1988 · comedy · musical
Hairspray
Directed by John Waters1h 32m1988
'Pleasantly plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all integration. In doing so, she earns the wrath of the show's former star, Amber Von Tussle, as well as Amber's manipulative, pro-segregation parents. The rivalry comes to a head as Amber and Tracy vie for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963.
Our read: Hairspray (1988) reads as a cosy, kinetic, inventive comedy · musical entry — gentle in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, redemptive in outlook.
Cosy, kinetic, gentle comedy / musical, inventive in texture. Redemptive, intimate, measured.
- cosy
- brisk
- gentle
- redemptive
- funny
Watching Hairspray tonight? Spin for your lens.
Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.
Your lens for tonight
?
Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.
More info & search links
How Hairspray feels to watch.
Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.
What watching it is actually like.
“You want campy Baltimore joy with big hair, integration politics, and unstoppable dance energy.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if campy 80s aesthetics or John Waters edge feels too kitsch for you.
Eight films that feel like this one.
Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Hairspray, with why →
Discussion
Make it a movie night.
Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.
Pick tonight's film →