By: KJ Hamilton
Hairspray – 2007 – dir. Adam Shankman
It’s 1962 and Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) is an overweight high school student from Baltimore, Maryland. She rats her hair and knows every dance step thanks to spending her afternoons watching “The Corny Collins Show” with her best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes). She’s also madly in love with the show’s star crooner, Link Larkin (Zac Efron); who doesn’t notice her at school mostly because he’s so wrapped up in his own career. Though her mother Edna (John Travolta) does not approve, Tracy auditions for the show. Initally, she’s rejected because of her weight and her belief in integration. However, Corny accepts her onto the council after Tracy wows him with her dance moves. She soon becomes the most popular dancer/council member. The station manager, Velma VonTussel (Michelle Pfeiffer) is threatened by this, as she goes to great lengths to make sure her daughter Amber (Brittany Snow) is the most visible council member, and to keep the show segregated. However, Tracy shares Corny’s (James Marsden) views on integration: “It’s the new frontier.”