This was Phenomenal!! Hairspray 

You mentioned the actor playing Corny Collins not making it into any Marvel or DC movies but he was actually cyclops in the original X-Men movies 😁

"I didn't know Queen Latifa could sing like this." The funny thing is, no joke, this is her holding back. Her voice is usually a lot more powerful than this.

Ricki Lake’s cameo was a nod to her portrayal of Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray film in 1988.

The role of Edna Turnblad has always been played by a man in drag as an homage to Divine who was the original Edna in the first (non musical) version of Hairspray.

James Marsden not making it as a superhero. X-Men: am I a joke to you?

Some fun facts/behind the scenes/opinions: This movie is based on the 2002 Broadway musical which was based on the original movie from 1988. The musical is very popular but as for the movies, in this case the remake is generally considered better. Although the 1988 movie had a great cast like Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry (of Blondie), Sonny Bono (as in Sonny & Cher) and Jerry Stiller. John Travolta spoke with an exaggerated Baltimore accent. His casting as Edna continued the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, since the 1988 film featured drag queen Divine as Edna and the Broadway version featured Harvey Fierstein as Edna. Also fun fact: Divine was the inspiration for Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Another fun fact: One day between takes John Travolta began singing Summer Nights from Grease to the cast. Nikki Blonsky was completely unknown and working in an ice cream shop when she auditioned for the role at 18. Aside from being in a few high school productions, she had no professional acting or singing background at the time, and beat out 1.100 candidates. Here is footage of her reaction to getting the part: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZcgNDozn9-I.html She's been in a few movies and TV shows since then but nothing big, which is a shame. She was always typecasted as the 'fat girl' and Hollywood apparently didn't have any decent roles for her. Zac Efron did sing in this. In fact, Hairspray was released a month before High School Musical 2 so this was the first time we really heard him sing. A newer musical he's been in is The Greatest Showman, which, if you haven't seen it you should! It's got Hugh Jackman and Zendaya as well. Zac's voice has evolved so much and he's honestly a very underrated singer AND actor. Some of the movies he's in are too ridiculous for me but I love how he does both comedy and drama so well. His versatility is amazing. He and Michelle Pfeiffer worked together again on New Year's Eve, which also stars Lea Michele from Glee. Zac once jokingly said he would like to play a serial killer on Glee. Interestingly he would later play Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The movie was controversial because some people thought it glorified serial killers, especially by casting someone like Zac. But Bundy being "good looking", charming and well respected in the community was how he lured his victims and how he got away with it for so long. People also did not take into consideration that the movie was from his girlfriend's perspective. I personally thought it was really good and Zac did an amazing job. He was so creepy and looked so much like him. Michelle Pfeiffer has been in some great movies and is very versatile too. For thriller/horror I suggest What Lies Beneath, for drama I suggest The Deep End of the Ocean and for fantasy I suggest Stardust. She was also in Grease 2 which is not considered good though. James Marsden played Prince Edward in Enchanted and Disenchanted. Other than these movies he hasn't done that much singing professionally (which is shocking considering how good he is). He's been in several rom coms like The Notebook, 27 Dresses and The Best of Me. Coincidentally, The Notebook and The Best of Me are both based on Nicholas Sparks novels. In the latter he replaced Paul Walker as the lead after his death. Amanda Bynes was a child actress on Nickelodeon. She was also in several popular movies in early-mid 2000s, like She's The Man and What a Girl Wants. She has struggled with mental health and substance abuse, and was in a conservatorship from 2013-2022. Earlier this year she was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold after she called 911 following a psychotic episode. Then on June 17th she called 911 again because she had thoughts of self harm, and was put in inpatient treatment. I believe she's out now and is getting follow-up outpatient treatment. I really hope she gets better. Like Britney, she's been through a lot and Hollywood kinda turned its back on her. Tayla Parx, the actress who portrays Little Inez, is a singer/songwriter. She has written and co-written songs for Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber, along with several songs with her friend Ariana Grande (including Thank You, Next). This year, she starred as Donna Summer in Spinning Gold, a biographical drama based on the life of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart. There were lots of cameos in this movie. Ricki Lake appeared as a talent agent and also sang Mama I'm A Big Girl Now with Nikki Blonsky and Marissa Jaret Winokur (who played Tracy in the Broadway musical) for the film's end credits. Harvey Fierstein had a brief singing cameo in the end credits for that too. Stephen "tWitch" Boss obviously appears as a background dancer. There is a deleted song/scene called "I Can Wait", sung by Tracy. It's actually a shame because it shows a different side to her voice, more soft and gentle: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8MNxrzvG96I.html There is also another song sung by Link called "It Takes Two". He only sings the ending when they're announcing the auditions (and it's on the soundtrack): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8BJ8sAV5Aj49.html8 Because of the fast pacing lyrics of the songs, most of the cast jokingly called the last song You Can't Stop the Beat "You can't stop to breathe". Queen Latifah said she had no trouble with it because of her background as a rapper. Lastly, fun little thing not many people notice, and I don't know if it was done on purpose, but during Seaweed's song Run and Tell That - Tracy, Penny and Link (the white people) are at the back of the bus while Seaweed, Inez and the dancers are at the front (the poc). Kudos to you if you read all that! Also, I'm a 90s baby and I am all for a Grease reaction!

