Shake it, sister

Published Thursday, July 19, 2007

Sometimes, somebody in Hollywood rolls the dice. A studio buys a big-hit stage musical and tries to "improve" it, moving it outdoors, adding tunes. It does a little stunt casting, putting John Travolta in a dress and a fat suit. It pairs him with old hoofer Christopher Walken for a Fred-and-Ginger moment.

It casts an unknown in the lead and pulls a leading man off a cable TV hit for kids. Somebody thinks, "Wouldn’t Michelle Pfieffer have made a swell Cruella De Vil?"

And then that studio throws the finished product out there, to sink or swim where no musical since "Grease" has floated: summer.

Almost every gamble pays off with New Line’s "Hairspray," a free-spirited, freewheeling romp based on the 2002 stage musical that was based on John Waters’ edgy but family-friendly 1988 comedy.

- The Orlando Sentinel

hairspray

Stars: Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, James Marsden, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes

Director: Adam Shankman

Rating: PG for language, some suggestive content and momentary teen smoking

Theaters: Stadium 14, Forum 8