Review of Good Hair (2009) by Colleen C — 16 Mar 2010

I was a bit dubious when I heard that Chris Rock had took it upon himself to do a documentary about the world of weaves and hair-straightening, but this proved to be a fascinating watch.

As someone who has never had her hair straightened, or worn a weave (although I did get a bitchin' perm when I was in Junior High), this was a very enlightening and thought-provoking documentary to see. The casual approach that Chris Rock took with his research really suits the subject matter well as he converses with patrons at salons and tries to get to the bottom of this obsession that women seem to have with having "good hair".

Chris Rock did a very thorough job in his analysis and nearly every question that I found popping into my head was answered over the course of this documentary. Everything from "what straightener is actually made of", to "where does the hair for weaves come from" is covered in good detail. One can tell that this was a documentary made from the heart with Rock truly hoping to come to some understanding of why his little girl feels she needs to have "good hair".

I think even those with zero interest in the culture of hair will come away from this documentary with something to think about.