I’m a mid 60s baby, I grew up right after this time and was raised by parents who wouldn’t tolerate any racist or discriminatory talk or attitudes around us. We were taught that we are all the same. You are correct about the first interracial kiss being on Star Trek between Kirk and Uhura. You might be interested to know that the part of Edna Turnblad is always played by a male actor in drag in every production of this incredible musical.

A terrific musical to watch is Chicago (2002). It has amazing performances all around including the fabulous Queen Latifah who got an Oscar nomination for her role. In fact, the movie got 13 Oscar nominations and took home 6, including Best Picture. And it was so well-deserved!

Captain Kirk and Uhura was indeed TV’s first interracial kiss. They filmed two versions of the scene, one with the kiss and one where it happened off-screen. The showrunners wanted to go with the off-screen version but William Shatner and Nicole Nichols messed up their lines on purpose in that version, in order to get the kiss on the air 😀

If you loved seeing Queen Latifah like this, you need to check out "Chicago" with Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Reese Witherspoon. Especially the deleted scene "Class" which is an incredible solo Queen Latifah number that was cut from the film. Thanks for another great reaction!

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the original movie was directed by a man called John waters. His catalog was some of the first LGBT films to go even semi mainstream. The reason Edna turnblad is played by John travolta, A man, is because the original role was played by a drag queen named Divine. Divine also played the park owner who was pro-segregation, as his male persona in the original Hairspray. It might be interesting for you to check out on your own!

I was born in 1991, so early 90s baby. Am 32 currently. And everyone in this movie did their own singing, including Zac Efron. I believe the only reason he didn't in the 1st HSM is because the music was written before he was cast, obviously, and it was out of his vocal range (it was written for a tenor and he has more of a natural baritone/baritenor kind of range). The sequels then were able to specifically write for his voice.

I was born in 1999, so I’m directly between being a 90’s baby and a 2000’s baby. Hairspray has so many fun songs in it! Some other musicals you should watch: Phantom of the Opera (2004), Les Miserables (2012), Chicago (2002) and Rent (2005).

90’s baby here and I LOVE this movie!

In the original hairspray Tracy’s mum was played by a dragqueen so in this remake they probably wanted to keep it as close to the original

Although the movie focusses on race issues, this movie is one of the first to show the big girl getting the cute boy in the end ❤

Grew up loving John Waters movies. Watched Cry-Baby and Hairspray religiously, and since I love musicals this is definitely a favorite of mine. I love all of the cameos of those in the original 80's film like Ricky Lake and Jerry Stiller, not to mention the flasher in "Good Morning Baltimore" *IS* John Waters. lol Glad you enjoyed this!! :)

Also, Queen Latifah does great in "Chicago" as well! She's an awesome singer. :) And YES, watch Grease.

A fast, fun, full-figured musical in more ways than one.

