Adam Shankman directs John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken in this musical remake of the John Waters period teen pastiche where a happily fat Baltimore girl becomes a dancer on The Corny Collins Show and inadvertently starts a race riot.

Obviously I prefer the 1987 original, which despite being PG is still virulent with Waters and Divine’s inherent immaculate bad taste. This is slickly done with a popping cast. Bravely, and somewhat surprisingly, it never betrays the progenitors’ more abrasive, transgressive nature even if it is always aiming the be more mass market in its big budget, A-Lister take. The drag, segregation and fat shaming have all survived the studio process. Man prefer Ricki Lake… but that’s the only real criticism you can level at this sly, playful update. Pleasantly plump. “I wish every day were Negro Day!”

6

Perfect Double Bill: Dreamgirls (2006)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/