Good Hair (2009)

Chris Rock's documentary about black people's hair won the Special Jury Prize: US Documentary at Sundance early this year. Jack & I saw it this afternoon with seven other people, many of whom laughed and groaned along with us at the pain, time, and money spent on taming certain natural tresses and the businesses that thrive as a result. I can't give you an accurate demographic report, since some came in after the lights went down, but at least five of the nine of us were white boomers. Rock is a good host, keeping it low-key but always going for the laugh, and peppering the celebrity interviews with academics, scientists, and field trips. Before the movie was released last month, another documentarian began a lawsuit against Rock, claiming that she screened her festival-winning 2005 doc for him two years ago. You can compare the trailers for Good Hair and My Nappy Roots (warning: the Good Hair trailer has probably 2/3 of the gags from the movie in it). Of course Good Hair is funny. It's Chris Rock! I haven't seen the other movie so have no comment. This one is an interesting social/fashion commentary with plenty of wretched excess and some bad words, plus shots of Rock's adorable little girls.