Blow Dry (2001)

Right off the top let me be honest-I loved the movie. I have seen it at least five times (and still enjoy it every time). It is great to see two veteran (older actors)-Rosemary Harris and Warren Clarke-give outstanding performances in small roles. I measure movies by what I call magic moments- that is those moments that reach and affect you on the most basic level, that is emotionally. This movie has several of these-Rachel Leigh Cook cuts her hair in protest of her father's underhanded tactics; Rachel Griffith's total look ; the conversation between Natasha Richardson and Rhachel Griffith when Rachel finds out about the cancer. Add to this a wonderful ensemble cast of spectators and hairdressers and the film is complete and worth not only seeing, but buying.

Fmovies: Alan Rickman is wonderful in this movie. In many of his more well-known films, he is required to be obvious with his brooding nature. This film is much more subtle, and Rickman pulls off an incredibly believable character and demonstrates a range that we rarely see from him. Rachael Leigh Cook is highly underused. She needed to have been given more prodding from the director to bring her true acting talents out (her hair is also atrocious for a movie supposedly about "hair"). Cook often has great chemistry with actors, but her relationship with Hartnett falls a bit flat. The other actors (especially Natasha Richardson) do extremely well. The plot is wonderfully simple. The "competition" arch is played out very well without feeling as though we have seen this before. The romantic triangle is great, and the relationship between Sandra and Shelley (Grffiths and Richardson) is sweet. The homosexual element is understated and is never politicized. The comedy is subtle and occasionally hilarious, but the drama is the true reason to see this film.

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

Blow Dry fmovies. So it's a comedy about hairdressing. In truth, the hairdressing provides little more than colour commentary (pun intended), because it's the relationships that take first stage, and they take it really well. Alan Rickman is good, sincere and has depth, Josh Hartnett has an okay delivery ruined by his trying-too-hard faux Yorkshire accent, and Bill Nighy is Bill Nighy, you'll always get a few laughs from him, but the real stars are Rachel Griffiths and Natasha Richardson. Griffiths, in particular, is splendid, going from funny to poignantly hurt to deep, deep love without skipping a beat. Richardson also makes a strong impression, and you can feel the pain in her as the film goes. Oh well... It's a fun film, but it's also a good film.

Despite a lot of Big Hair, this is not a big movie. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable romp, with some affecting performances. There is nothing revelatory or even unpredictable about the story, but it works nicely and certainly entertains. The film does have a few rich moments, but seems mostly a vehicle for a group of talented actors (and it is a highly pedigreed bunch here) to take decent material and put out a fun and sometimes very moving film.

While it may drag a little in the center, don't give up watching for the finale and Rachel Griffiths "total look" finish that is about as outrageous and breathtaking a "total look" as one can possibly imagine. The normally brilliant Alan Rickman here sometimes feels just a little bit on autopilot, American Josh Hartnett is vastly underused, but surprisingly effective in an important role and Natasha Richardson, as ever, positively glows on the screen and raises the emotional and dramatic stakes to a level that makes the whole affair worthwhile.

Not great? Perhaps, but an immensely enjoyable little movie.

I thought this film was wonderful, a slushy feel good film with classic Shakespearian sub-plots. What is most poignant is that it depicts a town that is disappearing in England. Films like this are social documents. If people don't act like this, then this is how we would like to have historians of the future remember us.

It's nice to have films about people and places that are not normally considered glamorous.

It's funny, thoughtful and a gentle story. No violence, no car chases, no sex. A bit of swearing, but that's part of normal language nowadays.

I loved the compère moving from his mayoral robes to night club glitter jacket through the competition. I loved the young ones falling in love. I loved the closure on the separation.

I'm sure some cinematographer could have done more with the visuals of the hair cutting but this was a narrative film. It had a story, and I will add it to my collection of British movies.