This week, the star-studded movie musical “Hairspray” celebrates its 10th anniversary. When it was released back in 2007, it received glowing reviews from critics and made more than $200 million worldwide. The film also garnered 3 Golden Globe nominations: Best Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, and John Travolta earned a Supporting Actor nod as mother Edna.
“Hairspray” also won the Critics Choice Award and Hollywood Film Award for Best Acting Ensemble and was nominated in the same category for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Casting Society of America also nominated “Hairspray” in the Studio Feature: Comedy category.
The lineup of actors is pretty stellar: Travolta, Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Allison Janney, James Marsden, Jerry Stiller, Elijah Kelly, Brittany Snow and Amanda Bynes.
Whenever I see “Hairspray” is on TV, I turn it on for a few minutes. The songs range from powerful to vivacious and infectious, the performances are memorable, and the themes and messages still ring true today. In fact, you could argue that “Hairspray” is one of the most important movies of this generation. Director Adam Shankman’s film (a remake of the ’88 original and based on the ’02 Tony-Winning Broadway musical) shows that people of any age, size, race or gender matter – when it comes to pursuing your dreams, falling in love, and making a difference in society.