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Good Hair

Good Hair

2009
Comedy, Documentary
1h 36m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 54.95% from 222 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(222)
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Rated 13 Oct 2009
84
71st
Although there aren't many laughs, this is still one surprising & intriguing peek into the world of African-American hair. Rock peels back the lid on a seemingly benign world of hair straightening & hair weaves 2 reveal massive sociological, racial & economic forces at work.
Rated 07 Jul 2010
72
54th
This documentary does what few dare to do, it answers many of the questions it asks at the end. I was turned off by a particularly Moore like move where Rock tried to prove a point by selling black hair. And the film did loose some of it's shape thanks to an odd trip to a hair showdown, it was integrated well enough that I was prepared. The holistic film includes great opinions from black communities as well. The entire plot was so informative fresh and fun that I can't help but love it.
Rated 20 Oct 2009
50
20th
Black women have bad hair. So they wear wigs made out of hair stolen from Indian women while they are asleep. Chris Rock exposes this deadly secret in this all-revealing movie.
Rated 06 Mar 2010
70
51st
I learned a lot, but the sections about the hair cutting competition seemed beside the point.
Rated 18 Mar 2010
93
94th
Excellent documentary presentation of the reality of hair and self image in the American Black community. Rock is smart and funny. Rock avoids hitting community too hard with his conclusions in order to provoke meaningful discussion. Rock still a comedian takes his role as journalist seriously. In a different world he would certainly command the same audience and respect as John Stewart. I would invest in Rock's next planned serious cultural effort.
Rated 30 Nov 2012
70
61st
The result is a pop documentary in the Morgan Spurlock mode, cheeky and smart without being too serious.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
70
51st
"The subject matter would still be fairly interesting without Rock's involvement, but the comedian brings a accessibility to the material that no amount of facts and figures can replace."
Rated 11 Nov 2009
40
71st
Two main solutions to the problem are gone into in depth or anyhow at length: first the relaxer, a/k/a a "nap antidote," a/k/a the "creamy crack," and second the weave, the latest innovation evidently in what used to be called a fall. The solution of the whole-hog wig gets ignored altogether, as do a couple of silently beckoning topics, a retrospective, for one, on the Black Is Beautiful movement of the 60s, and for another, just for contrast, a fashion show of au courant "natural" hairstyles.
Rated 17 Feb 2010
72
77th
A documentary about the black hair industry? Sounds boring, huh? Well, it's not. Chris Rock's "Good Hair" takes a look at the multi billion dollar industry from several angles, and more than not will make your mouth drop open. LOL Fun movie!
Rated 06 May 2010
70
56th
A good documentary about something that a lot of people are probably ignorant about. As a documentary itself it's rather entertaining and definitely informative. Don't expect it to be hilarious just because Chris Rock is in it. It has funny moments, but it's not like he's throwing around one-liners every other sentence. My only major complaint was that it focused too much on the hair style competition which didn't feel like it was in the same tone as the rest of the movie.
Rated 09 May 2010
55
20th
Never really in-depth about anything, it seems just an excuse to have Chris Rock deliver witticisms.
Rated 20 May 2010
75
56th
I was with it up until the end. The part with the hair cutting competition. I know they'd been building up to it, but honestly, it kind of sent the wrong message if you ask me. He spent over an hour making fun of people's gross vanity and backwards attitudes towards "good" hair and "bad", then takes the last half hour to SHOWCASE an extravagant product of the thing he'd been ripping apart. It would have been like Michael Moore getting consulted for a personal loan at the end of "Capitalism".
Rated 12 Jul 2010
72
65th
It's quite interesting. Also some bits were a little funny, but not a lot. "So you cannot touch your woman's hair?" 'Hell no not a black woman!'
Rated 04 Aug 2010
80
66th
Entertaining and revealing documentary about the culture, science and business of black hair styling. When I was in high school, I got my hair done at a mostly black salon, but I guess I never looked around to see what else was going on. There's a lot of interesting stuff here, and host Chris Rock manages to inject some humor. There was less of a backlash against the weave/relaxer culture than I expected, although there is a sensible justification provided for that.
Rated 28 Aug 2010
7
65th
Something I was rather oblivious too and as a documentary, it turned out a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Not a life changing doco but a 90 minutes well spent.
Rated 21 Dec 2010
71
57th
The Bronner Bros. competition is completely idiotic and not very compelling, but overall it was a really interesting documentary on a subject I was totally clueless about. Don't allow any misconceptions you might have steer you away from this, because it's enlightening and there are plenty of laughs.
Rated 17 Jan 2011
73
76th
