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.

But Tracy does just that. She has been in detention with "the colored kids," who have their own "Negro Day" once a month on Corny's show, the one show hosted by Motormouth Maybelle. Tracy emulates their moves, then goes on to impress Corny Collins with them. Standouts include Queen Latifah as flamboyant TV host Motormouth Maybelle, and Allison Janney earns big laughs as the puritanical parent of Tracy's friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), who falls for Maybelle's son, Seaweed (Elijah Kelley).

Yet, a ballooned John Travolta doing a pitiful Divine impression, has some pretty large shoes to fill in the role of Tracy’s hefty mother, Edna, given that the late Divine made the part her own. Mugging desperately in lipstick and a wig, it’s safe to say the final nail has been driven into his integrity coffin.

While there’s nothing offensive about the wholesomeness of this new Hairspray - it's colorful, sassy, and brisk - the film offers bolder statements about tolerance and racial equality, and the vessel for that message is portly, little Tracy. With all the stunt casting, the story suffers in translation, turning from gentle innuendo to something less edgy than its predecessor. Nevertheless, "Hairspray" remains irrepressible summer fun that will have you dancing all the way home.