Indie-Brit (or perhaps, Indie-U.K.) is practically its own genre at this point. In recent years there have
been a host of movies that, to one degree or another, feel like they belong together, and not just because of
where they were filmed, or where they take place. Movies like: The Full Monty, Lucky Break, Waking Ned Devine,
Billy Elliot, Brassed Off, and others serve to define the genre. These are movies that arent merely made in the
same place (often by the same people), but they are saying largely the same thing, and are mainly made for the
same audience. That seems like a genre to me.
Another notable of the group, and in keeping with its fine tradition (if you think its fine, a tradition, or
indeed both), is Blow Dry. Given to us by the writer of The Full Monty, Blow Dry boasts an absolutely excellent
script, and a cast filled with more familiar faces than anything else weve seen in this Indie-Brit category.
Bits of all the above movies are intermingled with splashes of what Bring It On did for cheerleading, and
what Best in Show did for idiots with dogs or something.
The British Hair Dressing Championships are, through unexplained and obviously inexplicable circumstances,
coming to the small town of Keithley, and Phil Allen (Alan Rickman) wants nothing to do with it. Normally not
surprising to be sure, but ten years ago Phil was the terror of the Hair Dressing circuit. Unfortunately, that
was when his wife Shelley (Natasha Richardson) ran away with his hair model Sandra (Rachel Griffiths).
Competitions, therefore, arent on Phils to-do list.
Since the split, Phil and Shelley have each run a hair salon in our little town, though Phils leans more toward
a simple barbershop. Shelley and Sandra run theirs, and Phil runs his with their son Brian (Phil and Shelleys),
and everyone tries to avoid everyone else as much as possible. And no, Im not making this up.
With the BHDC, long-time nemesis Raymond Robertson (Bill Nigh) also comes to town, and he takes nogoodnik and
runs with it.
But, theres more going on with our characters than meets the eye. Shelley is battling cancer, and battling
only in the sense that shes dying of it. Brian (Josh Hartnett), and Raymonds daughter Christina (Rachel Leigh
Cook) get closer, against the wishes of all parents involved, obviously. Not unexpectedly, our main quartet
winds up entering the competition, and hilarity ensues.
Like many of the standout movies in this alleged genre, its a pretty simple sort of story (when you get down to
it), and everything comes down to the actors. Its not so much Phil really, as Alan Rickman playing Phil, and
hes great. Rachel Griffiths isnt exactly wonderful trying to be mad (or British), but like the movie in
general, in the end the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Some of the scenes are just brilliant, and its absolutely hilarious, though it wont make you laugh out loud.
Most of the dramatic segments are trying too hard, or not hard enough, but its a forgivable sort of flaw, and
lots of little touches make up the difference. Tattoos, golden scissors, and scenes in bathtubs, all put
together just so, bring out the real beauty in the thing.
In the midst of all the glaring pulls (like the cancer), the story also puts out more legitimate, more engaging
statements. Morality, for instance, cant be eliminated by a sufficiently silly situation. Nothing is so simple
as being just a haircut when the right people are involved. And, anything can be a pretty serious statement,
in several different ways, even (you guessed it) a haircut.
Of course, the movie makes these statements in less than perfectly serious ways, but it does make them.
What I like best about the movie is that the things that really make it appeal to me are the same things that
are likely to make others hate it. Like all movies in the genre, its just a bit of fun of a character study,
but Blow Dry goes a few steps further. It has a style that builds and grows as the movie progresses, finally
culminating in a finale that approaches Moulin Rouge, but without quite so much energy. In a wonderfully fun
move, our town leader transforms, step by step, with the film, and he sings at the end, because the movie does.
It also switches gears at a moments notice. Moving from fairly quick comedy to intensely slow pseudo-drama with
no warning at all is the sort of thing that can kill a movie. It works quite well here though, and it is obvious
that it isnt remotely a mistake. Its a clear decision to present things in a certain way, with a definite
purpose, and its a good choice.
Its hard to present a clear picture of this movie, because you have to admit when much of your reaction is the
result of a certain bias. I simply like the movies in this genre, and Blow Dry turns things up a notch. Its a
tongue-in-cheek dramedy (and thats a strange thing to have to say for a start), its bitingly funny, and most
of all its just a really good time.
The strange combination of actors (Hartnett fans are not typically Rickman fans and/or fans of this genre) and
themes only add to the enjoyment for me. It does what it needs to do, and if that makes people look at it
funny, so be it.
Blow Dry is one of the better, recent entries into the genre, and mainly because it builds on the idea/s rather
than sticking to a mold that doesnt quite exist yet anyway.
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