I remember the first time I saw Hairspray. I was in high school and living in a suburb of Baltimore (the setting for all of Waters’ films), and I remember thinking about how it reminded me of Grease (1978), but better. For those ‘hard-core’ Waters fans (he would probably chuckle at my saying that), they would likely lean more towards recommending his early works that, while not necessarily ‘great’ in the classic sense, ever challenge the status quo. Films like Pink Flamingos, Multiple Maniacs, and Female Trouble (all featuring Divine) rank among the most cult-like. In a sense, when you watch a John Waters film, you can’t help but think, ‘Oh no, he’s not going to do that…’ and then he does it.

Hairspray is a fun, endearing film that shows that Waters can thrive in the mainstream every bit as underground. The film stars Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teen who loves to dance to 1960s music played on The Corny Collins Show. Her mother, played hilariously by Divine, is Edna Turnblad. Now, if you know anything about Divine, you know that his real name was Harris Glenn Milstead (he went by Glenn in his personal life) and that he is an overweight drag queen who knows more about walking in women’s heels better than most women. Fantastic in his use of comedy, the Waters films I most enjoy are those that feature him. Hairspray was Divine’s last film, as he died suddenly of a heart attack eight days after its release, at age 42. ‘Can you turn that racket down? I’m trying to iron!’ Edna asks. ‘Can you get me my diet pills?’ […]