. Malinski
• Paul Zimmerman as Brent
• Donald Wheeler as Clinton
• Jennifer Johns as Amy
• Brook Yeaton as Tough Guy #1
• Jeff Gardner as Tough Guy #2
• Rhea Feiken as Geometry Teacher
• Mark Oliver as Geometry Student
• Keith Douglas as Lead Lafayette
• Al Granick as Lafayette #2
• Robert Di Santo as Lafayette #3
• Leo Rocca as Governor

Cameos

• Buddy Deane as Newsman
• John Waters as Dr. Fredrikson
• Toussaint McCall as Himself
• Mary Vivian Pearce as Hairhopper Mother
• Pia Zadora as Beatnik Chick
• Ric Ocasek as Beatnik Cat

Trivia

• John Waters has a cameo role in this film as Dr. Fredrickson, the psychiatrist hired by Mrs. Pingleton to 'help' Penny.
• Hairspray was the last of Waters' films to star Divine. On March 7, 1988, ten days after the premiere, Divine died in his sleep.
• All of Tracy's hair-do's were Ricki Lake's actual hair, not a wig as is popular belief.
• WZZT-TV, the station in which The Corny Collins Show is filmed in the movie, is the name of an actual television station. The crew was only allowed to use the station's name if an employee from the real WZZT was able to work on the film.
• Michael St. Gerard, who played Link Larkin in the film, went on to play Elvis in the television series Elvis: The Early Years.
• The amusement park scenes in the movie were filmed at Allentown, Pennsylvania's Dorney Park.
• The Corny Collins Show is based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show, which was cancelled because the producers wouldn't integrate black and white dancers.
• Director John Waters appeared on The Buddy Deane Show once when he was younger. Ricki Lake stated in 2004 that she still has the VHS which John sent her of himself on the show sixteen years before.
• All of the dances in the film were real dances, except for "Shake A Tailfeather". The song was real, but the dance was made up specifically for the film.
• Ricki Lake has said that when she auditioned for the film, all she knew was that they were looking for "a fat girl who could dance". She also had no idea who either John Waters or Divine were.
• When Debbie Harry heard that Sonny Bono was considering doing the movie, she jokingly told director John Waters to tell him that she would "blow him" if it would get him to be in the film.
• Sonny Bono was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California at the same time that he was filming the movie.
• The film's working title was White Lipstickhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095270/.
• Major parts of the movie were filmed at Perry Hall High School in Perry Hall, MD
• Before playing Seaweed, Clayton Prince was known to most people as the reggae singing boyfriend of Lisa Bonet on the classic Cosby Show. After the film, he became a regular on NBC's Another World and the CBS' series Dark Justice.
• In Brazil the title is Hairspray-E Éramos Todos Jovens

Soundtrack

Main article: Hairspray (1988 soundtrack)

1. "Hairspray" (performed by Rachel Sweet with Deborah Harry) – 3:13
2. "The Madison Time" (performed by The Ray Bryant Combo) – 3:07
3. "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" (performed by The Ikettes) – 2:28
4. "Mama Didn't Lie" (performed by Jan Bradley) – 2:00
5. "Town Without Pity" (performed by Gene Pitney) – 2:52
6. "The Roach" (performed by Gene and Wendell) – 2:30
7. "Foot Stompin'" (performed by The Flares) – 2:16
8. "Shake a Tail Feather" (performed by The Five Du-Tones) – 2:21
9. "The Bug" (performed by Jerry Dallman and the Knightcaps) – 2:15
10. "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (performed by Barbara Lynn) – 2:18
11. "I Wish I Were a Princess" (performed by Little Peggy March) – 2:13
12. "Nothing Takes the Place of You" (performed by Toussaint McCall) – 3:17

DVD release

The film was released on DVD September 4, 2003 under the New Line tag.

Special features

1. Theatrical trailer
2. Feature-length audio commentary by writer-director John Waters and star Ricki Lake
3. English, Spanish, and French subtitles

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]

See also

Cross-dressing in film and television

References

External links

• Stanley Kubrick Wouldn't Do This (Interview with John Waters on the making of "Hairspray" from the L.A. Weekly) by Michael Dare

•  • [ e] Films directed by John Waters
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket • Roman Candles • Eat Your Makeup • Mondo Trasho • The Diane Linkletter Story • Multiple Maniacs • Pink Flamingos • Female Trouble • Desperate Living • Polyester • Hairspray • Cry-Baby • Serial Mom • Pecker • Cecil B. Demented • A Dirty Shame