Plot summary

In May of 1962, Baltimore teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonksy) prepares for school while displaying optimistic appreciation of her drab neighborhood in which she sees so much beauty ("Good Morning Baltimore"). Tracy, who has a passion for dance and bouffant hairstyles, is something of a social outcast among her classmates because of her chubbiness, but her best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes) shares Tracy's obsession with the after-school dance program The Corny Collins Show, which features a group of teenage dancers known as the Council Kids and is sponsored by Ultra-Clutch brand hairspray. The show is broadcast live on Baltimore's WYZT station and, despite the progressive opinions of Corny Collins (James Marsden) himself, remains a segregated program featuring only white dancers except for the last Tuesday of every month, which is designated "Negro Day." Tracy and Penny rush to Tracy's house after school to watch the show ("The Nicest Kids In Town"), much to the annoyance of Tracy's mother Edna (John Travolta), who works from home as a laundress and refuses to leave the house because she is ashamed of her voluptuous size. Edna shows concern for her daughter's interest in dance, fearing that people will mistreat her because of her weight. Penny's paralyzingly strict mother Prudy (Allison Janney) also disapproves of The Corny Collins Show, but mainly due to her own racism and the fact that pop music is becoming more and more influenced by R&B styles.Sharing Prudy Pingleton's disdain for "race music" is Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer), the manager of WYZT and domineering mother of the snobby, aggressive Corny Collins dancer Amber (Brittany Snow). Though Corny Collins defends his music choices and believes the show should be integrated, Velma refuses to consider it and constantly pushes for her daughter to be featured above all the other dancers. Several of the teenagers on The Corny Collins Show attend Tracy and Penny's high school, and Tracy in particular is star-struck and swoony whenever she catches sight of Link Larkin (Zac Efron), the show's main heartthrob and Amber Von Tussle's boyfriend.Tracy is ecstatic when Corny Collins announces that one of their female dancers is taking a leave of absence (for "just nine months") and invites any interested girls to come to the station for an audition. Though Edna attempts to talk Tracy out of the idea, Tracy's father Wilbur (Christopher Walken), a joke-shop proprietor, is more supportive and encourages his daughter to go after her dreams. Tracy and Penny cut school the next day, and following a brief dance test,Tracy is dismissed by Velma Von Tussle due to her weight and her support of integration. Velma is blissfully detached during the audition process as she reminisces about her glory days as a pageant queen ("The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs").Dejected, Tracy arrives back at school and is promptly given detention for cutting class. Her spirits lift, however, when she discovers that the detention room is where many of the school's black students congregate and dance to R&B music. She befriends Seaweed J. Stubbs (Elijah Kelly), the group's best dancer, whom she recognizes as a performer on the monthly Negro Day, and learns some of his dance moves. Link Larkin happens by the classroom door and sees Tracy's dance skills. Impressed, he enters the room and informs her that Corny Collins is hosting a hop, and that she is easily talented enough for Corny to select as a new Council member. As the school bell rings and the kids disperse, Link is accidentally jostled into Tracy, causing Tracy to have a series of euphoric daydreams about her interaction with him ("I Can Hear the Bells").Teenagers, both black and white, arrive at Corny Collins' public dance, though the dance floor is divided by a rope for segregation. Link is performing a high-energy song ("Ladies' Choice"), and Tracy spots Seaweed among the black dancers. He tells her to borrow some of the moves he taught her, and impress Corny Collins. Tracy quickly catches the attention of Corny (and Link) with her dancing, and, to the horror of Velma Von Tussle, is chosen as the new Council member for The Corny Collins Show. Tracy's parents, as well as Penny and Seaweed, are delighted.Negro Day arrives, hosted by Seaweed's mother, televison DJ Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah). The biased station views, as well as the surprise of Tracy's admission to the Council, are echoed in a song