History YMMV / Hairspray

* BrokenBase: For ''Hairspray Live!'', how strongly the viewer enjoys Creator/{{NBC}} having some numbers performed on the Creator/{{Universal}} backlot depends on whether they appreciate how much scope this adds compared to musicals NBC recorded entirely indoors, or find that this turned the production into a less-polished ''[[Film/{{Grease}} Grease Live!]]''

** As written, Tracy's dancing wows everyone who sees her. In reality, her talent varies depending on the skills of the actress portraying her: in some adaptations she's at least as good as the rest of the cast, in others she's noticeably less so.

*** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" up to eleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful voice. The other actors were visibly moved by her performance--you can see Garrett Clayton (Link) in tears at the end--and critics universally agreed that she stole the show.

!!The 1988 film
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: You know that little pocket of time in the early 60s, between Music/BuddyHolly's death and Music/TheBeatles arriving in America? John Waters' soundtrack captures the dance crazes of that period very well, with lots of great pop nuggets from that time, including multiple Music/ChubbyChecker songs, "Shake a Tail Feather" by The Five Du-Tones, "The Madison Time" by The Ray Bryant Combo, and much more - all of which provide memorable dance scenes from the film. The official soundtrack release only captured a portion of these tunes due to licensing restrictions, but the film itself also has such classics as the legendary "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler and feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore, and that just scratches the surface. John Waters really did his homework putting all this together.
* AdaptationDisplacement: The stage musical and the 2007 movie are far more popular than the original 1988 movie.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: When running from the police, Tracy, Penny, Link and Seaweed hide in the apartment of a beatnik couple who invite them to get naked and smoke weed, and offer to iron the girls' hair to flatten it. Our clean-cut heroes naturally are freaked out and run away. However, Tracy and Penny using a ''clothing'' iron to straighten their hair becomes a RunningGag later on in the movie.
* DesignatedHero: Tracy, Edna, and Maybelle in the original 1988 movie can often be as mean-spirited as the people they oppose, and in the climax both Maybelle and her daughter Lil Inez resort to flat-out ''hostage-taking and terrorism'' of the governor to get what they want.
* MemeticMutation: Divine's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlsrT9TMZqc annoyed]] "Could you turn that racket ''down''?! I'm trying to ''iron'' in here!
* NarmCharm: Tracy shows up to the climactic dance competition ''in a dress with pictures of roaches on it.'' As utterly ridiculous as it looks, it's fitting spite for all Amber's roach-themed taunting.
* NewerThanTheyThink: In the earliest classroom scene of the musical film, the chalkboard shows the height of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest Mount Everest]] as 29035 feet. This figure has only been attested since a 1999 GPS measurement of the summit. Before this, the common measurement (and still the official measurement accepted by Nepal and the People's Republic of China) was 8848 meters (approximately 29029 feet).
* NightmareFuel: Penny's mother in both versions of the film. Her parenting comes off as so extreme to the point that her own daughter fears her sometimes, and in the 1988 film she hires an abusive psychiatrist to perform hypnotism and electroshock therapy on her just because she's too racist to let her daughter date a black guy.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Aside from being Ricki Lake's debut, the 1988 film was also the first film for Colleen Fitzpatrick, who played Amber before going on to have mild success as a musician a decade later under the name Vitamin C.

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/DarrenCriss' fans wondered why NBC would only make him the host of their ''Hairspray'' telecast, instead of actually put him in the show, especially to replace an actor they found lacking in charisma. (Then you have viewers who wish NBC didn't have anyone host the broadcast, since Criss' segments broke up the flow, and disappeared from the master used for the barebones DVD release and the "encore" presentation.) The official explanation says that Criss' starring role in a touring production of ''Theatre/HedwigAndTheAngryInch'' would've created scheduling conflicts with ''Hairspray'' rehearsals.

