Good Hair (2009)

Chris Rock explores the wonders of African-American hairstyles.

Director:

Jeff Stilson

Writers:

Lance Crouther, Paul Marchand (ghostwriter)

Stars:

Chris Rock, Maya Angelou, Al Sharpton

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tanya Crumel	...	Herself - Hair Battle Contestant
Kevin Kirk	...	Himself - Hair Battle Contestant
Jason Griggers	...	Himself - Hair Battle Contestant
Maya Angelou	...	Herself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marvet Britto	...	Herself
A'Lelia Bundles	...	Herself
Vanessa Bell Calloway	...	Herself
Eve	...	Herself
Farrah Fawcett	...	Herself (archive footage)
Melyssa Ford	...	Herself
Meagan Good	...	Herself
Andre Harrell	...	Himself
Ice-T	...	Himself
Cheryl 'Salt' James	...	Herself (as Salt-N-Pepa)
Sarah Jones	...	Herself

Storyline

Chris Rock, a man with two daughters, asks about good hair, as defined by Black Americans, mostly Black women. He visits Bronner Brothers' annual hair convention in Atlanta. He tells us about sodium hydroxide, a toxin used to relax hair. He looks at weaves, and he travels to India where tonsure ceremonies produce much of the hair sold in America. A weave is expensive: he asks who makes the money. We visit salons and barbershops, central to the Black community. Rock asks men if they can touch their mates' hair - no, it's decoration. Various talking heads (many of them women with good hair) comment. It's about self image. Maya Angelou and Tracie Thoms provide perspective.

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Plot Keywords:

hair | self image | sodium hydroxide | convention | chemical | 

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Taglines:

Sit back and relax.

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language including sex and drug references, and brief partial nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hårfint

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,043,732, 9 October 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,157,104, 28 February 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chris Rock Entertainment, HBO Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Singer Jamelia covered similar territory in her 2008 documentary Jamelia: Whose Hair Is It Anyway? (2008).

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Quotes

Ice-T: ...trust me, if a woman ain't happy with herself, she's going to bring nothing but pain to every f'ing body around her.

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Connections

Referenced in The Oprah Winfrey Show: Episode dated 9 October 2009 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Donkey
Written by Scoop Deville (as Elijah Molina)
Performed by Scoop Deville (as Scoop DeVille)
Courtesy of Scoop DeVille Productions

User Reviews

I learned a lot, but....

...this was a missed opportunity. All the facts (most of which I was unaware of) are there, but the filmmakers step back from exploring many of questions raised: the importance of racial identity, economic oppression by other minorities/majorities, health risk of fashion, etc.

It would seem like Chris Rock would be the perfect individual to guide us through this movie, but he seems harnessed. And whether it's because the people in the frame with him are fragile and therefore undeserving of outrage or he's following someone else's script, it's surprising that the only rage expressed comes in the final few moments (by no one less than the "self-proclaimed inventor" of Jheri Curl), and it's such an over the top rant, that we laugh it off.

While there are a number of very appealing people throughout, we're told that people are damaging their health as well as their children's health, outlandish prices are paid by people who appear or say they can't afford it, foreign nationals are being exploited and shorn against their will to satisfy "looking like something you're not." I kept waiting for the anger to burst through, but there was only good natured joshing and giggles. (And a long section on touching the hair of black women that crosses over into sexism.)

I was more shocked by the lack of stance by the filmmakers than the practices of hair care in the African American community. But if you're not clued into the huge industry around these practices, give this movie a look, and then go tell someone who hasn't processed or "woven" their hair how beautiful they look. (Becauase they DO look beautiful without all this nonsense.)