His scenes with Blonsky and Christopher Walken as Edna's dim, doting husband are full of dead air.

NPR: Hollywood's Musical 'Hairspray,' a Little Too Bouffant

It's a crowd-pleaser, and Blonsky's voice is sweet and not too piercing.

NPR: Hollywood's Musical 'Hairspray,' a Little Too Bouffant

The movie opens with hefty Tracy Turnblad, played by Nikki Blonsky, popping out of bed and bursting into a cheerfully oblivious celebration of her seedy Baltimore neighborhood.

NPR: Hollywood's Musical 'Hairspray,' a Little Too Bouffant

As before, Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a chubby Baltimore teen-ager in 1962, lives to dance and to make out with the sweet, good-looking school king (Zac Efron), and much of the movie feels like a prolonged platter party.

NEWYORKER: Hairspray