Appreciating Hairspray, the movie musical based on the Broadway show based on John Waters’ 1988 movie, begins with quickly getting over the fact that John Travolta is dressed up like a woman. The casting of the world’s second favorite ambiguously sexually orientated Scientologist is not a stunt but a faithful recreation of the circumstances of Waters’ casting the drag queen Divine as the lead character’s mother in his original film. The sooner that you can stop giggling solely because Travolta wears a wig – something the people behind me at the theatre could not manage – the sooner you realize that the best moments in Hairspray have little to do with Travolta’s wardrobe.

This isn’t to say that the movie isn’t the big, loud, fun romp that musicals tend to be. The plot follows heroine Tracy Turnblad (film rookie Nikki Blonsky), a pleasantly plump teenager who lives to watch the Corny Collins show, Baltimore’s answer to American Bandstand. The TV dance revue gives its camera time to the pretty people, mostly teenage heartthrobs Linc Larkin (Zac Efron) and Amber von Tussle (Brittany Snow); Amber’s mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former beauty queen, manages the show and is sure to maintain its appearance as a clean, whites-only (this is 1962 Baltimore, remember) show (once a month, they bring blacks into the studio for “Negro Day”).

When Tracy, who not only looks different than the rest of the Corny Collins dancers but also supports integration, lands a spot on the show, Mrs. Von Tussle makes it her duty to ruin Tracy’s “career.” In the meantime, back at school, Tracy makes it cool to be sent to detention, where she learns new moves from the black dancers, one of whom takes a shine to her airheaded friend Penny (Amanda Bynes). Tracy decides that it is unfair that people of all shapes, sizes, and colors can’t be represented on TV, and she joins with the black dancers to protest inequality.

Blonsky, who was working at a Cold Stone Creamery when she landed the role, owns the movie from the opening notes of “Good Morning Baltimore,” a magical Motown love letter to Tracy’s hometown. Much like her character, Blonsky storms onto the scene and takes charge through sheer talent and force of will. Travolta, who opts not to go campy with his role, triumphantly plays Tracy’s mom Edna as a sweet balance to her daughter’s boundless energy. His performance, singing, dancing, and acting, is a certain high point. Pfeiffer, as the third “lead” in the movie, is a delight, relishing in the role of the vixen.

The supporting cast ranges from delightful but underused (Queen Latifa as Motormouth Maybelle and Christopher Walker as Tracy’s father), to spot-on and perfectly portioned (James Marsden crooning as Corny Collins and Allison Janney delivering hilarious deadpans as Penny’s conservative mother). The lone exception is Bynes, who, asked to do next to nothing in a diminished role as Penny, finds a way to do less. Her version of acting in this case is to give sly glances at the camera every now and then; the technique prevents her from forming any kind of connection with the cast.

With amusing choreography and a vibrant recreation of the 1960’s, Hairspray is a fantastic piece of nostalgia, a well-told lesson of tolerance, and an absolute blast to watch. What’s more, it’s one of the better movie musicals in recent memory. Encore, I say. Encore.

Rating: * * * 1/2 of 5

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