The Big Tease

Sweet film about a Scottish hair dresser (Craig Ferguson) who makes the big move to California in order to compete for the coveted "king" barber title (the film has an actual name for it but I don't remember). Ferguson is quite funny and Drew Carey turns up as himself in a rather likable cameo.

Overall this is nothing particularly special, stuff like this has been done before, but anyone who likes sweet-natured comedies should definitely see this. There isn't a cruel piece of celluloid around this movie!

I'd give it about 3.5/5 stars.

The documentary filmmaker Martin Samuels joins Scottish hairdresser Crawford Mackenzie as he sets out for LA to take part in the Platinum Scissors Hairdressing competition. On arrival he runs up a large hotel bill before discovering that his `invitation' is not to compete but to attend in the audience. Out of his hotel and out of money, Crawford tries to get into the competition and wins over the trend setters of Beverly Hills and, with a little bit of luck and deceit tries to work his way into the contest

I had never heard of this film prior to it's TV premier in the UK, I imagine it's the same with a lot of people – it's a British comedy but it never managed to get the same high profile as more notable successes. However this is not to take from this film as it is pretty funny and gently amusing. The plot is nonsense but I think that is the point – it's is increasingly absurd – just like the actual competition and Hollywood lifestyle that Crawford finds himself thrust into. The comedy is rarely hilarious but it is consistently funny nonetheless – being more amusing than rip-roaring. The sheer wit and energy of the film manages to carry it over the odd dry spell.

Ferguson is suitably flaming as Crawford and is sweetly naïve for the most part. Langham is very dry as Samuels and I wanted him to have more screen time than he did – many other mock-documentaries have successfully made much better use of the dry humour of the interviewer. The support cast are good on the whole and don't mind making fun of themselves. Rasche is good as the two-faced Stig. While comedy cameos from Drew Carey and David Hasselhoff work well. Miller is always value for money and is good in his brief scene.

Overall this is a nice short little comedy that is lively and absurd. It is rarely hilarious but you'll watch it with a consistent smile on your face. Perfect if you're in a silly mood and looking for something with a bit of fizz.

Unjustly obscure, this mock-umentary is certainly not revolutionary film making or Oscar material, but it does offer gentle laughs and some amusing performances and visuals. Ferguson stars (and appears in virtually every scene) as a Scottish hairdresser who gets a letter inviting him to an international hair styling competition in Los Angeles. This is cause for Langham to film a BBC documentary on him and much of the film is from that perspective (although Ferguson also narrates in blurbs filmed after the event.) Falling somewhere in between the lame "Drop Dead Gorgeous" and the sublime "Best in Show", the film is full of odd situations and the infectious charm of Ferguson as he sets out to win top honors. Needless to say, if Ferguson weren't entertaining the film would be sunk. Thankfully, he is delightful throughout. Fisher, though less endearing, also provides nice support for him. Several excellent comedic performers pop up along the way, notably the bizarre and side-splitting Miller as a harried hotel manager. Rasche sinks humorously into his role as Ferguson's chief competitor. McCormack, a very attractive young lady, perfectly captures the phony, insincere aspects of the contest organizer. And any film that even briefly utilizes the untapped charms of McGinley can't be all bad. Home video viewers may need to use subtitles to catch all of the remarks as the authentic Scottish accents are sometimes hard to completely understand. Some real life hair professionals appear, but star cameos are minimal. Carey inexplicably shows up as himself, but with a full head of hair. Hasselhoff comes off amusingly as himself. Crosby, an actress who always could have used a good stylist, appears briefly as a demonstration assistant. One quibble: If the film was going to be rated R anyway, why not show more of the lead's physical assets. What's shown is great, but all too brief. On it's own little terms, this is a charming and fun movie.

I had not heard about THE BIG TEASE before I saw it. I was not familiar with its star, Craig Ferguson. My expectations, therefore, were fairly low. What a nice surprise this movie turned out to be. It feels like a small movie, but delivers big laughs. The cast features a perfect mixture of unknowns, believable character actors, and unexpected cameos. The story is well-paced for a running time no longer than it needs to be (now THAT's refreshing). The Scottish dialect can be hard to decipher for the untrained ear, so a few punch lines fall flat. And while the documentary style helps moves the story along (why waste time on character background when you can have a documentary filmmaker simply ask our hero a pointed question?), it also slows the story down at times. (We're watching documentary footage, remember? So every few scenes need to end with the film being cut, or the camera guy running into a wall.) But apart from those minor annoyances, THE BIG TEASE is one of the funnier movies in recent memory. Partly because I had no expectations, but mainly because it's original, well-acted, and well-written.

If you stick with it this is a very funny film. Don't be put off by the plot - a misguided Scotsman attempts to crash a mythical hairdressing Olympics. It's a very human comedy about identity and self-worth. Filmed in a documentary style, which takes a few scenes to get used to, it really only hits its stride when the hero Crawford lands in the US. From there it works very well, tilting at various American showbiz windmills. I saw one of the co-stars, Mary McCormack, recently in "High Heels and Lowlifes", and surfing her name in the database reminded me of this little gem. If it's in your local video store, and you enjoyed Spinal Tap or Local Hero, you should try it.