Review of Good Hair (2009) by Mike C — 22 Dec 2010

I say I don't like black comedy, but Chappelle and Chris Rock are my two favorite living comics. Their humor is social commentary. That's why this documentary works. It's quite hilarious at times, but also says something about the subjects in the documentary.

I like documentaries about specific things we don't normally think about. Bees, ants, bricks, bridges, etc. Thanks to Rock, add hair to the list. Though the focus is mostly about black hair, and I would have loved to hear about other hair with the same level of comedy, it's a very interesting look.

Of discussion is the use of sodium hydroxide for perms (which evidently are used to straighten black hair instead of curl it). And weaves. I'm fascinated with weaves because I guess I was stupid to think all these pretty black women had pretty straight hair! What a crock. So not only is the hair fake, but it's highly expensive (some women said $1,000 to $5,000 plus maintenance). Mind you, this is largely a group of women with not a lot of money. Al Sharpton has some decent thoughts on this...curling your oppression each morning.

As they point out, few blacks own these hair businesses. The most disgusting part is how they get the hair, mostly from India. For religious reasons, many Indians shave their heads at some point. While many of these people live in poverty, their hair is being sold for thousands of dollars. So the Indians are getting ripped off, the blacks are getting ripped off, and the white and Asian owners are raking it in!

I can't possibly do this documentary justice. You just have to see it as so many things are funny but not by themselves, and to get the full picture, you have to see all the inbetween stuff. Though the white hair dresser in the contest is funny, especially when he gets botoxed, the contest is the biggest strike of the movie. It's entertaining but just not that interesting. The business of hair, however, is fascinating. And thanks to Rock, hilarious.