* NightmareFuel:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JSmox9yk6s Blood on the Pavement]]," a hidden track from the original cast recording about the dangers of drunk driving with ''major'' LyricalDissonance. It comes out of nowhere, and is a lot closer to Creator/JohnWaters' [[GallowsHumor usual sense of humor]] than the rest of the musical.
** Penny's mother in both versions of the film. Her parenting comes off as so extreme to the point that her own daughter fears her sometimes, and in the 1988 film she hires an absuive psychiatrist to perform hypnotism and electroshock therapy on her just because she's too racist to let her daughter date a black guy.

*** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" up to eleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful voice. The other actors were visibly moved by her performance--Garrett Clayton (Link) was in tears at the end--and critics universally agreed that she stole the show.

*** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful voice. The other actors were visibly moved by her performance--Garrett Clayton (Link) was in tears at the end--and critics universally agreed that she stole the show.

* {{Narm}}: Tracy shows up to the dance competition ''in a dress with pictures of roaches on it.''

* FoeYay: A deleted number before the finale in the musical, "It Ain't Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings", is Tracy singing a challenging song toward Amber whose lyrics not only get increasingly absurd as it goes on, but begin sounding like double-entendres and terms of endearment ("Good luck, baby", "It's been great fun but it was just one of those things", "I'll put you in a trance and dance you right off-stage", etc.)

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Divine's line "Did poor Debbie Reynolds have a nervous breakdown?" becomes rather eerie and sad in light of Creator/DebbieReynolds' tragic death of a stroke, mostly likely caused by grief due to the fact that her daughter, Creator/CarrieFisher, had died just the day before.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: When running from the police Tracy, Penny, Link and Seaweed run into a couple of beatnicks who invite them to get naked and smoke weed, and offer to iron the girls' hair. Our clean cut heroes naturally are freaked out and run away. However, Tracy and Penny using a ''clothing'' iron to straighten their hair becomes a RunningGag later on in the movie.
* DesignatedHero: Tracy, Edna and Maybelle in the original 1988 movie can often be as mean-spirited as the people they oppose, and in the climax both Maybelle and her daughter Lil Inez resort to flat-out ''hostage-taking and terrorism'' of the governor to get what they want.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Divine's line "Did poor Debbie Reynolds have a nervous breakdown?" becomes rather eerie and sad in light of Creator/DebbieReynolds tragic death of a stroke, mostly likely caused by grief due to the fact that her daughter, Creator/CarrieFisher, had died just a day before she did.

* NewerThanTheyThink: In the earliest classroom scene of the musical film, the chalkboard shows the height of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest Mount Everest]] as 29035 feet. This figure has only been attested since a 1999 GPS measurement of the summit. Before this, the common measurement (and still the official measurement accepted by Nepal and the People's Republic of China) is 8848 meters (approximately 29029 feet).

* BrokenBase: For ''Hairspray Live!'', how strongly the viewer enjoys Creator/{{NBC}} having some numbers performed on the Creator/{{Universal}} backlot depends on whether they appreciate how much scope this adds compared to musicals NBC recorded entirely indoors, or find that they turned the production into a less-polished ''[[Film/{{Grease}} Grease Live!]]''

* FanPreferredCouple: Also, the almost BelligerentSexualTension of [[RunningGag Corny Collins and Amber competing in hogging cameratime]] has made Corny/Amber surprisingly popular.
* FoeYay: A deleted number before the finale in the musical, "It Ain't Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings", is Tracy singing a challenging song toward Amber whose lyrics not only get increasingly absurd as it goes on, but several of them begin sounding like double-entendres and terms of endearment ("Good luck, baby", "It's been great fun but it was just one of those things", "I'll put you in a trance and dance you right off-stage", etc.)

