User reviews

Chris Rock provides a good snapshot of the hair culture of African-American women. Various aspects of the movie are entertaining, amusing, or saddening, depending on how one views them.

I have heard people criticize the movie's lack of depth in the analysis of topics like economic exploitation with regard to hair products, and sociological issues around the use of these products. However, such detailed analysis would not be very meaningful without the general background that is provided in this movie.

This movie was a good, light documentary on a topic that interested me and had not been discussed before.

I enjoyed the movie Good Hair, because I felt it raised all of the issues regarding the African-American community and the thought process behind "good hair". This movie wasn't a preachy movie and introduced many concepts in a very subtle way ( the psyche of good hair, media images of black hair and acceptance/rejection of black hair in its natural state (the scene with high school girls, who tell the one girl with natural hair, she wouldn't be hired for a job and that she didn't look "together" was jarring.

I felt the film did a good job of covering who controls the economics behind black hair (hardly any blacks, mainly whites and Asians) and the staggering amount of revenue ($9 billion annually) in the industry, generated by people who own less than a percent of the industry. The film looked at everyday people who get weaves, and pay serious money (the lay-away plan was sad, funny, and ingenious at the same time) and the reason they feel weaves are necessary. Calling relaxers "creamy crack"was funny and alarming at the same time. The health risks, the thought of lye and the discussion of scalp burns was right on target.

The message regarding the impact of celebrity in our culture is so deep, that every day women will spend beyond their means to look like a Beyonce or Rhianna, though they don't have either of these women's financial means. The idea that straight "white" looking hair is equated with beauty and self worth was a undercurrent theme in this movie.

The male point of view is represented by the rich and famous (Andre Harrell, Paul Mooney) and the barbershop. No matter what a black man's economic status is, they all were catching the same type of hell regarding not being able to touch a woman's weaved head. Rev. Al Sharpton was the exception to this dilemma, but didn't mention the limitations of having relaxed hair. Yet he did point out hair shouldn't sabotage a black woman's economic situation, but often does. Money spent on a weave could be spend on education or a 401K plan instead. Black men also feel the economic pinch the weave provides, because they often have to provide money for weave upkeep and to keep their relationship.

The limitations of having a weave (no swimming, no touching the hair, can also be examined in the movie "Something New" which is also an examination of the weave culture in addition to interracial relationships between black women and white men. The question was posed do some black men deal with white women exclusively, because they can go swimming, and have their hair touched, opened up another can of worms. This movie can't explore all of the psyche behind the phrase "good hair" but does a good job of opening up the conversation.

One thing the movie does is make the audience look at the children who looked too young to be putting chemicals in their tender scalps,and who seemed to be indoctrinated with the message that their hair needed to be straight in order for them to be considered pretty. That was just sad, because the people sending them those messages were their own mothers,grandmothers, and society at large. As a black woman with relaxed hair, I really have to think about the ideology, society, and the culture that has influenced the choice I've made regarding the hair choice I am making. These women are making a choice, but if they knew of the insidious nature that feeds the beast, would they or I consider a different reality, which is our natural hair?

While this is not the greatest movie ever or even the last word about (mainly) black women's hair, it's well worth seeing, and strikes a nice balance between being entertaining and informative. Chris Rock is basically learning as he goes, and he sort of functions as a surrogate for us viewers. It's definitely an Obama-era movie: whenever it starts to get critical, it backs off a little and is careful not to offend any group. His style of questioning can be a bit cheeky but he's always engaging. The film keeps focus on the creative/fashion side, rightly so, I think. If you're up for something different, interesting but certainly not heavy, I recommend it.

This breezy documentary explored the black female hair industry, which turns out to be crazily huge, because so many black women want hair very different from what grows out of their head. Of course, white women are often dissatisfied with their hair too, but not, it seems, to this extent.

It's an interesting look at the world of black womens' hair. I never really thought much about it, but apparently when you see a black girl with straight hair you are looking at an elaborate, expensive process and possibly some Indian girl's hair sewn on.

