Hairspray: DVD, Blu-ray Review (2007)

Far from a drag.

Adam Shankman’s "Hairspray" is one of the year’s best comedies, which is a surprise given that Shankman directed "The Pacifier" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," each of which put a flop in the box office’s flip.

Not so with "Hairspray."

Based on the hit Broadway musical by way of John Water’s 1988 camp classic movie, the film is expertly conceived, fun and infectious.

In the lead is newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, the impossibly perky, plus-sized Baltimore lass whose beaming naivete and kindness are about to be challenged when, in 1962, the country nudges forward with the ramifications of segregation and integration.

Those are serious subjects to explore, so it’s to the movie’s great credit that it manages to make you feel just how serious without ever sacrificing the film’s mischief and fun.

Beyond Blonsky, whose unflagging energy should be canned by Red Bull, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Allison Janney and Taylor Parks are terrific.

As Tracy’s robust mother Edna, John Travolta tucks himself beneath so much foam padding, he could double as a three-piece living room set. Unlike Harvey Fierstein and Divine before him, Travolta’s Edna is sweet, soft-spoken and shy, with the actor playing the part with barely a wink that it’s John Travolta beneath all that makeup.

As such, for purists, this particular man in the fat suit might not suit, but for mainstream audiences, for whom the movie is targeted, Travolta likely will win over plenty. Helping him to that end is Christopher Walken as Edna’s husband, who shares with her a dance and a song that’s one of the film’s highlights.

The song is called "You’re Timeless to Me," which, given the film’s themes of acceptance in a world that continues to resist it, easily could speak for the movie itself.

Rated PG-13. Grade: A-

Read a full review of the movie here.