Hairspray (2007)

Hairspray (directed by Adam Shankman)

I've been secretly rooting for John Travolta to get out of the horrible funk he got in after his great turns in Pulp Fiction and as Chili Palmer in 1995's Get Shorty. Although I'm not quite sure what Travolta was trying to achieve with his accent as Edna Turnblad in the new film version of Hairspray, it's safe to say that he's quite brilliant in it, as is Christopher Walken as his husband, Wilbur. Their dance scene together is sure to win audiences over, and it makes you wish that Walken, originally a Juilliard-educated song and dance man, would get more screen time.

Hairspray by all means shouldn't work. It's a remake of the 1988 John Waters film, which was in turn made into a Broadway musical a few years ago. Director Shankman has taken the soul of the original Waters film and put entirely new songs in it, all originally from the musical version, composed by Marc Shaiman. The songs are instantly ingratiating--it's hard not to get caught up in the film's effortless charm and catchiness.

Newcomer Nikki Blonsky plays Edna Turnblad, who along with her lollypop-sucking friend, Penny (Amanda Bynes) wants no more than to get on the Corny Collins show. Michelle Pfeiffer, in full comeback mode this year, plays the evil Velma Von Tussle, whose daughter Amber (Brittany Snow) has every intention of destroying Tracy's dream.

The casting is excellent, with Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle (played by the legendary Ruth Brown in the original film), Allison Janney as Penny's God-fearing mother, not to mention Blonksy, who is wonderful in the lead role.

If anything, Shankman and co. have improved upon the original, although I miss Divine and it's too bad they didn't have room for "the Bug" or "the Cockroach."