** For similar reasons, Amber's said to be [[InformedFlaw a less-than-competent dancer]] but her actress is usually equal to anyone else in most scenes; she only [[{{Jobber}} makes obvious mistakes]] when we're ''supposed'' to remember she's a bad dancer.
* LoveToHate: The Von Tussles in the musical and ''Hairspray Live!'', particularly Velma since Amber's [[ButtMonkey so awkward]] that it's difficult to hate her. The songwriters said they actually removed more mean-spirited lyrics at Tracy's expense in early drafts of "Miss Baltimore Crabs" since they wanted the audience to enjoy Velma as opposed to just despising her.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JSmox9yk6s Blood on the Pavement]]," a hidden track from the original cast recording about the dangers of drunk driving with ''major'' LyricalDissonance. It comes out of nowhere and is a lot closer to Creator/JohnWaters' [[GallowsHumor usual sense of humor]] than the rest of the musical.

** When Negro Day is cancelled, Lil' Inez laments on how she will never get to be on the show.
** Velma picking on Edna after the number “Welcome to the Sixties”. Edna hasn’t left her house in over a decade and she’s very self-conscious about her appearance. After spending the day with her daughter and having the best time of her life, she’s suddenly brought down by Velma’s rude comments about her appearance.

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/DarrenCriss' fans wondered why NBC would only make him the host of their ''Hairspray'' telecast, instead of actually put him in the show, especially to replace an actor they found lacking in charisma. (Then you have viewers who wish NBC didn't have anyone host the broadcast, since Criss' segments broke up the flow, and disappeared from the master used for barebones DVD release and the "encore" presentation.) The official explanation says that Criss' starring role in a touring production of ''Theatre/HedwigAndTheAngryInch'' would've created scheduling conflicts with ''Hairspray'' rehearsals.

** As written, Tracy's dancing wows everyone who sees her. In reality, her talent varies depending on the skills of the actress portraying her: in some adaptations she's at least as good as the rest of the cast, in others she's noticeably less so. It's an obvious informed ability, all things considered: one major thing being that the severely obese performers necessary to look the part will invariably have difficulty with the level of skill and experience - and stamina - required.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Corny Collins in the 2007 movie. Is he genuine about supporting integration like the others, or is he simply a media mogul who knows that he has to move with the times to survive, and is thus a cynical stab at how rights movements are able to make progress? Note his line 'This is the future' to Velma in the movie - he could well just be a benign version of the MC from Cabaret who plays to his audience.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: In the original 1988 movie, when running from the police Tracy, Penny, Link and Seaweed run into a couple of beatnicks who invite them to get naked and smoke weed, and offer to iron the girls' hair. Our clean cut heroes naturally are freaked out and run away. However, Tracy and Penny using a ''clothing'' iron to straighten their hair becomes a RunningGag later on in the movie.
* BrokenBase: For ''Hairspray Live!'', how strongly the viewer enjoys Creator/{{NBC}} having some numbers performed on the Creator/{{Universal}} backlot depends on whether they appreciate how much scope this adds compared to musicals NBC recorded entirely indoors, or find that they turned the production into a less-polished ''[[Film/{{Grease}} Grease Live!]]''

* DracoInLeatherPants: Amber in the 2007 movie can come off as this. While the way her mother treats her and the HumiliationConga that she went through while participating in the pageant makes her come off as a JerkassWoobie, Amber can still be a {{jerkass}} and has done her fair share of {{jerkass}} deeds with or without her mother's influence (acting rude to the other dancers she works with for the Corny Collins show, gossiping about Tracy to her other classmates due to her jealousy over Tracy being a good dancer, intentionally getting Tracy sent to detention by her teacher, and her and her mother even fat-shaming Tracy's overweight mother).
* EnsembleDarkhorse: The milkman in NBC's version earned some fans after he turned up in this charming [[TheOner Oner]] of [[https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AaOP/reddi-wip-nbc-hairspray-live a Reddi-Wip commercial]].
* FanPreferredCouple: Also, the almost BelligerentSexualTension of [[RunningGag Corny Collins and Amber competing in hogging cameratime]] has made Corny/Amber surprisingly popular.
* FoeYay: A deleted number before the finale in the musical, "It Ain't Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings", is Tracy singing a challenging song toward Amber whose lyrics not only get increasingly absurd as it goes on, but several of them begin sounding like double-entendres and terms of endearment ("Good luck, baby", "It's been great fun but it was just one of those things", "I'll put you in a trance and dance you right off-stage", etc.)