Chris Rock plays your low key (thankfully) ambassador into the fascinating world of black hair, focusing mostly on the female side of things. I had no idea how much money, time and effort goes into giving black women 'good' (i.e. straight) hair. Though, on its surface, it's a film about hair, the commentary on race and what it means (and costs) to be beautiful and black is woven in well. Definitely worth seeing.
Rated 20 Apr 2011
40
26th
As a white male, a documentary on black women's hair was never going to blow me away but the endless series of lighthearted studio interviews of girls giggling about their 'weaves' leaves you wondering why Rock wanted to be involved in such empty stuff in the first place. The investigation into Korean & Indian connections to the industry is interesting, there's just not enough of it. Almost worth sticking with for the final hair-cutting contest, which is something straight out of Zoolander.
Rated 21 May 2011
85
79th
More than I was expecting. Covers a lot of ground, and thankfully never makes a moral judgment on the high price of vanity. Chris Rock surprised me; he's restrained but still funny. The hair cutting competition adds an interesting narrative and helps demonstrate the enormous size of the industry.
Rated 10 Jul 2011
77
53rd
It was an interesting insight into the world of hair and intricacy of it all. Some of the financial figures thrown around blew my mind!
Rated 29 Aug 2011
40
15th
Really all it did was make me pity the inexcusable vanity of these women.
Rated 16 Sep 2011
90
73rd
very interesting and funny
Rated 21 Oct 2011
25
61st
"That many of these hairstyles derive from standards of beauty laid down by white tastemakers is a question that hangs over Good Hair." - Matthew Connolly
Rated 13 Dec 2011
76
56th
This is a funny look at hair. Chris Rock is very funny and the movie is very informative regarding the hair industry. Overall this is a funny and informative documentary.
Rated 06 Feb 2012
65
54th
I didn't really think I'd find myself watching a documentary about hair, never mind enjoying it. It may sound like light fare, and it mostly was, but it actually had a darker side to it. If you have even a vague interest in this topic or culture, I recommend checking out this film.
Rated 21 Feb 2012
65
23rd
An entertaining look at the lengths people go to in order to fit in; in this case when it comes to hair.
Rated 19 Oct 2012
35
32nd
Wasn't bad, wasn't great either. I really enjoyed the conversations Chris had at various barbershops. I wish someone would release a whole movie of that.
Rated 02 Dec 2012
40
25th
They are crazy them black women!
Rated 06 Dec 2012
65
32nd
The parts about manufacturing were great, I had no idea what sort of an industry was behind it. However, the hair competition was out of place and didn't add anything to the over-all quality of the documentary.
Rated 28 Mar 2013
58
17th
The price of having "good hair" made mine curl
Rated 31 Dec 2013
80
92nd
A real surprise to see a documentary about hair being so engrossing. Chris Rock's humour - and seriousness - certainly added to it. But it turned out to be engrossing. One of those discoveries about something I have never cared about that made a great viewing.
Rated 08 Feb 2014
75
79th
A genuinely engaging pop-doc about a subject that, as a whiter-than-white male, I had no idea existed. Rock is a surprisingly good narrator and interviewer; his on-stage humour is toned down a lot and he becomes much more of a witty everyman getting people to open up and tell their stories on camera. He reveals a billion-dollar industry, revealing its absurdities without ever mocking or trying to score cheap points. And that's the sign of a good doc, let the reality speak for itself.
Rated 24 Oct 2014
71
52nd
I certainly learned something, so job done.
Rated 25 Oct 2014
3
73rd
Didn't expect to get a lot out of it as I've lived with black girls but there were surprises -kiddie perm -FFS! Sharpton mistakes economic exploitation for a race issue -the problem's capitalism. It started to explore globalization and exploitation only to jump back to the silly competition. With increasing numbers of women -of all types- using weaves now, staying on track there would've made this far more valuable. Still, some comedy writers pulled off a decent doc.
Rated 06 Mar 2015
70
41st
It's obvious from the start that this isn't really just about hair, so it was a little disappointing that the rest of the movie was more concerned with the hows than the whys. Still, it's pretty interesting, and very, very funny, especially the scenes where Rock is shooting the shit with people in salons. That hair battle thing kinda brings the tone down a bit though. It seemed like a sketch from a bad Chappelle's Show knockoff. It's very strange and shouldn't have taken up so much of the movie.
Rated 18 Mar 2015
70
36th
Talking to black women about their hair, visiting barbershops to speak to barbers and black men, and the history of black hair -- great. The Bronner Bros. Hair Competition -- mostly boring. About 20 - 30 minutes too long.
Rated 22 Jun 2018
76
65th
GOOD HAIR isn't--and doesn't claim to be--an authoritative or academic study of the factors that influence self-identity. But even as a film whose primary goal is to entertain, there is still plenty of food for thought. Come for the historical context and sociopolitical musings, stay for the footage of elaborate "hair competition" routines.

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