Shampoo

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For those who consider Bulworth to be a savage and unprecedented political send-up, it's worth revisiting Warren Beatty's first, and best, attempt at outrageous social criticism. Mercilessly exposing the essential vacuity of both the sexual revolution and conservative alarmism over cultural permissiveness, Shampoo remains the best movie ever made about Nixon's America, and one of the very best about the tragic and disappointing conclusion to the 1960s. Set on the eve of the 1968 presidential election that elevated Nixon to the Oval Office, Beatty's uproarious satire follows a hairdressing Lothario (played by Mr. You're So Vain himself) in and out of the beds of several women, including the wife of a wealthy businessman, his mistress, and his young daughter (Carrie Fisher, in her first screen role). Juxtaposing tropes from Restoration comedy with Southern California dialogue and a healthy, hilarious dash of running commentary from election returns, Beatty's ruthless awareness cuts through the film like a scalpel. The performances are uniformly excellent and surprisingly ego-free; though Jack Warden's portrayal of Lester, the twice-cuckolded businessman, stands out as a model of sensitive, nuanced parodic acting. Released in 1975 during the messy cleanup at the conclusion of the Watergate era, Shampoo neatly bookends the Nixon presidency, and concludes with the frightening finality of an iron door slamming on a cell. Commended for including the live version of Jefferson Airplane's Plastic Fantastic Lover. --Miles Bethany

Customer Reviews:

Casanova as a harried Hollywood hairdresser.......2007-07-03

Robert Towne, who has written a number of popular movies and at least one critically acclaimed one--Chinatown (1974)--and Warren Beatty wrote this satire of Hollywood. Beatty plays George Roundy, a not entirely bright but nimble hairdresser on a motorcycle who is much beloved and desired by woman. The women doing most of the desiring are Lee Grant (Felicia), Julie Christie (Jackie), and Goldie Hawn (Jill). Jack Warden plays Lester a successful investor who, to his chagrin and ultimate amusement, learns that his wife, his mistress, and his daughter Lorna (Carrie Fisher) are being bedded by the guy he thinks is gay. (Shades of the sham eunuch in the harem!)

This is a premise that many in the Hollywood Hills could not resist, the irony cutting so beautifully through the canyons and swimming pools and the lavish parties. Most of the action takes place on that November day in 1968 when Nixon and Agnew were swept into the White House by the "silent majority." Lester and his friends are quite pleased and are celebrating as the election returns come in. Meanwhile George is trying to raise money so he can open his own shop since he's got the "heads." Keeping the heads though turns out to be more than he can handle--and to be honest jumping from bed to bed several times a day with several different women might be too much for any man.

Will Georgie-Porgie, puddin' pie (who kissed the girls and made them cry) get the money for his shop and the girl he loves--and which girl is it, that he loves? Goldie Hawn wears a micro-mini (but there's no peeking!) and Julie Christie sports a short pony skirt with boots while Lee Grant has to play the eldest woman. Now, who gets George and would she really want him?

Some nice sixties/seventies Hollywood decadence graces the screen along with free love and don't bogart that number. In the background there are a lot of mug shots of Nixon and Agnew in juxtaposition as a kind of joke since the movie was made in 1975 not long after Watergate.

Beatty, playing a role said to be patterned after makeup artist Jay Sebring, is competent and wins our sympathy, maybe because we know he's never going to amount to much. Or does he? Lee Grant won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress, but to be honest I thought Julie Christie was better, although they both were good. Actors carried this with Warden and Hawn also putting in strong performances.

Shampoo is not so much funny as it is amusing. It's like a superior sit-com without the laugh track, but in no way is it a "defining" Hollywood film.

See this for Warren Beatty, one of the Hollywood royalty, brother of Shirley MacLaine and husband of Annette Bening.

screwball drama.......2007-05-01

This film is a modern time libertine drama with a satirical/screwball tone - its somewhere in the continuum between Paul Morissey's screwball dramas Heat/Trash and the comedy Flirting with Disaster.

The acting and directing is very believable and well done. I thought the plot was tight and well crafted; they did an excellent job of dramatizing the theme, and articulating the main characters psyche. This film is obviously based on life experience.

WHile much is said about the historical place of this film; its worth noting that the film has a timeless quality - it does a brilliant job of dealing with love, lust, realtionships, overlapping relationships, trust, human nature, the meaning of life etc. In the same way classic greek and roman comedies show that as things change things stay the same.