* HilariousInHindsight: "I get Theatre/JuliusCaesar, I just don't get the Ideas of March. [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175506/ How can a month have an idea?]]"
** Seaweed's song repeating the line [[MemeticMutation "Run and tell that."]]
*** And then later he climbs in Penny's window to steal her...
** Creator/ChristopherWalken would follow in Creator/JohnTravolta's footsteps when he accepted the award for Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Club's "Man of the Year"... in drag.
** Amanda Bynes, who played Penny in the 2007 version, [[http://www.vibe.com/posts/amanda-bynes-prefers-%E2%80%9Cchocolate-men%E2%80%9D%E2%80%A6aka-kid-cudi admitting her preference for black men]].
*** This may be more of a FunnyAneurysmMoment considering that her preference for black men went to extremes during her meltdown, including asking Music/{{Drake}}, of all people, to "murder [her] vagina".
** Try watching James Marsden's epic wide smiles in the 2007 version nowadays without thinking that he must be an ancestor of [[Film/TheHungerGames Caesar Flickerman]].
** This isn't the first time Zac Efron played a character in a musical film [[Film/HighSchoolMusical that had two girls fighting over him]].
* HollywoodHomely: The driving point of the movie, considering that Tracy is still a very attractive young woman who just so happens to be fat (her weight seems to be treated "as is" by everyone but the villains; this has been lauded by a number of people, stating that ''Hairspray'' has one of the most positive depictions of fat girls in any form of media).
* HollywoodPudgy: {{Averted}}, especially in the 2007 version. Nikki Blonsky, while extremely pretty and adorable, is also obviously overweight. According to the casting director, they strongly emphasized that they were looking for a girl that was fat and beautiful, and made sure to let it be known that they were not hiring any girl that was "just chubby" or slim.
* InformedAbility: As written, Tracy's dancing wows everyone who sees her. In reality, her talent varies depending on the skills of the actress portraying her: in some adaptations she's at least as good as the rest of the cast, in others she's noticeably less so. It's an obvious informed ability, all things considered: one major thing being that the severely obese performers necessary to look the part will invariably have difficulty with the level of skill and experience - and stamina - required.
** For similar reasons, Amber's said to be [[InformedFlaw a less-than-competent dancer]] but her actress is usually equal to anyone else in most scenes; she only [[{{Jobber}} makes obvious mistakes]] when we're ''supposed'' to remember she's a bad dancer.
* JerkassWoobie: Amber in some points, particularly in the 1988 film where the girl is practically tortured by her parents, and at the end of the 2007 movie.
* LoveToHate: The Von Tussles in the musical and ''Hairspray Live!'', particularly Velma since Amber's [[ButtMonkey so awkward]] that it's difficult to hate her. The songwriters said they actually removed more mean-spirited lyrics at Tracy's expense in early drafts of "Miss Baltimore Crabs" since they wanted the audience to enjoy Velma as opposed to just despising her.
** Of course this doesn't apply to Amber in the 2007 film because it's easy to see that she would be much better off without Velma and the fact that it's impossible to hate Creator/BrittanySnow.
* MemeticMutation: From the 1988 film, Divine's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlsrT9TMZqc annoyed]] "Could you turn that racket ''down''?! I'm trying to ''iron'' in here!
* {{Narm}}:
** In the original film adaptation, Tracy shows up to the dance competition ''in a dress with pictures of roaches on it.''
** "Good Morning, Baltimore" in the 2016 show. It's pretty darn awkward to have a song celebrating the morning when it's clearly night (though one could pretend that it's just the ''really'' early[[note]]like 1-2 AM[[/note]] hours of morning...and even then, why is everyone choosing to get up ''that'' early?)

