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:

Loosely based on "The Country Wife," a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley, whose protagonist Horner feigns impotence in order to be allowed into the company of married women, who he then seduces. George in "Shampoo" would be considered non-threatening due to the stereotype that hair-dressers are gay, such as the scene in Jackie's bathroom when Lester walks in and the bistro sequence when George is fluffing Lester's hair. "Shampoo" only retains a distant reflection of the Horner character, but reportedly, the screenplay was inspired by the 1969 Chichester Festival production, according to a 2003 edition of the play edited by James Ogden.

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:

Banker: Do you have any references?
George Roundy: I do Barbara Rush.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

Good Shepherd

Brilliant

Surely one of the most cynical "comedies" ever made, SHAMPOO is a jarring, scalding satire featuring Warren Beatty as a highly successful Beverly Hills hairdresser hoping to strike out on his own.

Unfortunately his runaway libido and the wacky women in his life are conspiring against him --- as Beatty's neurotic girlfriend, Goldie Hawn is wasted in a thankless role. On the other hand, as Felicia, the wife of his potential benefactor, Lee Grant has the role of her career. She's clingy, desperate, and acid-tongued. Julie Christie is his ex-girlfriend, who happens to be the mistress of Felicia's husband. Carrie Fisher is Felicia's daughter and may very well be the kinkiest ingénue in film history.

The script, by Beatty and the great Robert Towne slams all kinds of politics: presidential, sexual, business, show business...all with equal vengeance. SHAMPOO is something of a naughty cousin to Beatty's more straightforward political satire BULWORTH. The melancholy, sparsely used music score is by Paul Simon