20 Great Movie Remakes With One Miscast Role

Adam Shankman’s take on Hairspray gave audiences of all ages a new go-to musical in the noughties, eking out its rightful place alongside previous instant classics like Cabaret, Grease, and Moulin Rouge.

Set in 1960s America, the film tells a story of racial progressivism and inclusion, all centring around teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) and her efforts to become a dance star on local television. And John Travolta surprised everyone by donning a fat suit and a wig to play protagonist Tracy's mother Edna.

Now, there’s a whole conversation to have about using fat suits, and in the 18 years since Hairspray’s release, this kind of prosthetic has been seen less and less in films, particularly in comedy. But that’s actually not the big issue.

The problem with Travolta’s turn as Edna is that he tries to play her as an ordinary woman. The part was written by John Waters to be a cross-dressing role played by a drag queen, and Waters cast his long-time collaborator Divine in the 1988 original for precisely this reason. To play the part straight is to miss the point altogether and robs Hairspray of a little bit of its intended charm, spunk, and sense of inclusion.