Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

A Tamer John Waters.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Hairspray," the latest film by director and writer John Waters. "Hairspray," a satire of the teen dance shows of the early 60s, follows a long line of wildly eccentric films like "Polyester," "Pink Flamingos," and "Female Trouble." The cast includes Divine, Debbie Harry, Pia Zadora and Sonny Bono.

04:01
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on March 3, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 3, 1988: Interview with Zakes Mokae; Review of Rick Springfield and Lisa Hartman's albums "Rock of Life" and "Till My Heart Stops"; Interview with Walter Polovchak;…
Queue
27:25

South African Actor Zakes Mokae Plays a "Heavy."

Actor Zakes Mokae. He now appears in the film "The Serpent and the Rainbow." He began his acting career in his native South Africa where he and playwright Athol Fugard founded the Serpent Theater. They shocked audiences by becoming the first black and white actors to appear on stage together. Mokae continues to appear in Fugard's plays, in addition to his film career.

Interview
Queue
09:20

Walter Polovchak, "The Littlest Defector."

Walter Polovchak. Polovchak was a 12-year-old Ukrainian immigrant living with his family in Chicago, when he refused to return with them to the Soviet Union. His decision provoked a storm of controversy from his family and authorities in both countries and attracted worldwide media attention. The court battles continued for five years until Polovchak reached his 18th birthday in 1985 and was sworn in as an American citizen.

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
09:40

Ricki Lake Brings Attitude to the Big Screen

The actress had her big break in John Waters' movie Hairspray, as the teen star Tracy Turnblad. Lake is larger than many of her peers, but has successfully landed roles written for skinny women. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her early influences, her post-Hairspray work, and her relationship with the late drag queen Divine.

Interview
Queue
09:33

The Best and Worst Movies of 1988

Film critic Stephen Schiff talks with Terry Gross about this years movies. He says 1988 was an unusually good year for American films, though his favorite Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. His least favorite movie was Willow.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

43:11

He's edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22,' but doesn't mind if you don't know his name

At 91, Robert Gottlieb is perhaps the most acclaimed book editor of his time. He started out in 1955 and has been working in publishing ever since. The list of authors he's edited include Robert Caro, Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, John le Carré, Katharine Graham, Bill Clinton, Nora Ephron and Michael Crichton. His daughter Lizzie Gottlieb's new film, Turn Every Page, centers on her father's decades-long editing relationship with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:19

Sleekly sentimental, 'Living' plays like an 'Afterschool Special' for grownups

Living, is a sleekly sentimental new British drama adapted by Kazuo Ishiguro from Akira Kurosawa's classic 1952 film Ikiru, which means "to live" in Japanese. Starring the great Bill Nighy, it tells the story of a bottled-up bureaucrat in 1950s London who's led to examine the way he's spent the last 30 years of his life.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue