Blow Dry (2001)

In 2000, a small town hosts The British Hairdressing Championship, where a former 2-time winner, his son, his run-away wife and his runaway wife's lady lover reside (not all on speaking terms).

Director:

Paddy Breathnach

Writer:

Simon Beaufoy

Stars:

Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Rachel Griffiths

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Rickman	...	Phil Allen
Natasha Richardson	...	Shelley Allen
Rachel Griffiths	...	Sandra
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Christina Robertson
Josh Hartnett	...	Brian Allen
Bill Nighy	...	Ray (Raymond) Robertson
Warren Clarke	...	Tony
Rosemary Harris	...	Daisy
Hugh Bonneville	...	Louis
Heidi Klum	...	Jasmine
Peter McDonald	...	Vincent
Michael McElhatton	...	Robert
David Bradley	...	Noah
Ben Crompton	...	Saul
Ann Rye	...	Margaret, Farmer's Wife (as Anne Rye)

Storyline

The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop, and where Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lover Sandra run a beauty salon, yet Phil and Shelly haven't talked in the ten years since she bolted. Shelley's just found out her cancer is terminal, and Ray Roberts, the reigning underhanded hairdressing champion, blows into town taunting Phil for retreating from competitive styling into barbering. Roberts also brings his daughter, Christina, who remembers Brian from when she was a little kid (as does he her). Everything's set: Brian decides to enter the competition with his mom and Sandra. Will Phil join in? Ray wants to win at any costs. Will Christina go along?

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Plot Keywords:

bride and groom figurine | hair clippers | barber shop | hair salon | bed and breakfast | 

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Taglines:

An outrageous new comedy for anyone who's ever had hair.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

Coup de peigne

Filming Locations:

Batley, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$240,166, 11 March 2001

Gross USA:

$637,769

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$830,286

Company Credits

Production Co:

IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. Produktions KG, Intermedia Films, Mirage Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Later this same year, David Bradley and Alan Rickman will co-star in the first Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" as "Mr. Filch" and "Professor Snape" respectively.

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Goofs

Throughout the movie, we are told that Shelley and Sandra left Phil ten years ago, when Phil was in line for his third straight national championship. The current competition is Hair 2000 (and is sometimes called the championships of the year 2000, to confirm that isn't "just" a name), yet when his honors are announced near the end of the movie, we are told he was national champion in 1981 and 1982. For this to be true, Shelley and Sandra must have walked out on him seventeen years ago.

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Quotes

Phil Allen: A beauty is that, Shelley. A beauty.

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Connections

References Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

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Soundtracks

Move Over Madonna
Written by Troy Seals / Craig Wiseman
Published by Rondor Music London Ltd
Performed by The Highliners (p) 1993
Licensed courtesy of Capitol Records Inc.

User Reviews

Surprisingly Good Fun

I tuned into this movie not really expecting very much. I mean, how interesting could a movie about the British Hair Dressing Championships be, anyway? In fact, what I found was a quite funny movie with enough human interest thrown in to make it a worthwhile movie.

The story revolves around a hair dressing family who have been broken apart when Shelly (Natasha Richardson) leaves Phil (Alan Rickman) for Sandra (Rachel Griffiths). Son Brian (Josh Hartnett) stays with dad Phil and works in a barber shop with his dad - quite a step down for Phil, who used to be one of the best British hair dressers. The family is brought back together when the Hair Dressing Championships come to their home town, and Phil, Shelley, Sandra and Brian pool their resources to beat their rivals.

It's all quite well done, and the hair styles are - well - unbelievable in some cases. But there's also the backdrop of Sandra's illness that she's hiding from her lover Shelley.

All in all, although I'm not at all interested in hair dressing, I throughly enjoyed the time I spent watching this. Give it a try. You'll like it.

6/10