It's also interesting to see a "hair show" where hair stylists have these crazy elaborate, very entertaining demos of their skills. That looks like fun.

Rock is amusing and entertaining as he tells us how it is forbidden to touch a black girl's hair and goes to the barbershop to learn how men feel about it all.

And that's all good as far as it goes. But I felt the documentary fell short of really exploring the topic. It beings with Rock talking about how his young daughter asks why she doesn't have "good hair." This means, basically, non-black hair. While the documentary explores the lengths women go to in order to get this non-black hair, there is virtually no discussion of those black women who stick with the hair they've got. There's only one girl with an afro in the movie, and she's there so her friends can talk about how awful they think her hair is.

I like natural black-girl hair. I think it can look really cool. But the movie never talks about that. The movie doesn't discuss the 60s, when young black men and women were making a political decision to not process their hair. The movie shows the world of black hair care as being a bit insane, but it doesn't really show an alternative.

I suspect Rock was flummoxed by his daughter's question in part because he agrees with her. He can say he wants her to be happy the way she is, but his wife has her hair heavily processed, and that is probably what he likes. So he can't really just tell his daughter, your hair is awesome.

I can tell her that, though. Maybe it's because I'm white and grew up among white people with white hair and find afros interesting because they seem unusual to me, but for whatever reason, I really like that afro look (sometimes; hair always varies from person to person).

(Apparently there is a similar movie called "My Nappy Roots" that presumably would get into more of this. The director sued this movie saying Rock had ripped off her ideas. There are more examples of black women with natural hair in the minute-and-a-half trailer for that movie than in all of "Good Hair.")

...this was a missed opportunity. All the facts (most of which I was unaware of) are there, but the filmmakers step back from exploring many of questions raised: the importance of racial identity, economic oppression by other minorities/majorities, health risk of fashion, etc.

It would seem like Chris Rock would be the perfect individual to guide us through this movie, but he seems harnessed. And whether it's because the people in the frame with him are fragile and therefore undeserving of outrage or he's following someone else's script, it's surprising that the only rage expressed comes in the final few moments (by no one less than the "self-proclaimed inventor" of Jheri Curl), and it's such an over the top rant, that we laugh it off.

While there are a number of very appealing people throughout, we're told that people are damaging their health as well as their children's health, outlandish prices are paid by people who appear or say they can't afford it, foreign nationals are being exploited and shorn against their will to satisfy "looking like something you're not." I kept waiting for the anger to burst through, but there was only good natured joshing and giggles. (And a long section on touching the hair of black women that crosses over into sexism.)

I was more shocked by the lack of stance by the filmmakers than the practices of hair care in the African American community. But if you're not clued into the huge industry around these practices, give this movie a look, and then go tell someone who hasn't processed or "woven" their hair how beautiful they look. (Becauase they DO look beautiful without all this nonsense.)

I was expecting a crass and superficial documentary. I didn't get that. But I also didn't get a documentary that had much substance.

Inspired by a question his daughter posed to him one day, one of the themes of Rock's film is to highlight the absurdities and contradictions associated with the multi-billion dollar beauty industry that concerns itself with making African American women's hairs look more 'natural' and 'relaxed.' This component of the film was conveyed by the excesses portrayed in Rock's salon interviews and the hair-dresser competition (that had less to do with hair and more to do with…everything else). Rock approaches the subject matter seemingly with a degree of 'innocence' not unlike the disposition of his daughter's inquiry. He interjects comical observations into his interviews to highlight the ways in which a visible and highly racialized 'beauty norm' circulates the American cultural landscape to cultivate the desire for African American women to look 'a certain way.' But while this component of the documentary is interesting (and often entertaining), it is severely inadequate and fails to provide his daughter with a thoughtful and satisfactory answer to her question.