* NightmareFuel:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JSmox9yk6s Blood on the Pavement]]," a hidden track from the original cast recording about the dangers of drunk driving with ''major'' LyricalDissonance. It comes out of nowhere and is a lot closer to Creator/JohnWaters' [[GallowsHumor usual sense of humor]] than the rest of the musical.
** In the original 1988 film, the race riot at Tilted Acres.
** Penny's mother in both versions of the film. Her parenting comes off as so extreme to the point that her own daughter fears her sometimes, and in the 1988 film she hires an absuive psychiatrist to perform hypnotism and electroshock therapy on her just because she's too racist to let her daughter date a black guy.

** Even though it's a deleted scene, "I Can Wait" from the 2007 movie has to be one sad song, as this song is the opposite of what Tracy's beliefs are. Nikki Blonsky's vocals for this scene doesn't help.

* ToughActToFollow: Fans of the 2007 ''Hairspray'' movie couldn't resist unfavorably comparing NBC's actors to its cast, and were even miffed that it was following the Broadway show instead of including changes that the movie had made. Viewers accustomed to the 2007 movie had to be mindful that the 2016 teleplay was filmed ''live'', and thus the actors didn't have the luxury of lipsynching to prerecorded songs. All the singing and dancing was done in real time, and sometimes you could see and hear the actors getting winded near the end of an energetic performance.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: It's easy to feel sorry for Amber in the 2007 movie's finale. She falls off the set hard enough to hurt her ankle (you can see her limping a little afterwards), loses her boyfriend and award, and her mother's televised fall from grace happens right after Amber [[GracefulLoser accepts defeat with unexpected maturity]] (she also seems genuinely shocked when her mother confesses that she cheated, implying that she didn't know what Velma was doing to get her to win). Then again, it's debatable whether this sympathy was unintentional here.
** Of course, Amber doesn't seem to really care much about her mother's fall from grace (she seems to ''laugh'' at it!), since really, nobody's going to think any less of ''her'' for something only her mother did. She just goes off and dances with a black guy, alluding to a HeelFaceTurn (something which she, along with Velma, unambiguously underwent in the stage show, and also, without Velma, in a deleted scene.)
** A better example is Amber from the ''original'' movie. While she lacks the JerkassWoobie elements from the musical and doesn't get a HeelFaceTurn, she still doesn't do all that much to deserve the constant crap she receives. It doesn't help that Tracy really isn't any better in this movie and is much a jerk to Amber as Amber is to her; a far cry from the sweet [[ThePollyanna Pollyanna]] of the musical.
** It's arguable that the original Amber ''does'' have some JerkassWoobie points, considering that an early scene with her and her parents have them [[StageMom forcing her to practice dancing]] while threatening to send her to a convent if she doesn't comply, while other scenes have them seemingly spoil her and call her cutesy child names, which gives off some emotionally abusive vibes. And in a deleted scene, they practically torture her in order to remove a pimple.

* TheWoobie: Edna in the musical and 2007 film, if you feel sorry for her being insecure with her size and being agoraphobic at first.
* WTHCastingAgency:
** Creator/JohnTravolta's performance as Edna in the 2007 movie felt questionable to viewers who noticed that he didn't have as much experience performing in drag as Divine, Bruce Vilanch and Harvey Fierstein did (plus he required a lot more padding).
** Creator/DarrenCriss' fans wondered why NBC would only make him the host of their ''Hairspray'' telecast, instead of actually put him in the show, especially to replace an actor they found lacking in charisma. (Then you have viewers who wish NBC didn't have anyone host the broadcast, since Criss' segments broke up the flow, and disappeared from the master used for barebones DVD release and the "encore" presentation.) The official explanation says that Criss' starring role in a touring production of ''Theatre/HedwigAndTheAngryInch'' would've created scheduling conflicts with ''Hairspray'' rehearsals.

