Coup de peigne

Despite a lot of Big Hair, this is not a big movie. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable romp, with some affecting performances. There is nothing revelatory or even unpredictable about the story, but it works nicely and certainly entertains. The film does have a few rich moments, but seems mostly a vehicle for a group of talented actors (and it is a highly pedigreed bunch here) to take decent material and put out a fun and sometimes very moving film.

While it may drag a little in the center, don't give up watching for the finale and Rachel Griffiths "total look" finish that is about as outrageous and breathtaking a "total look" as one can possibly imagine. The normally brilliant Alan Rickman here sometimes feels just a little bit on autopilot, American Josh Hartnett is vastly underused, but surprisingly effective in an important role and Natasha Richardson, as ever, positively glows on the screen and raises the emotional and dramatic stakes to a level that makes the whole affair worthwhile.

Not great? Perhaps, but an immensely enjoyable little movie.

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

A film about hairdressing championships could be disastrous,but a superb cast of fine British actors saved this film from Stinkville.The storyline is actually not bad,and the rivalry between Phil Allen (Alan Rickman) and Raymond Robertson (Bill Nighy) is humorous and entertaining.While this movie is amusing and light hearted it does focus on sadder issues like broken families,and terminal illness.Australian actress Rachel Griffiths gives a fine performance and perfects a British accent for her role as Sandra,who is romantically involved with Shelley (Natasha Richardson)who lives in fear that the truth about her illness will ruin their relationship.Young stars Josh Hartnett and the very adorable Rachael Leigh Cook are pleasant contributions to the film,with their brother-sister chemistry and secret adoration for one another.Heidi Klum also makes a special appearance,and sports some outrageous hairdos and costumes.Blow Dry was a film that should've,could've and would've been disappointing,but for some reason,wasn't.

Not a bad film at all. I watched it when there was nothing else on, drooling at the prospect of Mr Hartnett and not expecting much else. I was pleasantly surprised by the great storyline and lovable characters. The star was without a doubt Alan Rickman. He just rocks so very, very much. A lot of people have of course been commenting on Mr Hartnett's attempt at a Yorkshire accent. Anyone British like me and no doubt most of everyone else will also be wondering what country he's pretending to be from when he says the majority of his lines. It seems the writers gave him lines as short as possible to avoid him buggering up completely. Even so the film is great and Josh, despite looking strained does a fairly good job. Bless 'im.

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