First, the "9 billion dollar hair trade industry" is far more exploitative than as portrayed in the film. In fact, the film actually makes invisible a whole network of people involved in the 'hair trade', in particular those involved in processing the hairs to be used as weaves and wigs. The is an illicit component of the 'hair trade' steep in child labour and sweatshop labour that flies in the face of Al Sharpton's "do whatever you feel like as long as you are not hurting anyone..." liberal rhetoric. That it came out of the mouth of a self-proclaimed 'civil rights activist' is all the more ironic.

Second, the documentary fails to ask why 'long relaxed hair' is a beauty norm even in African American culture (as well as other African 'diaspora' communities). Why do so many African American women feel the need to 'de-naturalize' their hair at such extravagant financial expense and associated health risks? This omission in the film has been subject to a significant number of criticisms, and rightly so, considering it is at the heart of the question posed by Rock's daughter (that we are told, was the inspiration for the film). It is not as if Rock had to do the research from the ground up since there is already a lengthy and extensive list of materials addressing this topic in film and in print--contrary to a number of reviewers who have suggested that this topic has not been discussed before.

What is particularly surprising is how ignorant most of the reviewers here seem to be about this topic (compared to most of the 'professional' film critics I read, who seem to be more educated about it). I can understand if they are actually from countries that do not have a sizable population of African descent. But if you are an American (and especially if you are an African-American) and you never gave a thought about this topic until you saw this film? You'd rank 9 on the scale of ignorance, right behind Miss Teen South Carolina and her "some people in our nation don't have maps" spectacle.

"Good Hair" manages to both entertain and educate. As someone who has little interest in the culture of hair care among African Americans, I was intrigued by this film because it was written, narrated and executive produced by Chris Rock, a very intelligent, perceptive, and entertaining comedian. In addition, it examines the cultural aspects of the care and treatment of hair among black women as well as its importance as a mark of beauty. Black women endure the potential of physical injury from the chemicals used to straighten their hair, hours upon hours of treatment in order to achieve the precise look they desire, and costs well into the thousands—yes thousands—of dollars to purchase a weave. I was particularly fascinated by the bi-annual competition among hairdressers that take place at the industry trade shows—a combination of skill, spectacle, and outlandish creativity, these competitions must be seen to be believed.

Chris Rock has two young daughters Lola and Zahra. One day, Lola asks why she doesn't have good hair. Chris goes into a funny in-depth dive into the world of black people's hair. It's a hidden world for most non-blacks and this is informative. The interview with the white chemistry professor is funny when he asks why black people put sodium hydroxide in their hair. Rock could have had more white people interviews. He follows some of the competitors in the Bronner Bros Hair Battle. His wit is great and he's able to also deal with the material seriously. This is very much right up his alley. It's fun and ultimately has a point to make.

I have to say, the topic of this documentary had me curious from the get-go because I was simply interested to see if it could possibly make a decent documentary. Well, the answer is yes, it most definitely did. Good Hair came to fruition after Chris Rock's young daughter asked him "why don't I have good hair?" Being a man, he had no idea how to answer the question but began to ask himself, what is good hair? What does good hair mean to a black woman and what does hair say about African-American identity? His search brings him to a hair convention in Atlanta, a barbershop in Harlem, a temple in India and many other interesting places. To discuss here what truths Chris Rock reveals in this documentary would ruin the element of surprise, as some of the content is actually quite shocking. However, Rock never attempts to be Michael Moore. The subject is treated with amusement and respect but never over-dramatic or heavy. Chris Rock proves to be a smart, funny guide through the black hair industry and he makes the film a joy to watch at all times. There was not one dull moment in this documentary, every point that is discussed is utterly fascinating and usually hilarious. There is a sad reality that black women's sense of beauty is based on Asian and European women's hair and that these women feel having and Afro is seen as unkempt. There are two popular alternatives. One is relaxant, which straightens black women's hair. This relaxant is a frighteningly potent chemical which strips the hair and burns the scalp, but it permanently straightens the hair. The other option is a weave, which is a fascinating concoction. A weave is a wig, literally sewn into the hair. It takes hours to fit and they are jaw-droppingly expensive. Rather chauvinistically, but still very interesting, Rock chooses to focus not on the economic ramifications of this constant expense in black women's lives, but rather the expense on black men. He asks if they worry when they meet a woman, about paying for their weaves for potentially the rest of their lives. He discusses with them the issue of touching the weave. Apparently, this is a big problem between black men and women, one man claiming he hasn't touched a black woman's hair since 1986, and he remembers that occasion vividly. Good Hair is an exceptional documentary which manages to shock, while making you laugh. It is brimming with lovable and fascinating characters and most importantly, it is infused with a sense of fun and good natured curiosity. This is delightfully insightful and incredibly entertaining. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. The random story of black women's hair is one of the most fascinating stories you'll see all year. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself!