You did nottt just call my girl Amanda Bynes Hannah Montana lmao. Glad you’re watching this movie though I love it so much. If you’re doing musicals you have to watch Rent !!!

I lOVE this movie so much. So glad you love it!! I unfortunately grew up with a really racist dad (one of the many reasons my mom divorced him lol) and I watched this movie at his house and he got so upset. Im so glad I always lived with my mom, its just so liberating to have at least one open minded supportive parent. No one should ever have to go through racism OR be suppressed from having different races of friends or partners.

I'd never noticed Rikki Lake's cameo. I'm not from the US so I don't really know her but I'm pretty sure she played Tracy in the original movie!

I was born in the mid 60’s. This is one of my favorite musicals.

This is a childhood classic for me and EVERY song, the energy in these songs are so infectious!

Yess please watch grease 😊 I’m a 00’s baby but I grew up watching a lot of older movies because of my mom and I love them all 😂

They chose to cast John Travolta as the mother because the same role was played by famous drag queen Divine in the original John Waters movie.

The original John Waters movie casted Harris Glen Milstead (better known as Divine) as Tracy's mom. It's been a tradition ever since for a man to fill the role...just as the original Peter Pan was played by a woman and it then became a tradition to cast a woman in the role.

LOL to you thinking Amanda Bynes was Miley Cyrus *BUT* that is actually a phenomenal casting idea. Miley would be a great Penny Pingleton! Also when you said “and I screwed the judges? What does she mean?!” …..just what she said 🤣

90’s baby

Great movie, loved your reaction! Oh and I was born in 86 so technically an 80s baby but I remember the 90s the most

early 90’s baby here 🥰 i love how blind you went into this. i’ve watched a ton of your reactions but something about this one was just very sincere to me.

James Marsden was Cyclops in X-Men

One of my favorites!! I wish James Marsden ( corey Collins) would sing more too!! He actually played cyclops in the old x-movies so he has played a super hero!! ❤

More musicals is always great 😊 Chicago is a must to see more Queen Latifah. Grease for more John Travolta. Matilda the Musical because it's great. Maybe some classics too like Sound of Music or Mary Poppins

I was born in the 90s with the awesome stuff growing up

I like the fact that the quick happy ending of the movie distracts from the fact that Tracy is probably still going to be arrested 😂It's not like the show becoming integrated drops the false charges.

Yeah you should watch Grease! I like to trash on it but it's a classic! 😁😁

90s baby This is the firsy time watching this movie since I was 13 or 14! Very fun throwback

This is my favourite musical of all time because of the storyline and the amazing songs. I relate to Tracy in a lot of ways because I don't like stereotypes and I hate people being judged for the wrong reasons. I would join the protest in a heartbeat and want the Corny Collins show to be integrated too. No offense when I say this but I believe that black people are the best singers in the world because they have natural soul and power in their voices. I love the songs "Run & tell that", "I know where I've been" and "You can't stop the beat"

Years ago, before i fell in love with my hubby, I was asked by a black coworker if i would be open to dating a black guy. I told him, of course. As a Christian, values are very important, and if his values align with mine, his skin color isn't an issue for me. The man i fell in love with is white, but before i fell in love with him, i had already determined the kind of man i wanted, not based on looks, but on character. That's how it should be.

I was born the late 90s. Grease is a really great movie. I was in an onstage musical production back in high school in the ensemble.

I was born in 1947. I enjoyed your reaction and yes you have to watch Grease.

This movie is the reason they allowed him to sing in the second and third HSM because he showed them he could do it and that fans would love it.

John Travolta did play the mom. Men always play the mom in hairspray whether it's the musical or the movie it's always a man playing the mom

THE SOUNDTRACK IS SOOOO GOOD🙌🏽🙌🏽

IT GIVES ME SOOOO MUCH NOSTALGIA 🥰🥰

The end song, “You Can’t Stop the Beat” is affectionately nicknamed “you can’t stop to breathe” by musical theatre performers

Tracy's mother is always played by a men in theatre too

This movie is a retelling of the 1988 Hairspray by John Waters. His movies always dealt with issues of size, sexuality and race and were therefore "cult" movies. Maybe not appropriate for your channel or RU-vid but I loved Polyester, Pink Flamingos and Cry Baby. I grew up in this era and it cracks me up at the shocked faces when seeing smoking everywhere as well as the casual racism.

