Elijah Kelley dances well and Zac Efron's acting is wooden but his dances are okay. It's hard to picture anyone other than the divine Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle. Jerry Stiller, who played Wilbur in the 1988 version, makes his presence felt with just one scene. Allison Janney is a fantastic scene stealer.

Amanda Bynes is adorable as the daft and supportive Penny. James Marsden is spot on as the host of a 60's musical show. A lesser actress could have easily messed up the part. Pfeiffer both looks and acts the part of a skinny manipulative obnoxious bitch, making it her own. The role was originally played by the famous Deborah Harry and it's noticeable how they eerily look alike. This is Michelle Pfeiffer's second negative role this year (the other being her character in 'Stardust'). Here one will see a different Christopher Walken. Walken excellently plays the loving kind-hearted, slightly naive, father. He does get into the skin of the character if not entirely the gender. He manages to emote well and his dance number with Christopher Walken is hilarious. It's quite obvious that Travolta's Edna is played by a man but his acting isn't bad. The actors do the multiple task of acting, singing and dancing. The songs are of the foot-tapping and head nodding sort (pretty much any upbeat song of the 60's has this kind of effect on me). It's very colourful and reminds one of the 60's glamour. Shankman does the admirable task of directing the film AND choreographing the dances. Right from the beginning till the end, it's all energy. 'Hairspray' is perhaps one of the most spirited energetic musicals of recent time.

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