People are crazy, but some are crazier than others. We spend billions of dollars on pets, on sports, on cigarettes, booze and drugs, on video games, on movies and TV, all to fill our need for companionship, excitement, entertainment, to look good and to feel good. For some people, it's clothes. For others, it's the gym. For black women, it seems to be all about the hair. A good friend of mine adopted two little black girls. Being white herself, she keenly felt the scrutiny of black women, who judge other black women on how they keep their daughter's hair. She would drive three hours to a neighboring city and spend two nights in a motel with her daughters so that each could have a day to get their hair done with a specialist. My friend later paid $1,000 to learn how to do her daughters' hair, and now she does it professionally on the side. The hair money was better spent than the money spent on her law degree. But getting back to the movie, it's fascinating, and, like many movies about obsessions, somewhat sickening. Rock shows the lengths black women go to in order to have silky hair and the costs paid in dollars, pain, even lack of intimacy with their lovers. It's nuts, but that's what makes humans such interesting creatures. You won't believe your eyes when you see the wrestlemania-type, hair stylist smackdown which ends the movie. The subject may not be as universally relatable as chowing down on fast food, but it's just as good a documentary, and in its way, just as disturbing.

Fascinating exploration of the topic, I learned a lot.

Made me think about what I put on my hair when I relax it and reminded me what beauty standards I adhere to and the racial issues around expecting everyone to have the same kind of straight hair.

Touches on the further complication of being expected to be more like another race, in order to be "beautiful". I never even thought about the fact that these women are buying hair from women in India (who don't even know their hair is being sold sometimes) in order to wear it on their heads in order to look "less black". Some people even ironically called it a more "natural" look. I was really sad to see that only 1 woman defending actual "natural" unrelaxed/no weave hair. And even sadder to hear a group of African-American women say they would not take another woman seriously on a job interview if she had 'nappy hair' - that "nappy" hair with a suit is a contradiction!

I'd have liked more historical context (less focus on the contest). Especially as they lamented that the industry was not run by African Americans, I was a little surprised there was no mention of Madam Walker's (first self made female millionaire) relaxers but I guess he was focusing on current day issues, not the history of hair products for African hair.

My only real complaint is that I wish he'd kept the focus on women.

There was too much sexism & judgement from the men. It's very easy for them to judge when they're not req'd to maintain their own hair. They can just go bald or very short. If they were required (for the sake of good looks) to have long hair, I'm sure they would do the same thing. And the assumptions that the men are paying for women's hair maintenance was annoying. The hypocrisy of expecting women to maintain this hair but complain about the price and that it couldn't be wet or touched was a bit annoying. And Ice-T just reminded me why he's a douche, still thinking like a pimp. And the music executive with the goat hair looking goatee points & some serious sexist comments just came off as a huge loser.