Excellent movie, Hairspray has a lot of great characters to.

You should check out the original Hairspray by John Waters. He also directed Cry Baby, Serial Mom, and A Dirty Shame. It has some musical numbers in it but nowhere near the musical that this one is. It leans more into the dark comedy/satire. Tracy is played by Ricki Lake and Tracy's mom is played by the famous Drag Queen Divine who was the inspiration for Ursula in The Little Mermaid. The role has been played by men in drag in every adaptation since.

90’s kid (born 1987)! I was lucky to see this on Broadway and it was amazing! I actually saw this film in theaters on July 20, 2007. I know the date because after I saw this with friends, I met up with my brother for the midnight release of the Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows book. Elijah Wood (Seaweed) is amazing! He was in The Wiz Live in 2015 as the Scarecrow. Ne-Yo was the Tin Man and David Allen Grier as the Lion. I was going through a very difficult time then and seeing that was the first time I’d truly smiled in weeks. I’d love to see him in more.

I've seen the original more times than I can count but I've just seen this one once.

This film is in my top 5. I love it so much. The music is amazing.

Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals!! It's so much fun and the songs are catchy that make you just want to get up and dance or sing-a-long! I was born in 1988! So suppose I was a late 80's early 90's kid!

This is based on a real Baltimore TV show called The Buddy Deane Show, with a group of teenage dancers who became local celebrities. There were similar shows in other cities, including Dick Clark's American Bandstand in Philadelphia. The Buddy Deane Show ran from 1957- 1964 and featured white and black performers, though the dancers and studio audience were all white. It went off the air in 1964 when the station refused to allow integration of the dancers.

If you are liking the musicals, then Grease is definitely worth a watch. :)

70s baby. John Waters' original movie version and all the subsequent musical versions portray the mom as trans. Hairspray is a subversive classic. I got to meet John Waters this year and he's hilarious and witty as you would imagine.

Decade. You are looking for the word decade as in "What decade were you born in?". I was a 90s baby.

I rly love this musical it’s one of my favorites

After rewatching I finally barely heard the lyrics “link, I’ve got to break out so I can get my hands on you” during the ‘without love’ song. That’s when in the stage play, Tracy is actually arrested and she and link are singing this song to each other whilst separated by prison cell bars. When she sings the line “I can’t wait until my parol” (changed to ‘let me out at the next toll’ in this movie), she basically breaks the bars down with ease and she escapes that way, coz of the city’s budget cuts 😂

One musical closer to The Greatest Showman

90's baby! 💜

90s baby here!!

Yessss my fav musical!!! Without Love is my fav song!!

I saw this in theaters and had the soundtrack CD that I played on loop. One of my all time favorites!

Great reaction my guy. 100% you should watch the movie Grease. A lot of fun like hairspray is, but it is full of satire regarding the 1950’s. I think you would enjoy 😊

My favourite film musical! The soundtrack is so good!!

You should react to the original 1988 Hairspray film next. The guy who plays Mr. Piggy in the musical plays Tracey's father in this one.

A film that is well worth a watch and is now a famous musical is Kinky Boots (2005) - one of my favourites!

This will probably come up later when you look people up but I haven't got there so apologies but James Marsden was Cyclops in X-Men😁

4:45 Calling Amanda Bynes from Nickelodeon Hannah Montana had me laughing😂 love your videos!

I’m a 90s baby 🎉 And yes, please watch Grease ❤ And apparently you need to watch Chicago too ! Of course, Queen Latifah can sing!🎶 ❤

PLEASE watch Grease!!! its SUCH a good movie.

Its funny to see nicole kidman and Christopher walkin basically role reversed. Lol.