He's just a boy who can't say no........2006-07-09

"Shampoo" is probably the most sophisticated sex comedy ever made in this country. It's a very clear-eyed (and very funny) look at how love and lust get inextricably mixed up with up with power, money, position, and politics. Of course, contrary to almost every critique posted here, George (Warren Beatty), the philandering Beverly Hills hairdresser, is the primary victim of the rules of the game, late-60s Southern California-style. Unlike the protagonist of the great Renoir movie, George doesn't end up dead, but he's left alone, abandoned by all the women he's bedded, looking like a naive fool. And that's George's sin--he's an uncynical romantic in a world that doesn't know the difference between felt emotion and deliberate calculation. He sleeps with women because he genuinely likes them. For him, taking a woman to bed is an extension of doing her hair--it's an intimate act in which he makes her look and feel better. All the other characters in the movie use sex as part of a larger plan--they each have some separate goal on their mind, which they achieve in one way or another, and George is left behind with his silly emotional and sexual vulnerabiliy. He's Don Giovanni in reverse--the boy who can't say no because he actually gives a damn--and he pays a steep price for his availability. Playing a slightly out of it dupe, Beatty has never been better or more dazzlingly glamorous. And he's surrounded by a flawless ensemble cast--Lee Grant is simply astonishing as a deceived and deceiving Beverly Hills matron, and Julie Christie, in her flared pants and mini skirts, is peerlessy sexy as the 1968 version of a Rodeo Drive courtesan. Thanks to Robert Towne, "Shampoo" also has some of the most natural, unforced, yet revealing dialog ever heard in an American movie--nothing is stylized or italicized, but every nonchalant remark hits target like a polished Wilde epigram. Delectable.

Sham Plot.......2006-02-12

1975 was a good year for movies with the likes of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Jaws", "Dog Day Afternoon", and, my favorite for the year, "Dersu Uzala". There were a couple of popular movies that year that I never got around to seeing; "Nashville" and "Shampoo". I finally got to see "Shampoo" the other night and, frankly, I was disappointed. What disappointed me was the whole concept of the main character, George, played by Warren Beatty. He was just too important in too many ways to too many people to come across as believable. I wasn't surprized to see that, as co-writer, Beatty created his own character on that level.

I still give the movie a decent rating because it is well-directed, well-acted, and moves along pretty well. It was probably a bit on the edge in 1975 (for a major motion picture, that is) and still would be inappropriate for the younger ones. I gather that it is a political commentary because so much of the background involves the Nixon/Agnew campaign in 1972. I'm no big fan of either of those politicians but I came away thinking that they got the better of the script somehow. I hope that the movie was also a comment on the sexual revolution of those days. There was plenty of it with little emotion or purpose (other than the obvious). Indeed, sex comes across as a loser to Richard and Spiro in the PR race. George can't get enough of it and laments that he just can't pass up a pretty woman. Then we are led to believe that he is actually emotionally involved with one of the many that he's physically involved with. It's hard to tell which one that would be, however. In the end he makes his choice but, by then, she seems as uninterested in that as we are.

Lee Grant won the Best Supporting Oscar for her role as the wife of Jack Warden's character. She was alright in her role but seems to have benefitted from a lack of competition. The one who did stand out is Jack Warden. He was excellent as a smooth operating money-managing, wife-cheating, where's-the-party sort of guy who always seems to be in control (or, at least enough in control as anyone seems to be in this movie). His competition for the Oscar that year, however, was George Burns in his memorable role in "The Sunshine Boys".

I like a good satire but I didn't see one in "Shampoo". I guess thirty years of waiting left me underwhelmed. I hope I get a better reaction to "Nashville" when I finally get to see that one.

Would You Leave Your Girlfriend Alone With Warren Beatty?.......2006-01-22

This movie was made back in 1975 where it seems EVERYBODY was jumping from one person's bed to another. The plot is pretty thin. This guy entrusts Warren (without the soft focus lens in Dick Tracey) to look after his girfriend. Warren plays a hairdresser so this guy makes incorrect assumptions about Warren's Sexual Orientation. I think this movie would have made a better Documentary about Warren's sex life however I do give it 5 stars for some reason which I can't quite think of right now because it is 110 degrees outside here in the HOT Australian Summer which kind of fries my fragile little brain!

