ere's a happy, candy-colored summer flick for you; This Hairspray - a playful, kitschy, sweet but snarky rendition of John Waters' edgy but family-friendly 1988 comedy - delivers guilt-free retro fun, a giddy mix of song, dance and social commentary, while adhering close to the storyline in the original.

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (charming newcomer Nikki Blonsky) becomes an overnight sensation on a popular dance program only to find herself engulfed in the sociopolitical zeitgeist of the ’60s. It's 1962 in John Waters' hometown of Baltimore, where the sweet-hearted Tracy is living with her obese, well-meaning mother (John Travolta, in drag) and huckster papa (Christopher Walken).

She endures the fat-girl put-downs of the popular, skinny white girls in her semi-integrated school because she knows, deep inside, that she's special. She dreams of appearing on teen TV dance party The Corny Collins Show. If she appeared just once, she might even win "Miss Teenage Hairspray." And she might land her dreamboat, Linc Larkin (Zac Efron).

Her wish is granted, but not all goes according to plan... See, the problem is that the bitch at WYZT-TV, Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer). She runs Corny's show for the benefit of her daughter, and she won't have "some white whale" come in and ruin it.