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Good Hair
EMAILPRINTRoadside Attractions

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Documentary
Written by: Lance Crouther
Directed by: Jeff Stilson
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 9, 2009
DVD: February 16, 2010
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for some language including sex and drug references, and brief partial nudity
Starring Chris Rock
An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, Good Hair visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore how hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks and self-esteem of the black community. (Roadside Attractions)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
USA Today Claudia Puig
Good Hair is cause for hope that Rock continues to make documentaries. His style is lively, smooth and up-to-date, like the most coveted 'do.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Although its tone is generally genial and jovial, Good Hair touches on some tricky issues, at times complicitly.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Rock gives Good Hair a rousing message: Where African-Americans in the '60s adopted a ''natural'' look, they now feel free to coif their heads any way they want. That's cultural power.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Is it possible to talk about the fascinating and complex universe of black hair without dealing with race and identity? That’s the question posed by Good Hair.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Spirited, probing and frequently hilarious, it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees, most of them women.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
One of those rare documentaries that works on two seemingly incongruous levels at once: It's both social commentary and pure delight.
Read Full Review >Variety Justin Chang
A raucous and rigorous inquiry into the subject of African-American hair -- the stigmas, the secrets, the shocking price of maintenance -- that gets at universal but rarely discussed truths about black femininity.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey
The result is a documentary that weaves as much comedy as fact into the narrative, making the experience a satisfying entertainment even for the lucky few who have no hair cares at all.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Thanks to Rock's running monologue, combining scathing humor with trenchant observations, the film manages to be side-splitting even while making its most poignant points.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Kevin C. Johnson
Rock misses the boat in deciding not to relate Good Hair to non African-Americans more.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
"Our self-esteem is wrapped up in it,'' admits actress Tracie Thoms (who sticks with a natural curly look). "A woman's hair is her glory,'' Angelou says.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
There’s a lot of Michael Moore’s ambulatory spirit in this film, which the comedian Jeff Stinson directed. There’s also a lot of the damning comedic commentary that made Rock’s old HBO series so urgent.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It’s an eye-opening and modestly funny look at a massive business and a culture with its own signifiers and language.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
It's funny, clever and marginally educational.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
About the only question not answered by Good Hair is whether Michelle Obama wears a hair extension (most come from religious ceremonies in India) or straightens her hair.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
Good Hair is also about how African-Americans spend $9-billion annually chemically treating and straightening their hair, buying 80 per cent of America's hair products. It's such a fascinating, complex tale that you hope one day some probing filmmaker will make a conclusive documentary on the subject.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Rock conveys a lot of information, but also some unfortunate opinions and misleading facts. That doesn't mean the move isn't warm, funny, and entertaining.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Rock takes his Good Hair job as a documentarian seriously enough to be interesting, but not so seriously that the film groans with earnestness.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Staff (Not credited)
An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Jessica Baxter
In addition to the socio-economic impact, Good Hair also explores how hair care affects the African-American community in confidence (both personal and race-related), romantic relationships and every day life.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
Entertaining and substantive enough to be interesting even for those completely unfamiliar with weaves and relaxers.
Read Full Review >Slate Dana Stevens
The result is a pop documentary in the Morgan Spurlock mode, cheeky and smart without being too serious.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
There's plenty to appreciate in Chris Rock's rollicking documentary about what goes on when African-American women hit the salon.
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Keith Uhlich
A slipshod documentary about a fascinating subject: the loaded history and current complications of African-American hairstyling.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Linda C gave it an8:
Even a documentary must be skillfully directed, styled, edited. For overall filmmaking quality it rates a 5, but for topic/subject matter it rates a 10. There is numerous opportunity in the film content to sequel. I hope Chris and his producers see it and will take advantage of the opportunities they created in the film content.
Bob C gave it an8:
This movie was well-paced and sensitive to the issues of empowerment and oppression. I thought the Atlanta hair show was an effective unifying device, much needed in a documentary.
R R gave it a1:
This film was an advertisement for Bonner Brothers and not informative at all. I must admit, it is the first time I paid for a mojor corporations infomercial.
kathleen c gave it a9:
Informative, intelligent, funny and enjoyable. Hope Chris Rock makes another documentary soon.
Scalabrine 21 gave it a10:
There are very few non-ficition based movies available for viewing in theaters, that are humorous, clever, amusing, educational, insightful, at times unsettling, and overall worth every penny of the $10 you spent. This is one of those movies. I am a caucasian male and I loved every minute of this movie. Chris Rock is headed for a wonderful career in documentaries if he chooses to do so, because when you can make a feature film an hour and a half long that a studio believes will make a profit on just hair, you are doing something right! Sitting there, I felt like I was allowed into a secret society of not only hair care, but also one's identity, one's fears, and an entire cultural perception of how beauty is viewed and the lengths one goes through to attain the standard of beauty the world has established. You will leave this movie feeling both touched and informed, and honestly will never look at the hair on your head (or on other's heads) in the same way. Documentary of the year for Chris Rock. Not because he's Chris Rock. But because he chose a topic that's been evident for centuries but never truly been discussed to this length.
Sonia O gave it an8:
I enjoyed this movie. There are lots of interesting facts about black hair care that I didn't know about - and I'm black!
