Shampoo (1975)

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Robert Towne (written by) and
Warren Beatty (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Your hairdresser does it better...

Plot:

Lovers undo a hairdresser from Beverly Hills around Election Eve in 1968.

Plot Keywords:

Hairdresser | Cooking | Motorcycle | Cuban Heels | Beatles Song

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Warren Beatty	...	George Roundy
Julie Christie	...	Jackie Shawn
Goldie Hawn	...	Jill
Lee Grant	...	Felicia Carp
Jack Warden	...	Lester Carp
Tony Bill	...	Johnny Pope
George Furth	...	Mr. Pettis
Jay Robinson	...	Norman
Ann Weldon	...	Mary
Luana Anders	...	Devra
Randy Scheer	...	Dennis
Susanna Moore	...	Gloria
Carrie Fisher	...	Lorna Carp
Mike Olton	...	Ricci
Richard E. Kalk	...	Detective Younger

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

240 N Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Carrie Fisher's screen debut.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Coca-Cola can George drinks from while chatting with Lorna is a post 1968 design.

Quotes:

[explaining to Lester why he had sex with his wife, mistress and daughter]
George Roundy: Face it, they know we're always trying to nail 'em and they don't like it. They like it and they don't like, it's got nothing to do with you Lester. It just happened.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm a Believer

Still shines

Dated? Unfunny? Only to those weaned on formula action comedies of the past fifteen years. I can still remember the gasp in the suburban twin theater when Carrie Fisher made her indelible suggestion to Beatty, and the roar of delight as viewers saw what Julie Christie was up to at that dinner party.

Towne's script, and the acting, makes us care about George, Jackie, Felicia and even Lester, to a degree, and it makes the excellent point that is still true today: money trumps all. Its logical ending, where nothing happens but life goes on, without a wild chase on motorcycle to the airport in pursuit of Jackie and Lester, is perfect. Did anyone really expect George to win the fair hand of the gorgeous Ms. Christie when he cannot even talk to a banker.

As I write more and more highlights come to mind: George giving Lester his lecture on women while Lester's goons wait outside. George fobbing off Felicia in the dark as he hustles to see Jill, the "terminally ill" friend.

When Kubrick died, print and the net was drowned in tributes, but poor Ashby, a great filmmaker practically left the earth in silence. Ashby lost himself once the 70s ended, and films had to have tacked on happy endings again [e.g. The Natural], but then in my mind the same could be said of Kubrick.