* ToughActToFollow:
** Critical reception and ratings for NBC's version took a dive from their production of ''Theatre/TheWiz'' the previous December, and FOX's ''Film/{{Grease}}'' in between. Fans of the 2007 ''Hairspray'' movie also couldn't resist unfavorably comparing NBC's actors to its cast, and were even miffed that it was following the Broadway show instead of including changes that the movie had made. However, this telecast did manage to win three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the most of any live NBC musical of TheNewTens thus far. Viewers accustomed to the 2007 movie had to be mindful that the 2016 teleplay was filmed ''live'', and thus the actors didn't have the luxury of lipsynching to prerecorded songs. All the singing and dancing was done in real time, and sometimes you could see and hear the actors getting winded near the end of an energetic performance.

* InformedAbility: As a character, Tracy's dancing wows everyone who sees her. In practice, her talent varies depending on the skills of the actress portraying her: in some adaptations she's at least as good as the rest of the cast, in others she's noticeably less so. It's an understandable informed ability, all things considered. (For similar reasons, Amber's said to be [[InformedFlaw a less-than-competent dancer]] but her actress is usually equal to anyone else in most scenes; she only [[{{Jobber}} makes obvious mistakes]] when we're ''supposed'' to remember she's a bad dancer.)

** Penny's mother in the 2007 version when you think about it. Her parenting comes off as so extreme to the point that her own daughter fears her sometimes.

** Queen Latifah's version from the 2007 movie deserves special mention for taking place ''during'' the protest march, hammering home the emotion involved, whereas in the stage version the song happens afterwards.
** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful voice. The other actors were visibly moved by her performance--Garrett Clayton (Link) was in tears at the end--and critics universally agreed that she stole the show.

** Critical reception and ratings for NBC's version took a dive from their production of ''Theatre/TheWiz'' the previous December, and FOX's ''Film/{{Grease}}'' in between. Fans of the 2007 ''Hairspray'' movie also couldn't resist unfavorably comparing NBC's actors to its cast, and were even miffed that it was following the Broadway show instead of including changes that the movie had made. However, this telecast did manage to win three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the most of any live NBC musical of TheNewTens thus far.
** Viewers accustomed to the 2007 movie had to be mindful that the 2016 teleplay was filmed ''live'', and thus the actors didn't have the luxury of lipsynching to prerecorded songs. All the singing and dancing was done in real time, and sometimes you could see and hear the actors getting winded near the end of an energetic performance.

* ValuesDissonance: In the original film, as Tracy and Penny are talking about Amber, the latter says that she's "such a queer" in an unambiguously negative tone. Yeah, that wouldn't fly today. The 2007 film gives her something similar to Tracy's line with "plastic little spastic".

* ValuesDissonance: Parodied. When Tracy and Edna are on their way to the clothing store in the 2007 movie, they pass a bar where a group of visibly pregnant women are smoking and making a toast "to the future."
* ValuesResonance: Publicity for NBC's version emphasizes how the themes of overcoming racial prejudice feel as relevant to 2016 as to 1962. [[note]]This might become HarsherInHindsight after ''Hairspray'' scored the lowest Nielsen ratings of any of the network's New Tens musicals.[[/note]]

* InformedAbility: As a character, Tracy's dancing wows everyone who sees her. In practice, her talent varies depending on the skills of the actress portraying her: in some adaptations she's at least as good as the rest of the cast, in others she's noticeably less so. It's an understandable informed ability, all things considered. (For similar reasons, Amber's said to be [[InformedFlaw a less-than-competent dancer]] but her actress is usually equal to anyone else in most scenes; she only makes obvious mistakes when we're ''supposed'' to remember she's a bad dancer.)

** The 2016 live show attempting to pass off the noticeably dark-skinned Ariana Grande as completely white-bread next to the likes of the other white characters.

** Ariana Grande being cast as Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that the character Penny is white, while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and noticeably much more dark-skinned than her white cast mates. While theatre audiences usually don't care about ColorBlindAudition, it's agreed to be distracting in a show that centers on race.