Other Titles • Blow Dry (2001) • Never Better • Über kurz oder lang (2001)
Synopses for Blow Dry (2001)
1.
Something extraordinary and totally unexpected has happened to the small working class city of Keighley. It has been chosen to host the glamorous National Hair Championships, an outrageous contest known to bring out the best.. and worst in its participants.
Local hairdresser Phil (ALAN RICKMAN) was once the golden boy of the competition circuit - until his wife and model Shelley (NATASHA RICHARDSON) left him and their son Brian (JOSH HARTNETT) to set up shop with Sandra (RACHEL GRIFFITHS). Retired from the scene, he wants nothing to do with all the excitement surrounding the beautiful and stylish crowd that has flocked to the town.
But as preparations for the big event unfold around him, it quickly becomes evident that several of the out-of-towners aren't playing by the rules, and that it's up to the locals to make it clear that they're not going to tolerate the usual foul play.
So rivals Phil, Shelley and Sandra decide to put aside their differences, and to team up to put their town back on the map and their family back on track.
(15 votes)
2.
An outrageous new comedy for anyone who's ever had hair.
Starring Rachel Leigh Cook (She's All That), Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor) and Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest) in a great ensemble cast - the Academy Award®-nominated writer of The Full Monty has crafted a hilarious story about the things everyone wants in life: love, happiness and great hair! As the National Hair Championships descend upon a small town in England, the country's top stylists aren't expecting much from the local talent. But they didn't count on Phil Allen (Rickman), the retired golden boy of the competition circuit, entering the fray! Also starring Natasha Richardson (The Parent Trap), Rachel Griffiths (My Best Friend's Wedding) and supermodel Heidi Klum - laugh along as the locals dazzle the out-of-towners with some hair do's… and don'ts!
(15 votes)
3.
Despite a gifted Anglo-American cast, Blow Dry strikes an uneasy balance between sentiment and camp. It aims for the same sort of high-wire act that Strictly Ballroom and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert pulled off so effortlessly, but melodrama wins the day. The comic moments are suitably over the top (as expected in a film about duelling hairdressers), but rarely as amusing as intended. The relationships between barbershop owner Phil (Alan Rickman), ex-wife Shelley (Natasha Richardson) and Sandra (Rachel Griffiths), "the other woman", could be more fully developed but are affecting nonetheless. The setting is West Yorkshire. The event that brings them together is the British National Hairdressing Championships. Phil initially resists the urge to compete as it reminds him of the success he and Shelley once enjoyed, but his son Brian (Josh Hartnett) convinces him to give it a go. Hartnett and Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That), as the daughter of Phil's old nemesis, seem like peculiar casting choices for a British film, but Hartnett's accent is passable (Cook plays an American) and they don't embarrass themselves as much as supermodel Heidi Klum, who plays a tacky, two-timing hair model. The screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy of Full Monty fame. Although not up to that standard--and certainly no match for Shampoo (the greatest hairdressing movie of all time)--Blow Dry is still a good showcase for the talents of its three leads. --Kathleen C Fennessy
On The DVD:Blow Dry's on disc anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer holds a great spectrum or colour. A film about hairdressing needs to faithfully recreate the lavish, over-the-top barnets in all their glorious Technicolor detail and luckily the result is a rich and detailed film with excellent colour saturation throughout. In terms of extras, the film is pretty much left to speak for itself. A blink and you’ll miss it "making of" documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew and an eclectic collection of trailers for such other comedies as She's All That and Muriel's Wedding are all that you get to while away the post feature presentation minutes. –-Kristen Bowditch
(14 votes)
4.
The British Hairdressing Championship is coming to the small Yorkshire town of Keighley. The Mayor (Warren Clarke) is ecstatic--but initially the townspeople are underwhelmed. The exotic models and their even more exotic hairdressers arrive--among them reigning champion, Ray Robertson (Bill Nighy). The Mayor is disappointed when there is no local entry, especially since Keighley is the hometown of ex-champion, Phil Allen (Alan Rickman). But, Phil stopped competing when his model, Sandra (Rachel Griffiths), ran off with his wife, Shelley (Natasha Richardson). Shelley has cancer, and discovering it is terminal, she tries to reunite her family--Phil, their son Brian (Josh Hartnett), and Sandra--by entering the competition. Phil refuses. However, needled by the confident Ray, Brian enters on behalf of the family. Soon, they are cutting hair together again.
Director Paddy Breathnach maintains the delicate balance between the pathos of Shelley's illness and the breathtaking flamboyance of the hairdressing competition, as it goes from outrageous camp to gorgeous fulfillment. Alan Rickman is splendid--especially when the phlegmatic Phil returns to competition with flashing scissors and tattooed feet. Natasha Richardson is touching as she fights to regain her family. And Rachel Griffiths gives a powerful performance, apparently in support, until she becomes the family's fabulous golden angel.
(12 votes)
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