By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jeff Stilson
Country: united_states
Year: 2009
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213585/
Michael says: “The best documentaries entertain and educate. It’s always great fun to watch an entertaining movie, but it’s even better to have fun and learn something too! Chris Rock knows this and he does a terrific job spinning a movie out of a simple question, and that movie is GOOD HAIR. When approached by his young daughter and asked, ‘Daddy, why don’t I have good hair?’ Chris Rock senses there’s something looming large behind the question, and he is absolutely right. Good hair is more than just a descriptive phrase, it’s a compound noun, and a quick check in the urban dictionary reveals the following definition, ‘A popular term in the African-American community, used to describe an black person’s hair that closely resembles the hair of a typical white person (i.e. soft, manageable, long, as opposed to ‘nappy’ or ‘bad’ hair). The closer your hair is to a white person’s, the ‘better’ your hair is.’ With thoughts of body image and self-esteem on his mind, and searching for a good answer for his daughter, Chris begins a lengthy trek in search of ‘good hair.’
“Chris’ journey takes him far and wide. He starts his mission in Atlanta, Georgia, where an annual hairdresser conference takes place with much hoopla and a big competition between celebrity hair stylists. He also begins interviewing well-known actresses, models, and other personalities including Reverend Al Sharpton and Maya Angelou, to get their thoughts on African-American hair. To many, the interviews reveal some surprising insights into women, African Americans, and culture in general. Chris finds himself traveling to India to find out about where the hair in weaves comes from. He visits a scientist who explains the dangers of the chemical used in hair relaxants. He visits hair salons in Harlem to learn that working women will drop several thousand dollars for a good weave. Through it all he touches on women’s issues, racial issues, and sexual issues in ways that in another person’s hands would seem didactic or controversial. Chris Rock, with his good humor and genial nature keeps things safe.
“It’s really a remarkable film in the way he gets some startling revelations on screen without being ‘in your face’ like Michael Moore. It’s also pretty comprehensive for a 95 minute film. Rock and his director Jeff Stilson weave together a myriad of documentary tropes, from the talking head to the competition set up where we follow each of the competitors and end up watching the competition at the end. What’s surprising is that after the journey Rock takes us on, the hair stylist competition almost seems an irrelevant after thought compared to the drama African American women go through in the pursuit of good hair.
“So in the end, Chris comes back with an answer for his daughter, but it’s one that is open-ended, the way life and growing up has to be. On the way, he ended up making a pretty terrific movie. 4 ½ cats”