Really JV they would have gotten arrested without Tracy c'mon sir you have know that as a black male like bro lol

The dancer that passed a few years ago was Twitch. I grew up watching him dance, my whole family did, and I wish the best for his family and for him.

Ricki Lake was Tracy in the original movie. Jerry Stiller was Wilber.

You should react to the original version of Hairspray with Ricki Lake in 1988. It's less of a musical but really good

Queen Latifah is in one of my favorite musicals. Chicago... You should definitely check it out. Has Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere.

in the stage musical, tracy gets a pardon from the governor, so that's why she doesn't have to go back to jail or anything like that

I was born in the early 80's. I first saw this movie in the theater and I have loved it ever since.

This and The Greatest Showman are my favorite musicals!!

In the original hairspray Tracey's Mom was played by Divine a female impersonateor/drag Queen

Rikki Lake played T racy in the original version of the movie.

Fun fact: There was a deleted scene where Velma actually gets arrested with Amber dancing with one of the black dancers.

Sorry, but "that girl from Disney, Hannah Montana !" haahaah i'm dying ! , i love your reactions! . This movie is a reflection about early 60's society and yes, that period of the history was really racist, I was born in 1994 by the way .😁

I was born in 1983. So I’m a 80s baby. Since you mentioned Grease, you should react to that movie.

I was born in the 50s (1951). The sixties were my fun times.

Musicals recommendations: Rent, Chicago, & Les Miserables

Hey JV, new follower here from Puerto Rico. I hope your day goes well. God bless + take care :)

One of my favorites

I was born in the early 80’s, it was an awesome time to be a kid.

Late 80’s Baby! I was a year old when the 1988 version of Hairspray came out.

James Marsden was Cyclops in X-men. And that's not Miley Cyrus, that is Amanda Bynes known for "She's the man.

i always liked queen latifa after joyful noise which is really good too with keke palmer and dolly parton !

I don’t usually recommend older movies but my favorite musical of all time is Guys and Dolls. Watch it with Jane!

Twitch is an amazing dancer, not just a DJ. He was in the step up movies and he met Ellen on sytycd. I'm surprised more people don't know Queen Latifah can sang.

This musical film is based on the stage musical, which opened in Seattle in 2002 and moved to Broadway later that year (in 2003, Hairspray won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical; it closed on Broadway in 2009). The stage musical is based on a nonmusical film of the same name from 1988. The original film was written by Baltimore-native filmmaker John Waters and grew out of an article he was writing about local 1960s teen dance show "The Buddy Dean Show" that had brought together original dancers to reminisce about those days of broadcast. In the opening song, the person who steps out as 'the flasher' is John Waters doing a cameo. And you're correct; though Baltimore was in the running to provide the exterior shots, it was actually filmed in Canada. BIG disappointments to Baltimore residents and John Waters fans. About John Travolta playing Edna Turnblad: John Waters made many movies, and his high school friend, Glenn Milstead, was a drag queen who initially performed under the name 'Lady Divine' before shortening it to 'Divine'. In the original Waters's 1988 film "Hairspray" (with Ricki Lake, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, and Jerry Stiller as Wilbur Turnblad), Divine was cast as Edna Turnblad. The world premiere of "Hairspray" was at the Senator Theater in Baltimore, attended by political and other luminaries. John Waters was there and Divine was out of drag as Glenn Milstead. Two weeks later, Milstead/Divine died of natural causes, just as s/he was getting national acting work. He is buried in Towson, just the other side of the northern Baltimore city line. Since then, a tradition sprang up to always cast a biological male in the role of Edna Turnblad, to honor Divine. Since you ask for a reference, I'm a baby boomer, born in the 1950s. I moved to the Baltimore area when I was 3 years old, so I'm quite familiar with the culture, history, and references in this film. I've met Divine and John Waters (though Waters is unlikely to remember me). My son and daughter were born there. Oh, and Travolta's attempt at the Baltimore accents is chalkboard-irritatingly terrible. It's worse than Dick Van Dyke's 'Cockney' accent in "Mary Poppins". Yep, that was Ricki Lake, who appeared in the original 1988 Waters film.

70’s baby!