In the past, if you were looking for a director guaranteed to shock, then you’d need to look no further than John Waters whose classics such as Pink Flamingoes were about as far from the mainstream as you could get. Then, Waters surprised us all with the excellent Hairspray, which introduced middle America to one of cinema’s biggest cult secrets.

The original film, which launched the career of Rikki Lake, soon spawned a Broadway musical and now this version hits the big screen with a stellar cast including Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken and a star turn from John Travolta which is about as far away from his ice cool Saturday Night Fever as you can get.

The songs throughout are excellent and all the main performances are spirited with the young stars deserving special mention, especially High School Musical’s Zac Efron as the lead heart throb. What could have been a sugary mess turns out to be the biggest celluloid treat of the year and you’ll leave the cinema with a smile on your face and a song in your heart – and we guarantee you’ll buy the soundtrack too!