The musical film Hairspray (2007) is based on the Broadway show was was inspired by the 1988 John Waters film of the same name. In both the film and the musical, the plot focuses on Tracy Turnblad's love of dancing and her desire to be a part of the "Corny Collins Show", a dance show that airs on the local Baltimore television station. She fights against the racism on the show and falls in love with its resident dreamboat, Link Larkin.

The critics loved both the Broadway and film versions of the story, citing it as energetic, good spirited, and lots of fun. Metacritic gives the film an 81 out of 100 rating, which indicates "universal acclaim." It also earns a very high 92& freshness rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Director: Adam Shankman
2. Release date: July 20, 2007
3. DVD release date: November 20, 2007
4. Starring: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, James Marsden
5. Rating: PG
6. Distributor: New Line Cinema
7. Non-musical version of the film released in 1988
8. Also a Broadway musical
9. Box office: $118,823,091
10. Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating: 92%
11. Metacritic: 81 out 100
12. Metacritic users: 7.5 out of 10

• "...the overall mood of "Hairspray" is so joyful, so full of unforced enthusiasm, that only the most ferocious cynic could resist it. It imagines a world where no one is an outsider and no one is a square, and invites everyone in. How can you refuse?" --The New York Times

• "Hairspray is a fizzy and delirious high-camp message-movie musical that may just turn out to be the happiest movie of the summer." --Entertainment Weekly

• Variety: Hairspray Review
  • "Unpretentious, feel-good pic is low on histrionic diva wailing and MTV-style editing, high on retro movie-musical craftsmanship. Despite uneven casting among marquee thesps, it's a real crowd-pleaser."
• Rolling Stone: Hairspray Review (3.5/4)
  • "It's hard to resist the film's exuberance. By the big finale, even homophobes will tap their feet. OK, maybe not. But the less close-minded are sure to respond. Hairspray has a beat. And you sure can dance to it."
• SFGate.com: Hairspray Review
  • " This film version of the hit Broadway musical not only feels good in the moment but can actually transform a mood, or an entire evening."
• NY Daily News: Hairspray Review (4/4)
  • ""Hairspray" is a great big sloppy kiss of entertainment for audiences weary of explosions, CGI effects and sequels, sequels, sequels."
• Baltimoresun.com: Hairspray Review
  • "Hairspray captures a moment in pop-culture history when what felt good to millions of teens was good. It reminds us that the pleasure principle could really be principled."
• Christian Science Montior: Hairspray Review
  • ""Hairspray" is a feel-good musical that, for a change, actually makes you feel good."
• The New York Post: Hairspray Review (4/4)
  • "A rousing alternative in a marketplace packed with noisy, special-effects-heavy sequels, "Hairspray" is the best and most entertaining movie adaptation of a stage musical so far this century - and yes, I'm including the Oscar-winning "Chicago.""

• Talkin' Broadway: Hairspray Review
  • "Hairspray may not be a transcendent experience and it may not change your life, but it is incredibly entertaining."
• TheaterMania: Hairspray Review
  • "The sunny Hairspray, with its Von Tussle villains, oughtn't be regarded as a perfect show -- or even as effective in some ways as the John Waters laffer from which it's adapted. Along with the good jokes, librettists O'Donnell and Meehan have dropped a number of duds."
• New York Theater Guide: Hairspray Review
  • "The story is juvenile and although the music is vintage 60's style, even down to the 'Bop-be-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba', it is hardly sensational. Yet the characters are so much larger then life that one cannot help but enjoy Hairspray."
• New York Times: Hairspray Review
  • "The show's rousing paean to changing times, You Can't Stop the Beat, may ostensibly be about social issues like integration. But it is now quite clear that it's a more primal life force that makes this music throb."
• MusicalSchwartz: Hairspray Review
  • "I've found it to be a totally exhilarating delight and probably the best musical comedy (as opposed to musical play) since ANNIE"