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Good Hair Review

Goon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Good Hair Directed by: Jeff Stilson Starring: Chris Rock, Nia Long, Ice-T, Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou, Eve, Tracie Thoms I have more rap albums than I have black friends on Facebook, and I don't have that many rap albums. There is and has always been a lot of black culture that I can only understand so much, but I never really thought about hair's role. It seems so simple - you grow it, you dye it, you straighten it, you comb it - hair just happens, and I had never bothered to think about dreadlocks or cornrows or even afros beyond the stylistic choice. With this in mind, I was confused about who Good Hair is targeted to. Is it an expose of controversial issues to spur change within the black community, or is it just opening the door into a world someone like me knows nothing about? The premise of this documentary involves Chris Rock investigating a question from his daughter: "Why don't I have good (read: Farrah Fawcett-ish, flowing, not nappy) hair?". This leads him on a Michael Moore-ish journey through the $9 billion black hair industry, from relaxers to weaves to the doc's stability device: a ridiculous hair expo stage event in Atlanta that puts pageantry and pomp over pure skill. A better reference than Moore may be Chris Bell's 2008 steroid culture documentary Bigger Stronger Faster*, where the issues of vanity are also relevant beyond its specific subjects. While Stilson's film doesn't have (or need) the same personal punch, the light-hearted yet serious tone and editing style will seem familiar. Chris Rock as the catalyst for discovery makes for a very entertaining and amusing watch. Rock's quips and reactions serve as a gateway for pasty white Canadians like me who without a guide may have no idea what the fuck they're watching, and could not fathom why people would subject themselves to the activities involved in achieving "good hair". There is first an examination of "relaxers", which turns nappy hair into straight, silky, luxurious locks. It is shocking to watch how the chemicals in these products can damage and burn, aptly demonstrated by the visual of an aluminum can being stripped by a relaxer chemical to the point where it is completely clear. A longer segment about weaves takes Rock to India, investigating the process in which young Indian girls shave their heads ritualistically and send their mops back overseas to retail for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. These segments also explore and explain how spending so much on ones coiffure can lead to distance in a relationship - the ladies aren't going to let their fellas mess up their thousand dollar 'do. It also obviously causes major fears of rain and swimming. An examination of the industry behind both shows how much money black people, especially women, are shelling out to businesses that are ironically mostly not black owned. In total, these scenes raise questions of whether or not they should or even want to be more involved in serving their own community through such methods. While one might look down on some of these people for shelling out large percentages of their paycheck every month on goop and sorta-wigs, watching the sole white hairdresser of the extravagant hair show go in for Botox treatment certainly makes it clear that vanity knows no boundaries of race or ridiculousness, and that in the end a lot of this may be uniquely psychological rather than strictly cultural. This especially becomes clear through the numerous talking head bits that pepper throughout the film from noted entertainers and figures from Ice-T to Maya Angelou, who talk of their first and/or continuing tales of weaves and relaxers. Al Sharpton for example tells about James Brown getting him to relax his hair to be more politically affable, and the payoff photograph is amusing and makes his point. A group of young girls talk about relaxing their hair not just for their own vanity, but because of the perceptions they would receive in their office had they grown their hair out naturally. You can't help but feel bad for the one girl of the group with a cute short afro as she listens to her friends explain yet another body issue she will have to contend with. It is unfortunate that Rock and Stilson aren't able to push more of their celebrity friends to get on the couch and similarly open up. Most of the talking head stories simply revolve around how, and not so much WHY they do this to their heads. When Rock wants to talk about any media manipulation leading these people to believe they don't have good hair, it doesn't resonate as well as it could. The case is clearly made that a number of these things are controversial if not clearly fucked up, but for the few fingers Rock points outside the black community, he extends others pointing back within. I'm not sure if there was an activist element intended when they first set out on this venture, but on the psychological level there was much left to be explored. Despite near universal critical acclaim, on IMDB and Flixster I've seen a lot more pushback against the film. I've seen some complaints from people mad at Rock taking pokes at weaves and relaxers at all, and others who believe Rock didn't take enough of a stand. I see claims that Stilson and Rock needed to spend time with black women who DO have naturally straight hair, and should show numerous people with "bad hair" of other races. I believe those complaints are misguided and could have turned the whole thing into an unfocused mess, instead of what it is - a very funny picture that is insightful, interesting and endlessly entertaining, but missing a definitive answer to its main question. -- Goon

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Mike White Takes on Santa Wars

Sean — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:32:27 +0000

School of Rock writer to pen true story comedy based on an episode of This American Life.

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Jackass 3 Confirmed for 2010… in 3-D!

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:14:12 +0000

My mind is reeling thinking of all the disgusting pranks that the world needs to see in three-dimensions.

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Eddie Murphy to Star in The Misadventures of Fluffy

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:37:35 +0000

Supposedly has elements of Doctor Doolittle and Trading Places, but more importantly, could be his first R-rated comedy in years.

