What do you get when you put John Travolta in a dress and call Queen Latifah "Motormouth"?
Its Hairspray all over again.
In the upcoming remake of the 1988 sleeper, the faces may have changed but the story remains the same.
Chubby Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) has two loves in her life: dancing and the Corny Collins Show. Every day she and her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) dash home to watch the show and drool over Link Larkin (Zac Efron). When one of the stars leaves, Corny Collins (Jason Marsden) holds auditions to find a replacement and that's where Tracy gets to show her stuff. But not before she angers the evil dance queen and finds her calling by standing up to racism and integrating the show. Unfortunately for Tracy, society isn't quite ready for her yet and she ends up a wanted girl. Will Tracy miss the final dance off and forfeit her Miss Hairspray title? Will she discover that her mom is actually one of the sexiest men alive? Okay, maybe not. But you'll have to tune in to find out.
If you think the names above are what make this a star-studded cast, you aint seen nuthin yet. Tracy's mom (Edna) is played by John Travolta. Yes, that's right... Travolta. And if you watch the trailer, I think you'll agree... he's never looked prettier. Tracy's friend Motormouth Maybelle is played by none other than Queen Latifah and Christopher Walken plays the part of Tracy's dad. The evil dance queen is portrayed by the lovely Brittany Snow and her mom is one of my all-time faves - Michelle Pfeiffer.
See? I told you there was more.
There's also Allison Janney, Taylor Parks, Jesse Weafer and Elijah Kelley as well and that just covers the main characters. In a nutshell, Hairspray is full of some very familiar faces.
Directed by Adam Shankman (Stuck on You, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wedding Planner), Hairspray is a fun remake that's well overdue. Light-hearted and oh-so-spirited, there's no better way to spend a lazy summer day than by reminding yourself of a happier, simpler time.
Of course, seeing Travolta bounce around in a dress doesn't hurt either. And he really does it well, too.
Rated PG for language and a brief cigarette break, Hairspray opens on July 20, 2007 at theaters across the country. For more information, you can check out the official Hairspray website. But if you'd like to get a sneak peek at Travolta's cross-dressing debut, check this out on Yahoo.
