Shampoo (1975)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

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

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:

The lead character was based on actual hairdresser Jay Sebring.

Goofs:

Continuity: After George cuts Jackie's hair, her formerly streaked tresses are all a uniform blonde tint although he has not colored her hair.

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:

Referenced in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

Soundtrack:

Plastic Fantastic Lover

Fun 60s lifestyles with social criticism thrown in

Hal Ashby always leavened his comedic films (Harold and Maude, Being There, Last Detail) with sharp social commentary and observation, and "Shampoo" is no different. Taking place on the eve and day of the 1968 Presidential Election, it's as concerned with the "free love" hedonism as it is with the profound and dark social changes that had taken place by 1975 (the year "Shampoo" was produced).

Beatty has never been more charming - or revealing as emptily vain as anyone so "successful" with women can become, and the film switches between surprisingly adult material even for now with a concern for mid-life crises, cultural politics, and ultimately, a cynical view of how the free-wheeling 60s counterculture didn't take themselves seriously enough. Robert Towne's influence in the script is clearly evident.

Already "dated" when it came out, it's a great snapshot of the times, its concerns and issues, and is relevant today.