NOW ON DVD

HAIRSPRAY
Rated PG
John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda James, James Marsden

Brian’s Rating       

When the eclectic, eccentric John Waters created the original Hairspray movie twenty years ago and cast the corpulent transvestite Divine in a starring role next to newcomer Ricki Lake, no one could have predicted that this modest, avant-garde production would give birth to a hit Broadway show and now a rousing musical screen production.

The new version of Hairspray, now on DVD, features a still-relevant storyline fueled by high-energy music and dance numbers and a delightful cast of veterans and newcomers. But the one “don’t miss” performance is delivered by a cross-dressing John Travolta, who dominates every scene he is in.

Here’s a friendly reminder that this is a musical with lots of singing and dancing, so if that’s not your cup of tea, no amount of prodding on my part will convince you to watch it. But I consider Hairspray a delightful surprise.