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When Chris Rock’s daughter asked him, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” the comedian was inspired to embark on a tonsorial voyage of discovery.
Good Hair covers the racial politics you’d expect from Rock’s stand-up material (“If your hair is relaxed, white people are relaxed,” summarises stand-up Paul Mooney), but this fast-moving doc also riffs on men vs. women, globe-spanning economic injustices and several other fascinating hair strands.
Footage from the fabulously camp Bronner Bros Hair Show keeps things frothy, while a superior collection of talking heads (Maya Angelou, Ice T, Salt-N-Pepa, Al Sharpton) deliver a commentary that really tackles the issues.
Rock’s journey to India – where tonsure ceremonies are responsible for the majority of the hair sold Stateside – is particularly shocking.
A deserved winner of the special jury prize at Sundance, Good Hair makes you wish all comedy was this insightful and all docs this funny.