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Zhang Yimou’s Blood Simple Remake Trailer

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:34:48 +0000

Ever since it was announced earlier this year, a lot of people have been wondering what the heck is up with Zhang Yimou's remake of The Coen Brothers' very first film Blood Simple. It was believed that he would be turning it into a comedy, and with the odd title Amazing Tales: Three Guns, it seems clear that we should probably expect something completely different. And wow... that's exactly what we're getting. The Playlist found the first trailer for the film on YouTube, and if you're familiar with Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, you won't be too shocked to see plenty of artistic slow-mo, thematic colours, extravagant costumes, and melodramatic acting. It looks like a Zhang Yimou film, except... what the heck does any of this have to do with Blood Simple?? Granted, the trailer is not in English (save for the voiceover) so it's a bit hard to piece together. It gets weirder though: according to Yahoo!, the movie features "a theme song rapped by the filmmaker himself"! Huh? Something tells me this may be the first Zhang Yimou film that Reed Farrington actually dislikes. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film here in North America sometime next year. Check out the wacky trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Justin Theroux to Rewrite Space Invader Starring Will Arnett

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:28:15 +0000

Another gig for the Tropic Thunder scribe, based loosely on the Lisa Nowak NASA love triangle story.

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Chris Elliott to Star in Conan O’Brien-Produced Adult Swim Show Eagleheart

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:23:32 +0000

If it wasn't Adult Swim, I'd give it two episodes, tops... but this could actually be pretty awesome.

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Does Anyone Want to See a Gilmore Girls Movie?

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:23:19 +0000

Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino does, apparently.

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Leaves of Grass Trailer Starring Edward Norton and Edward Norton

Sean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:55:44 +0000

Ed Norton starring in a stoner comedy? Yep, it sure looks that way. Leaves of Grass played at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year and the only thing I remember hearing about it is the fact that Norton plays the two lead roles. I guess he's taking a page out of the Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey playbook. Either way, I didn't realize this was a comedy about pot... which apparently it is. Writer/director Tim Blake Nelson is also a character actor who you might know as Delmar from O, Brother Where Art Thou? and also Samuel Sterns (aka The Leader) from Incredible Hulk. (I guess that's probably how he recruited Ed Norton for this film.) He has previously directed a few things before including the Shakespeare adaptation "O", but there sure isn't any iambic pentameter here. I can't say this promo trailer did much for me, but if you like to "hit the hippie lettuce" then I guess you'll have to add this to your Netflix queue. Leaves of Grass is getting a limited theatrical release on December 25th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Grown Ups Trailer Starring Adam Sandler and Friends

Sean — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Hey look, the gang's all here! Grown Ups (previously known as The Lake House) is an upcoming comedy that re-unites Adam Sandler with SNL buddies David Spade, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider (not that he and Schneider have been apart for very long). Throw Kevin James into the mix, and you've got a recipe for a pretty huge summer blockbuster. The first teaser trailer has hit the web over at Yahoo!, and it's chock full of nostalgia. The only thing that seems to be missing is... a plot? In a strange way, the lack of some inane gimmick is kind of refreshing. All we know is that the movie is about five high school buddies who get together thirty years later for a holiday weekend getaway. Sure most of the humour seems painfully low brow, but there is an undeniable chemistry between the cast. It seems a bit like Couples Retreat in that it's just a group of actors who wanted an excuse to work together again. What do you think, is there a chance this might actually be good? Grown Ups hits theatres on June 25th, 2010; check out the trailer below.

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Fright Night Remake Lands Buffy Writer

Sean — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:15:14 +0000

It's been a couple of years since we first heard mention of a Fright Night remake, but with vampires continuing to take over pop culture right now, Dreamworks has finally hired a writer to get the ball rolling. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've brought former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel writer Marti Noxon on board to pen the script. Noxon's vamp experience obviously seems like a good fit, but it's interesting to note that she is currently a writer/producer for Mad Men, and has also worked on Prison Break and Grey's Anatomy. Back when rumours of this remake first surfaced, Sony Screen Gems was believed to be the studio and they reportedly wanted it to be nothing like the original. Now that Dreamworks has taken over, it seems that it may be headed for a more straightforward redo. The only clue we have about the direction being taken is that it will "keep the comedy-horror tone while modernizing the effects". Tom Holland's original 1985 film was about a teenager who suspects that his next door neighbour is a vampire. Do you think the concept still holds up today? Is this a movie that deserves to be remade at this point in time?

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Date Night Trailer Starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell

Sean — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:48:14 +0000

The first trailer for Shawn Levy's Date Night just hit the internet today, and it seems to be getting a pretty lukewarm response across the blogosphere. Being that this is the first big screen team up of Tina Fey and Steve Carell, I would have thought there would be a little more excitement out there. Then again, I suppose based on what we're shown in the trailer, it does look rather mediocre. The concept definitely seems dated and predictable: a married couple goes out for a rare night on the town and through a case of mistaken identity ends up being chased by some hitmen. Still, there's a part of me that thinks that Carell and Fey will be able to make it something worth watching, and there are hints of that in the trailer (the "killshot" line made me snicker to myself). I just don't know about some of these full-blown action scenes... I mean, they are clearly going for something along the lines of Get Smart and Pineapple Express, and I'm not sure they need to. The supporting cast also includes James Franco, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis; check out the trailer after the jump, or watch it in HD over at Apple.com.

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