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GOOD HAIRMovie Reviews
Documentary about African-American hair, its care and maintenance, associated stigmas, and attendant industry. Cast:Chris RockDirector:Jeff StilsonRelease Date:October 9, 2009DVD Release:February 9, 2010From:Roadside AttractionsRating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 36 min.
Good Hair played in key cities to very good reviews. • Ann Hornaday wrote in the Washington Post, "...hilarious... shot through with equal parts humor and heartbreak." • And Rafer Guzman wrote in New York Newsday, "...only Chris Rock could walk into the Rev. Al Sharpton's office and ask a question America has been keeping to itself for years: What on Earth is with that hair?" More Reviews Below...
Good Hair Positive Reviews (34 Reviews, reviews below)
Jesse Washington, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "Rock is the perfect host. His ad-libbed quips and silly-serious questions put interview subjects and viewers at ease with this sometimes painful reality..."(See all of Jesse Washington's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 10/08/09
Cinya Burton, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "While the film gets repetitive, Rock's famous friends -- including Ice-T and Raven-Symoné -- pop up with humorous insights."(See all of Cinya Burton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 66 words, 10/15/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Rock is not only funny, he's an affable and intelligent host... He approaches the subject with earnest interest and easy humor."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 10/09/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Spirited, probing and frequently hilarious, it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees... all of them ready to dish."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 522 words, 10/09/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Whether you have good hair or not, there's plenty to appreciate in Rock's rollicking documentary about what goes on when African-American women hit the salon."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 111 words, 10/09/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Rock has a hilarious, spontaneous conversation with some black men in a barbershop that gets into areas that are rarely spoken about."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 869 words, 10/08/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...an amusing, poignant and surprisingly candid look at the topic with a disarming Rock coaxing answers and opinions from an eclectic cross section of African Americans..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 10/09/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "I was riveted by the on-screen interviews Rock conducts with celebrities like Nia Long and Al Sharpton, as well as regular folk..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 203 words, 10/09/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...only Chris Rock could walk into the Rev. Al Sharpton's office and ask a question America has been keeping to itself for years: What on Earth is with that hair?"(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 275 words, 10/09/09
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Rock is certainly a sympathetic and curious observer... betrays some of the gender politics that remain vigorously unexamined in this breezy, superficial doc."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 10/07/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "It never quite blazes with the informed outrage of Rock's best stand-up, but neither does it tip into Michael Moore moralizing. Good movie."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 219 words, 10/15/09
Peter Hartlaub, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...offers a few minutes of history, but mostly goes all over a place, always choosing a laugh over any semblance of structure."(See all of Peter Hartlaub's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 10/23/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...wonderfully funny, probing coif-doc.... Rock's queries are loose and quippy, but his instincts are as sharp as an investigative journalist's."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 10/23/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "There's a lot of Michael Moore's ambulatory spirit in this film... There's also a lot of the damning comedic commentary that made Rock's old HBO series so urgent."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 816 words, 10/23/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "Untangling the knotty issues of identity, sex, culture and commerce surrounding African-American hairstyling, Rock has made his funniest film ever..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 10/23/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...pokes good-natured fun at the excesses of what many black women do with their hair.... Rock's cheerful, amused presence keeps the film light..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 10/23/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "Chris Rock is the perfect tour guide through the frazzled world of hair care, hair products, and our multi-billion dollar obsession with lovely locks."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 10/23/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an eye-opening and modestly funny look at a massive business and a culture with its own signifiers and language."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 10/23/09
Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Some of this, a lot of this, is preaching to the choir. But it's still pretty compelling no matter what perspective you're coming from."(See all of Kevin C. Johnson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 10/23/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...beneath the comedian's affable approach is sincere concern for black culture, health and economics, giving pause even to a white, balding movie critic."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 10/22/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Rock, at ease in his comic and social commentator role, doesn't so much challenge the dogma 'If your hair's nappy, you're not happy' as illuminate it..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 572 words, 10/23/09
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "We learn all sorts of interesting things in this amusing and socially insightful Chris Rock-guided tour into the care and culture of black hair."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 10/23/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Full of sweetly sardonic observations, the docu-comedy is one of the funniest movies of the year.... It's sociology, only better for not being high-falutin'."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 10/23/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Rock is certainly a sympathetic and curious observer... betrays some of the gender politics that remain vigorously unexamined in this breezy, superficial doc."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 10/07/09
Shaula Clark, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Rock is the ideal vessel for this documentary, gently cracking wise as he leads us through a staggering gantlet of costly and laborious salon treatments..."(See all of Shaula Clark's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 161 words, 10/22/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "It never quite blazes with the informed outrage of Rock's best stand-up, but neither does it tip into Michael Moore moralizing. Good movie."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 219 words, 10/15/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "Rock is not as acerbic as he generally is in his stand-up routines... he's content to avoid the issue's knottier roots. 'Good Hair' isn't selling anything but a good time."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 226 seconds, 10/09/09
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Spirited, probing and frequently hilarious, it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees... all of them ready to dish."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 522 words, 10/09/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...an amusing, poignant and surprisingly candid look at the topic with a disarming Rock coaxing answers and opinions from an eclectic cross section of African Americans..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 10/09/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...a raucous and rigorous inquiry into the subject of African-American hair... Chris Rock is in typically sharp but unusually sensitive form..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 730 words, 01/21/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...an amusing, poignant and surprisingly candid look at the topic with a disarming Rock coaxing answers and opinions from an eclectic cross section of African Americans..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 10/09/09
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Spirited, probing and frequently hilarious, it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees... all of them ready to dish."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 522 words, 10/09/09
9.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Good Hair's reviews are separated by an average 9.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Good Hair (34 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Good Hair's reviews cover 50.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 14,678 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 432 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Good Hair Coverage, Volume & Length (34 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 60.1 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Good Hair's reviews on average broke 60.1 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Good Hair's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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