From the opening bells of "Good Morning Baltimore" to the closing romp "You Can't Stop the Beat!," Hairspray is a head-spinning, toe-tapping musical gem certain to put a smile on the face of even the most hard-hearted moviegoer. In a summer of over-blown, over-hyped, over-CGI'd blockbusters, director-choreographer Adam Shankman has crafted a dazzling and inspiring tale that has a little bit of everything: an intriguing story-line, lovable characters and an important message that both uplifts and inspires. Shankman manages to keep things simple without being simplisitic, and nostalgic without feeling dated.

Not an easy task when the setting is Baltimore circa 1962. Husky Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) is a typical high-schooler: a perpetual dreamer who longs to be famous by dancing on "The Corny Collins Show," a local TV program that is a (literally) white-washed hybrid of "American Bandstand" and "The Mickey Mouse Club" full of "the nicest kids in town" with names like Amber, Brad, Joey and Becky. Corny Collins himself (James Marsden, doing his best Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest impression) is full of schtick as the host, primped, pressed, and, golly, just a swell guy. The show does have an edge though... once a month they have a "Negro Day" when the colored kids get to strut their stuff alongside the white kids—separated on the dance floor by a rope, of course.

Tracy boldly proclaims that she wishes "every day was Negro day!" and, thanks to her colored friends in detention, learns a new way to strut her stuff on the dancefloor, finally getting her big break on the show. She is a huge (no pun intended) hit and quickly gains a following, much to the chagrin of Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer, full of vamp and venom), the station manager and overbearing stage-mother to star dancer Amber (Brittany Snow). The Von Tussles have their evil eyes on the Miss Hairspray crown and will stop at no lengths to win the prize—even if it means throwing Tracy off the show and "cancelling" Negro Day.

In Tracy's corner are a group of endearing and likable outcasts led by her parents Wilbur (Christopher Walken) and Edna (John Travolta; more on him later). Walken is a joy and has a blast as her supportive and gracious father—he tells Tracy to "go for it" when she wants to skip school to audition for the show. Owning a joke and novelty store called the Hardy Har Hut was his dream; he reasons Tracy should follow her dreams, too. Edna, on the other hand, is not so sure although her fears are rooted in her daughter not being accepted and the possibility of failure. Also along for the ride are best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), detention partner Seaweed Stubbs (Elijah Kelly), "Negro Day" host Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and the hunky Link Larkin (Zac Efron), torn between his fascination for the fireball Tracy and the stuck-up, shallow beauty of his girlfriend Amber.

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