"Good Hair" is a documentary comedy that is produced and hosted by Chris Rock. Okay so the whole documentary is basically about black girls and women wanting straight and wavy hair since just about every black people have really curly hair. I think I found this documentary more interesting compared to people that don't have curly hair, because I have a slight curly hair myself and it really bugs the heck out of me, I can only imagine what black people that want straight hair must go through. But straight hair is not the only premise of this movie, it also shows the value of straight hair and how it can be a lucrative business. It also shows many hairstylist that cut black people's hair go into competitions and stuff, which doesn't really add to the documentary but doesn't take anything away either. What I found most interesting was how some black girls and women don't use relaxers to straighten out there hair but go through a expensive process called weaving which cost some people a fortune, and it's where they sew a wig onto there hair thus attaching it to your head. I also never knew how valuable straight silky hair is. Anyways Christ Rock did a great job hosting this documentary and everyone he interviewed was actually amusing to listen to and although some may complain, because it don't give certain information. Like why? But it's usually common sense or not really worth answering or necessary and so the complaints seem to be a bit too uptight in my opinion.

7.5/10

As a white male, Good Hair is a very educational experience. I had no idea some of these products and procedures existed. That being said, this documentary has a very bland feel to it. Chris Rock sleepwalks through his hosting gig and this film focuses too much on the hair styling convention. I feel like this movie could have been much better.

What this documentary depicts is a phenomena occurring in any American Country from Canada to Argentina, wherever black people live.

This madness about spending thousands of dollars, before getting good education, or something to eat, and in addition be exposed to harmful chemicals is common everywhere.

So I was expecting not just the fun facts, but a deeper psycho-social analysis (again mixed with Chris' jokes) of Why, How, and what should we do?

It misses deeper analysis of health issues, psychological side effects, environmental effects, etc.

It failed to expose the inferiority complex regarding the beauty of thicker hair; and how it should be molded and folded into "Good Hair".

Chris Rock digs deep into the various elements at play in the big-money world of black hairstyling. In between interviews with the small local businesses who are unashamedly making a killing on weaves, (one blue-haired stylist with a full waiting room proudly proclaims that her work "starts at a thousand") Rock finds some unsettling truths about the origins of this product, the toxicity of the ever-popular "relaxers" women are gladly globbing onto their scalps, and the showy world of celebrity hairdressers in Atlanta. Rock's no Michael Moore, and the investigative bits are revealing but not particularly thorough; he's at his best when he's in his element, joking with patrons and poking fun at the hapless boyfriends mournfully waiting for their wallets to run out of steam in the lobby. A bit long at ninety-six minutes; it's only got enough gas for seventy or eighty, but it's decent fun while it lasts.

Good Hair

The problem with having an ostentation hairdo is that birds always want to nest in it.

However, some of the women in this documentary wouldn't mind the feathered flare.

After his daughter asks him why she doesn't have "good hair", comedian Chris Rock decides to explore the hardships of having African-American hair, specifically for the female, which is tantamount to torture.

From expensive weaves to painful relaxers that chemically straighten hair for that Caucasian look, Rock talks to barbers, salon owners and noted celebrities (Eve, Ice-T, Maya Angelou, Al Sharpton, Nia Long, Raven-Symoné, Salt-n-Pepa) about their trials and tribulations in achieving "good hair".

By reinforcing that one's power comes from within not from up top, Rock successfully dissects the culturally complexities of "good hair" with comedic precision that's also highly educational to curious white viewers.

Nevertheless, no matter what type of hair you're born with, just pray it's not red.

Green Light

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I learned a lot from the documentary, but I thought it was sexist in all the talk about men financially supporting women's weaves. They said black women were "expensive" or "high maintenance". Who says men are paying for their hairdos? One of the women interviewed in the hair salon had her own business, the other was a teacher, so where did the assumption that men were paying for the hairdos came from? They didn't show any statistics to back that up.. Women are so hard-working, they are a huge part of the labor force, they don't just sit around all day getting weaves out of other people's pockets. I know the documentary wasn't about that, and I'm sure some women do get financial support for their hair, but that bothered me. Other than that, I feel this relevant issue that is connected to certain social and historical contexts and our consumer society should be more addressed in the media and Chris Rock is really doing his part.

This documentary was abysmal. 1hr 36 minutes of a male comedian making a mockery of black women and their hair care choices in an desperate attempt to fit into a society where they're already ridiculed for their natural hair texture and appearance.

