Good Hair (2009)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	91:42 (Case: 96)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (54:05)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jeff Stilson
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Tanya Crumel Kevin Kirk Jason Griggers Maya Angelou
Case	?
RPI	$34.95	Music	Marcus Miller

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	Yes
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

     Comedian Chris Rock delivers a documentary about the African American obsession with hair care. Though it sounds mundane, the result is anything but. To put things in perspective (using the film's own unsubstantiated figures), though African Americans make up 20% (though more reliable statistics would have it at 12%) of the US population they account for 80% of the dollars spent on hair products in the country. Most of that money goes towards making a fuzzy 'fro look like straighter, European, head of hair; what is colloquially known as "Good Hair".

     With a consistently light tone, Rock looks into "relaxer", diluted lye-based creams (yes, the stuff Tyler Durden used to burn his disciples) used to straighten/loosen hair, "weaves", insanely expensive wigs sewn onto people's heads, the Indian hair trade that supplies the hair for most weaves and, the piece de resistance, the Bronner Brothers hair show and its hair show competition, the biannual African American hair product trade show that has become a mecca for the industry. The stories behind the eccentric stylists in competition, and their personal journeys to the big day, act as the glue to the whole film and provide a light-hearted narrative drive.

     Numerous celebrity interviews are incorporated into the film. The most enjoyable are those with super-slick Ice-T, the ever militant Reverend Al Sharpton, weave-mad Raven Symone, Salt'n'Pepa and Tracie Thoms.

     The film does an excellent job of balancing serious investigation (albeit with a "WTF?!" tone) with humour. Though it is not going to change lives, most viewers will come out of this film with a little more useless knowledge in their heads and well and truly entertained.

Video

     The film is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is 16x9 enhanced. The film looks to have been shot on digital video and is fairly cleanly transferred. The image is reasonably clear and sharp. The colours are vibrant. There is a good level of shadow detail in the image. The video is generally free of major artefacts. Mild macro blocking is present, though not terribly distracting, in a handful of scenes particularly around the big hair show when flashes are going off left, right and centre.

     English subtitles are present.

     This is a RSDL with a layer break between segments at 54:05.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The film features a choice of English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbps) and 2.0 (224Kbps) audio tracks. The audio is pretty basic, but well and truly up to scratch for a documentary of this sort. The dialogue and narration are generally clear and easy to understand. The audio is well synchronised to the video.

     The film features an appropriately funky soundtrack from Marcus Miller.

     The surrounds don't get a lot of play, but there is really not a lot of call for them. Similarly, the subwoofer has nothing to do more than support the soundtrack.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Audio Commentary

     Chris Rock, checks his funny man hat at the door and joins producer Nelson George for a commentary that redefines the words bland and obvious. The pair has a lot to say but none of it is worth the effort of listening to.

Theatrical Trailer

     An ad for the movie. Not worth watching if you've seen the film.

    The Region 1 and Region 4 editions are identical save for PAL/NTSC differences.

     A hilarious and informative documentary on the African American obsession with hair care. Though the subject is completely irrelevant to the lives of most potential viewers, the film provides an accessible and interesting glimpse into its subject matter and is consistently amusing.

     The video and audio quality are good enough for the subject matter. The extras are not worth a look.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall