They say it isn't over till the fat lady sings and goodness does she sing ... and shimmy and shake her voluptuous behind in a pink sequinned mini-dress in a manner the like of which Beyonce can only dream of.
Hairspray the movie is back - an awful lot of back, in fact - and front, and sides too, as Edna Turnblad, the character famously portrayed by the late Divine in the John Waters-directed cult classic, comes to the big screen next month, this time in the shape of John Travolta.
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John Travolta is lovely in latex as over-the-top Edna in Hairspray
It is the Grease star's first return to the musical genre in almost 30 years and Travolta fills the screen - literally, on occasion - looking as magnificent, as one commentator remarked, "as a 300lb Christmas tree". "I wanted [Edna] to look like Sophia Loren if you added 200lb," says Travolta. "I wanted her to be a sexy bombshell who was fun to look at."
As far as being fun to look at, he has certainly achieved his goal.
Once one gets past the initial shock of seeing the Pulp Fiction hitman shape-shifting into a shy and rotund housewife in 1962 Baltimore who, with the help of her fearless daughter Tracy, rediscovers herself, Travolta's natural cinematic charisma oozes onto the screen.
The cast of Hairspray is an impressive one, including Michelle Pfeiffer as Edna's nemesis Velma Von Tussle, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken (as Travolta's husband Wilbur Turnblad) and 18-year-old newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, the plump teenager who simply wants to dance - a role which turned Ricki Lake into a star in the original movie.
Hairspray's infectious energy is already singling it out as the surprise hit of the summer.
At LA's Four Seasons Hotel, John Travolta is - sadly - in civilian garb, surrounded by a scrum of publicists and, at 53, looking his resolutely cool self in black trousers, dark blue shirt and sunglasses (we are inside the hotel, but who cares?).
He certainly looks a lot more comfortable now than as Edna, which required him to don a full body fat suit (which weighed over 30lb) and five prosthetic appliances, meaning that he was in make-up for almost five hours a day.
"Being Edna was fun, but becoming Edna was not fun," he says. "I loved the effect the look had on people when they would see me on set as Edna, but I did not love the process involving the prosthetics and the fat suit. It was very hot.
"I knew from Robin [Williams, who starred in Mrs Doubtfire] and Martin Lawrence [from Big Momma's House] that it was hell on wheels! It was like wearing seven layers of very uncomfortable clothing and I remember thinking I would never want to be a woman if that was the case.
The recognisable face of John Travolta
"I know my mother had a girdle, bra and sometimes a cinch, but, wow! How do they endure stockings and high heels? The discomfort level was astonishing, but losing the suit was like coming out of a prison."
The 1988 movie was turned into a stage musical, in which Edna has traditionally been played by a man and camped up to the hilt. But, says Travolta: "I didn't want to do a drag joke. I wanted to do Edna like the great musical stars, so people could have the joy of me really being someone else.
"They were determined to make her like a refrigerator and I said: 'That's not going to work, I won't do it.' I took a personal interest in designing that lady so she had a figure.
"I said: "Give me a little waist. Give me big breasts and a big butt. I want her to look like a woman. Imagine Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg - that's what I want.' And I won that [battle]."
He even got involved in the selection of outfits. "They kept bringing me these skinny high heels but when I was growing up, I saw girls in the chorus with a thicker-heeled shoe, more like a dance shoe, and when they finally found it, I said: 'Make it in many colours.'"
And his favourite outfit? "The polka dot dress," he replies without hesitation, "because it reminded me of images I have in my mind of the Fifties and of people like Sophia and Anita. And of course, we had to get the right wig, too, which was a hoot."
It must have worked since, he laughs, "guys from the crew were hitting on me. I was so flirted with and so groped! I was convinced I was a slut because I was like: 'Go ahead - touch me! I don't care!' But as soon as I took it all off, there was a real coolness, like: 'Oh well, it's just him. I liked the other person more.'"
Indeed, the first time the cast clapped eyes on Travolta in full regalia, there was some confusion. Brittany Snow, who plays Amber, daughter of villainous Velma, says: "We were about to do a table reading and in the middle of the room was this woman shaking her butt. It took a few seconds for us to go 'Oh my God, it's John!' because we just didn't know it was him at first."
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John Travolta: I'm all woman | the Daily Mail
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