Good Hair (2009)

Director:

Jeff Stilson

Writers:

Lance Crouther (written by)
Paul Marchand (ghostwriter)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy

Tagline:

Sit back and relax.

Plot:

Chris Rock explores the wonders of African-American hairstyles. |

Plot Keywords:

African American | Beverly Hills | Black Hair | Manufacturing Plant | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Maya Angelou	...	Herself
Vanessa Bell Calloway	...	Herself
Sandra 'Pepa' Denton	...	Herself (as Salt-N-Pepa)
Eve	...	Herself
Melyssa Ford	...	Herself
Meagan Good	...	Herself
Andre Harrell	...	Himself
Ice-T	...	Himself
Cheryl 'Salt' James	...	Herself (as Salt-N-Pepa)
Sarah Jones	...	Herself
KRS-One	...	Himself
Nia Long	...	Herself
Paul Mooney	...	Himself
Faheem Najm	...	Himself (as T-Pain)
Raven-Symoné	...	Herself
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Herself
Chris Rock	...	Himself
Al Sharpton	...	Himself
Tracie Thoms	...	Herself
Kerry Washington	...	Herself

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45377) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Chris Rock Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Oprah Winfrey Show: (2009-10-09)" (2009)

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.)