Two Tuesdays: Hairspray (1988)
A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
(PG - 92 min.)
Showtimes
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
7:00 PM
Discover cinematic connections with Two Tuesdays—a curated film series pairing related movies on the last two Tuesdays of the month. This series is Free for Members.
June 18: Hairspray (1988)
June 25: Cry-Baby (1990)
In 1960s Baltimore, dance-loving teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) auditions for a spot on "The Corny Collins Show" and wins. She becomes an overnight celebrity, a trendsetter in dance, fun and fashion. Perhaps her new status as a teen sensation is enough to topple Corny's reigning dance queen and bring racial integration to the show. [RT]
Starring: Ricki Lake, Divine, Jerry Stiller, Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Vitamin C, Debbie Harry
Director: John Waters
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Family
"Thoroughly deserving of its cult status."
— Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
"The defining moment in the auteur's career-long dedication to lionizing Baltimore's misfit population."
— Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
"The movie is a bubble-headed series of teenage crises and crushes, alternating with historically accurate choreography of such forgotten dances as the Madison and the Roach."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"While it's corny by design, Hairspray also aims to get at something truthful, about the various kinds of prejudice [...] and how youthful optimism and music made a difference [...]."
— Noel Murray, The Dissolve
"Not only Waters's best movie, but a crossover gesture that expands his appeal without compromising his vision one iota; Ricki Lake as the hefty young heroine is especially delightful."
— Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"Ricki Lake’s unselfconscious performance as the all-dancing, all-bouffant Tracy Turnblad is a joy, Debbie Harry makes a fabulous bigot, while Waters seems to delight in the many toe-tapping dance routines as well as his own deliciously arch dialogue."
— Kevin Maher, Times (UK)
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