Chris Rock‘s Good Hair documentary style is impartial which enriches the journalistic format, but surprisingly makes him tamed and uninspiring. This is actually the antitheses of Mr. Rock – he’s strange and uncharacteristic. He wants to kick knowledge on this one, but falls short – if you squeeze the juice out of the orange it’s far from dry but will hardly quench your thirst.
The premise of the movie is a remarkable, brilliant idea – as was the choice of commentators: Nia Long is very eloquent, beyond beautiful that was a nice touch, Ice-T is to me one of the best communicators out there – cool, wise, smart, insightful and funny – and I feel the same about KRS-One; I think he deserved more airtime.
However, the position of these commentators isn’t clear beyond Ice-T’s finishing commentary and Reverend Al Sharpton . We’re left not knowing if they think black hair culture is wrong, right, needs change or is perfect – and that needed to be emphasised as part of the whole study on the trail of hair roots and its thriving business.
If you want to play Michael Moore, then study more. The subject they’re showcasing would perhaps benefit with more figures and numbers. The voyage to India was very interesting but once again needed to be more explored. Still very informative and worth a view – especially by the black community. Good laughs, even if the comedy was sporadic.
Highlights: Ice T and Reverend Al Sharpton; the “putting the oppression on your head every night”/economic retardation part is priceless.
Although Chris Rock is infamous for “keeping it real” and voicing an opinion unconditionally, his voice on the matter is muted which doesn’t benefit the movie. The cliché ‘What’s inside your head is way more important than what’s on top of it’ is a nice touch but dry; I doubt it will garnish the satisfaction of viewers. Good Hair leaves us with half-hearted comedy, half-hearted documentary that doesn’t fulfil either genre.
–Hugo Salvaterra
Good Hair hits UK cinemas on June 25th.
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