Hairspray (John Waters, USA 1988)

In the organizer's words:

Sat 24.8., 19h & Sat 31.8., 19.30h
HAIRSPRAY John Waters USA 1988 35mm English OVD 92'

Hairspray, written as a parody of a pop music program he had seen on television in his youth, was John Waters' first film for the big screen. The comedy about a 1962 dance competition in Baltimore, where black music is played but African-Americans are refused entry, combines wry humor, the music and the pastel colors of the time with anti-racist commitment and sympathy for people who do not conform to the norms of mainstream society. Debbie Harry is Velma von Tussle, "a racist, power-hungry mother" (DH) with tower hair who wants to make a star out of her daughter, who conforms to the usual ideals of beauty, and uses unfair means to boot out her biggest rival, a chubby outsider. The cast unites Sonny Bono and the queen of R&B, Ruth Brown, with John Waters'regulars Mink Stole and his muse Divine in a double role. (hjf)