Never Better

Blow Dry is one of those loopy, quirky British comedies that continue to scream to the deaf ears of Hollywood that humor doesn't have to be infantile, vulgar, sexual, physical, heavy-handed, or banal. It can be uplifting, complex, nuanced, unexpected and fresh.

A small town in England hosts the National Hairdressing Championships, (Do you really think they have one?) and nobody seems too excited about it except a few ruthless competitors to whom winning means absolutely everything. Local boy Alan Rickman, a has been hair wizard now doing "short back and sides" for 7.50 is convinced to enter the competition by his son, his ex-wife and her girlfriend.

Natasha Richardson (daughter of the incomparable Vanessa Redgrave) is brilliant as the terminally ill lesbian mother trying to use the event as a way to reunite her family. Her comedy and her pathos are equally moving, and her beauty isn't spoiled by chemotherapy-induced hair loss. Rachel Griffiths, whom you may remember from the hilarious Australian comedy Muriel's Wedding, is the model who left Rickman for his wife on the eve of his triumph in hairdressing, hence his present low state. Either of these ladies could have carried the movie. To have both of them is a treat of excess.

Rickman is more believable as a barber than a high style hairdresser. Still, he pulls it off because he's Rickman. Much has been made of Josh Hartnett and his murderous accent. In reality, it's hardly noticeable. Get over it.

Bill Nighy is fantastic as the unscrupulous London artiste pulling out all the stops to win the Championship for an unprecedented third time, using his daughter, the insanely beautiful Rachel Leigh Cook, as his model. Rosemary Harris, the perfectly cast Aunt Mae of Spider-man fame, is powerful as the elderly Daisy, confidante and model for Richardson and her team.

The unseen treasure of this movie, and the genius behind it, is writer Simon Beaufoy. Beaufoy grew up in Keighley, the setting of Blow Dry. Until more recently he was probably best known for also writing the hilarious and inspired The Full Monty. As he developed as a writer, he later gave us the Oscar nominated 127 Hours, and Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire.

There is a scene, at the very end, when Rickman reveals his ultimate creation, that has to be seen to be believed. I still gasp every time I see it, and it reinforces for me a notion of beauty that transcends everything from age to gender. And don't miss the end credit sequence. It's hilarious.

Too many movie viewers think being cynical makes them appear more intelligent or more profound, so they slam gems like this for their lighthearted humor. Nonsense. This is a funny 10 out of 10, and if you don't own it, log off right now and go get it. You won't be sorry.

So it's a comedy about hairdressing. In truth, the hairdressing provides little more than colour commentary (pun intended), because it's the relationships that take first stage, and they take it really well. Alan Rickman is good, sincere and has depth, Josh Hartnett has an okay delivery ruined by his trying-too-hard faux Yorkshire accent, and Bill Nighy is Bill Nighy, you'll always get a few laughs from him, but the real stars are Rachel Griffiths and Natasha Richardson. Griffiths, in particular, is splendid, going from funny to poignantly hurt to deep, deep love without skipping a beat. Richardson also makes a strong impression, and you can feel the pain in her as the film goes. Oh well... It's a fun film, but it's also a good film.

20 years old but still a sweet British comedy, with heart and emotion.

I tuned into this movie not really expecting very much. I mean, how interesting could a movie about the British Hair Dressing Championships be, anyway? In fact, what I found was a quite funny movie with enough human interest thrown in to make it a worthwhile movie.

The story revolves around a hair dressing family who have been broken apart when Shelly (Natasha Richardson) leaves Phil (Alan Rickman) for Sandra (Rachel Griffiths). Son Brian (Josh Hartnett) stays with dad Phil and works in a barber shop with his dad - quite a step down for Phil, who used to be one of the best British hair dressers. The family is brought back together when the Hair Dressing Championships come to their home town, and Phil, Shelley, Sandra and Brian pool their resources to beat their rivals.

It's all quite well done, and the hair styles are - well - unbelievable in some cases. But there's also the backdrop of Sandra's illness that she's hiding from her lover Shelley.

All in all, although I'm not at all interested in hair dressing, I throughly enjoyed the time I spent watching this. Give it a try. You'll like it.

6/10

My wife had me convinced for a long time that I had seen this movie, but last night after I had searched for over 40 min for something to rent I took the risk and rented this movie. And of course I was right – I hadn't seen it! This is not a film one will forget having seen. As so often before the British are the strongest in character building, with every role filled with good actors and every detail and dialog driven to perfection. You might say that the story line is predictable, not to mention if you see "the making of" beforehand, which more or less tells you every detail of the story! Blow dry is one of these beautiful films that make you laugh and cry at the same time. You disappear into the film, becoming one with the characters and their lives. It has similarities to Brassed Off, both in scenery and storyline, but manages to stay original and unique. I loved it 9/10