Average customer rating:

Better with the sound off
here i go again

Black Shampoo
Starring: Gary Allen , Tanya Boyd , John R. Daniels , Joe Ortiz , and Skip Lowe
Director: Greydon Clark
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00075145S
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Description

John Daniels stars as Jonathan Knight, the owner of "Mr. Jonathans," the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip. Jonathan is tall, muscular, black and ballsy. His reputation as a lover has become so awesome that he is sought after almost as much in that capacity as in his experience as a hair stylist. Everything is cool for Jonathan until he messes with the mob in an effort to protect his young attractive receptionist from her former boss. Action explodes when the "loving machine" becomes the "killing machine". Jonathan, equipped with chainsaw in hand, gets down on the vicious mob gang. Bonus Features: Anamorphic Widescreen Enhanced for 16x9| Director's Commentary| Behind the Scene Photo Gallery| Original Theatrical Trailer| Bonus Exploitation Trailers| Bios| Text Interviews| Scene Selection Menu. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 85 minutes; Color; 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - R; Year - 1976; SRP - $5.99.

Customer Reviews:

Better with the sound off.......2007-04-28

Being a huge fan of "Army Of Darkness" and the "Evil Dead" movies I'm easily excited by a chainsaw wielding hero... but no dice here. The budget and perhaps the times may be to blame for an extremely safe interpretation of chainsaw battle. This movie is also very slow.

3 stars for some decent visuals (very much represents the styles of the times) ~Could be fun as a silent screen saver during a party (maybe with some Snoop Dogg or chainsaw styled metal guitar playing).

here i go again.......2005-04-13

i saw this movie on a really old tape.
1st off this is really sleaze, and its really low budget.this movie is similar to other black explotation expect it has the hero killing mobsters with a chainsaw. well worth a watch,beware this movie is graphic...........

The Worker and the Hairdresser (Metalmeccanico e parrucchiera in un turbine di sesso e di politica) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import -Germany ]

Average customer rating:

The Worker and the Hairdresser (Metalmeccanico e parrucchiera in un turbine di sesso e di politica) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import -Germany ]
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Manufacturer: Galileo
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o Dutch (subtitles) o English (subtitles) o French (subtitles) o German (subtitles) o Polish (subtitles) o Spanish (subtitles) o Turkish (subtitles) o German (Dolby Digital 5.1) o Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: This Italian political satire from filmmaker Lina Wertmuller will be most enjoyable for those well-grounded in Italian politics. Covering the late March through April general elections of 1994 in which right-wing conservatives routed the incumbent leftists. This is particularly upsetting for Tunin, a mechanic with a firm belief in communism. Fearing that his party is about to lose, he journeys to a northern village to stir up trouble. He isn't there long before he is arguing with a beautiful hairdresser. Their debate is fiery as is his growing and impossible-to-disguise passion for her. She too is intrigued with him, but their disparate ideologies threaten to keep them apart. Special Features: o Featurette o Interactive Menu o Trailer(s)

Average customer rating:

Casanova as a harried Hollywood hairdresser
screwball drama
He's just a boy who can't say no.
Sham Plot
Would You Leave Your Girlfriend Alone With Warren Beatty?

Shampoo [Region 2]
Starring: Warren Beatty , Julie Christie , Goldie Hawn , Lee Grant , and Jack Warden
Director: Hal Ashby
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001E5TBU

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Casanova as a harried Hollywood hairdresser.......2007-07-03

screwball drama.......2007-05-01

He's just a boy who can't say no........2006-07-09

Sham Plot.......2006-02-12

Would You Leave Your Girlfriend Alone With Warren Beatty?.......2006-01-22

Average customer rating:

Casanova as a harried Hollywood hairdresser
screwball drama
He's just a boy who can't say no.
Sham Plot
Would You Leave Your Girlfriend Alone With Warren Beatty?

Shampoo [Region 2]
Starring: Warren Beatty , Julie Christie , Goldie Hawn , Lee Grant , and Jack Warden
Director: Hal Ashby
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00007JGKR

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Casanova as a harried Hollywood hairdresser.......2007-07-03

screwball drama.......2007-05-01

He's just a boy who can't say no........2006-07-09

Sham Plot.......2006-02-12

Would You Leave Your Girlfriend Alone With Warren Beatty?.......2006-01-22

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