Good Hair is a documentary where comedian Chris Rock being motivated by a question by his young daughter, seeks to find out more about African American hair, hair styles, barbershops and everything in between. His search takes him to some very different parts of the world and shows a lot of people, especially women, who will pay thousands of dollars, for what they would consider "good hair". Good Hair really took me by surprise. When, I looked at the premise of the film before I went to see it, I figured it probably would be very funny what with Chris Rock being a part of it and all, but I also was not expecting to see a film that is hilarious in spots and also sometimes disturbing and altogether very thought provoking and well put together. I am one individual who knows little, or nothing about hair. I get my hair cut and I know the type of style I like, I know the shampoos I like as well as the way I want it to look in the morning, but I know little to nothing else about it. Good Hair explores African American hair and hairstyles, which is also something I knew nothing about and as I was watching and seeing the lengths people went to and the money they poured out of their wallets, just to be beautiful in their own eyes and the expectations of society and others, well, it really said something to me. As pretty much anyone can tell you, we are still living in a day and society where looks seem to mean everything. If you want to find the perfect love match, you have to look a certain way as well as getting a good job and keeping employed and having self confidence about yourself. But is spending all this money and using these deadly chemicals really going to help your self esteem, or get you further in life than the way you look now? I think it is always important for a person to take pride in their appearance and present themselves as confident people and I think sometimes your appearance can say a lot about you, especially on first impressions, but I think that the most important part of your looks should be coming from yourself and not just wearing tons of makeup, or the most lavish and expensive clothes, which are the "in" thing at the moment. Wear what you want when you want and just be yourself. I think it is way more attractive to see someone who has their own sense of being unique and their own views and philosophies on things and not just caters, or sells themselves out to all these commercials, advertisements, or trying to act and look like the fashion models we see on television. I think with this film, Chris Rock and the others involved behind the camera are trying to get the point across about how it's not about outer beauty, but inner beauty and not what your hair, or head looks like, but what is inside that counts. The film might sound like it might not be the most thrilling, or interesting documentary subject around, but I was very pleased with how engrossed and fascinated I was by learning about these people and why their looks meant so much to them as well as learning about hair in other cultures as well. Good Hair gives us a lot to think and talk about and will often disturb us and having us roaring with laughter while doing so. I found this to be a powerful and thought provoking film that gets across a wonderful issue of inner beauty and doing it in a way where people can be entertained and laugh while viewing it. A great achievement indeed. Whether you are male, or female, black, or white Good Hair has a message for all of us and is definitely worth seeing. One of the best films of 2009 and a real shame it was not nominated at the Oscars for Best Documentary.

Apart from being raucously funny from first line to last, Rock's film is a document of worth – at least for an ignorant cracker like me. The well chosen and well-edited talking heads that make up the film debate forthrightly the merits of painful chemical hair relaxants (a vaunted tradition,) and human hair weaves (a staggeringly expensive habit,) and why such excesses are so deeply ingrained in African American culture. Is it just common sense to cover up nappy roots? Maybe such extreme measures are an outgrowth of a minority self-image crisis in a primarily Caucasian country? Or, maybe, in spite of the questionable causes of seeking out "good hair," it simply isn't worth f***ing with a woman who wants to look her best. (This is the side that Mister Ice-T takes, in his infinite, smutty wisdom…) In discussion, Rock handles his subject alternately with reverence and irreverence, and his film comes away with few concrete conclusions; though it works like Michael Moore's muckracking at its funniest, this isn't any sort of agitprop. The tone is playful and provocative, and though the topic runs a little low on steam around the hour mark, that only means that Rock has to fill the last portion of his film with the finals competition of the Bronner Brothers International Hair Show, a display every bit as absurd as the climax of ZOOLANDER, but all the more hilarious for its, you know, actual, objective reality.

READ THE REST OF MY REVIEW (AND MORE) AT STEVENSPIELBLOG.COM ...

-Greg

In the seventies my dad had a giant Afro. Not all Indian hair is straight. I had my first Lye Relaxer at age 21. Chris Rock is a genius.