I continue on with my infrequent and irregular exploration of the films of Hal Ashby. I previously covered Harold and Maude and The Last Detail, and this time I give Shampoo a whirl.
I remember ads for Shampoo back when it came out. It looked exactly like the kind of movie I would not like. A frothy and coy sex farce. Sort of a long form Laugh-In or Love, American Style episode. I could not have been more wrong.
Shampoo was released in 1975, and it takes place in the two days prior to Richard Milhous Nixon's 1968 presidential victory. The film is a snapshot of a time of cultural revolution. Nixon's presidency was strong evidence that the hippie revolution was failing, even while artistic freedom in books, films, and music flourished.
Warren Beatty stars as a talented hairdresser seeking to escape the chaos and tyranny of the salon that employs him and start his own business. He does a great job of being likable and sympathetic while playing a moral-less scoundrel. Governed by his libido, he beds as many of his customers as possible. This leads to endless emotional turmoil.
Free love was an outcry of the hippies, but if Shampoo is to be believed, by 1968 it had turned to self-indulgence and apathy. None of the characters in the film are either truly good or truly bad people. They race from one meaningless tryst to another, without achieving any real happiness or satisfaction.
The election is omnipresent in Shampoo, but it takes a back seat to the sexual politics of the characters. They are all bored, listless, with little genuine passion or enthusiasm for anything other than their own whims. The action roams from Republican rally centers to drug and sex-fueled hippie parties as the characters dodge any sort of recompense for their behavior.
By the time the Beatty character realizes his conquests are hollow and empty, it is too late for the happy ending he believes will save him. He runs his Triumph motorcycle headlong into his hedonistic lifestyle and crashes. Hard.
Various scenes were set up for obvious shock value. Coarse dialogue that will seem mundane today, but was obviously taboo in the mid seventies. A hippie breast-feeds a baby while smoking a joint in one tasteless moment.
The actors are all excellent, with standout performances by Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Julie Christie, and Carrie Fisher (in her debut role). But Warren Beatty carries the entire picture. This was a pet project for him and he served as producer and co-writer. Shampoo serves as a metaphor his Beatty's own tomcat reputation.
Hal Ashby is the real star here, and his unerring cinematic eye reveals the underbelly of a selfish society. The photography is riveting and the editing is crisp and to the point. Songs by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and the Beach Boys help bring the period to vivid life, while Paul Simon provided the atmospheric score.
A big highlight for me was a scene during a Republican party dinner. I noticed a cigar-smoking older man at table beside Julie Christie, and I exclaimed "Is that William Castle!?!" A quick check from my phone revealed that is was, indeed, the master of b-movie gimmickry. My well-trained horror brain rarely misses a trick.
Written by Mark Sieber
I remember ads for Shampoo back when it came out. It looked exactly like the kind of movie I would not like. A frothy and coy sex farce. Sort of a long form Laugh-In or Love, American Style episode. I could not have been more wrong.
Shampoo was released in 1975, and it takes place in the two days prior to Richard Milhous Nixon's 1968 presidential victory. The film is a snapshot of a time of cultural revolution. Nixon's presidency was strong evidence that the hippie revolution was failing, even while artistic freedom in books, films, and music flourished.
Warren Beatty stars as a talented hairdresser seeking to escape the chaos and tyranny of the salon that employs him and start his own business. He does a great job of being likable and sympathetic while playing a moral-less scoundrel. Governed by his libido, he beds as many of his customers as possible. This leads to endless emotional turmoil.
Free love was an outcry of the hippies, but if Shampoo is to be believed, by 1968 it had turned to self-indulgence and apathy. None of the characters in the film are either truly good or truly bad people. They race from one meaningless tryst to another, without achieving any real happiness or satisfaction.The election is omnipresent in Shampoo, but it takes a back seat to the sexual politics of the characters. They are all bored, listless, with little genuine passion or enthusiasm for anything other than their own whims. The action roams from Republican rally centers to drug and sex-fueled hippie parties as the characters dodge any sort of recompense for their behavior.
By the time the Beatty character realizes his conquests are hollow and empty, it is too late for the happy ending he believes will save him. He runs his Triumph motorcycle headlong into his hedonistic lifestyle and crashes. Hard.
Various scenes were set up for obvious shock value. Coarse dialogue that will seem mundane today, but was obviously taboo in the mid seventies. A hippie breast-feeds a baby while smoking a joint in one tasteless moment.
The actors are all excellent, with standout performances by Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Julie Christie, and Carrie Fisher (in her debut role). But Warren Beatty carries the entire picture. This was a pet project for him and he served as producer and co-writer. Shampoo serves as a metaphor his Beatty's own tomcat reputation.
Hal Ashby is the real star here, and his unerring cinematic eye reveals the underbelly of a selfish society. The photography is riveting and the editing is crisp and to the point. Songs by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and the Beach Boys help bring the period to vivid life, while Paul Simon provided the atmospheric score.
A big highlight for me was a scene during a Republican party dinner. I noticed a cigar-smoking older man at table beside Julie Christie, and I exclaimed "Is that William Castle!?!" A quick check from my phone revealed that is was, indeed, the master of b-movie gimmickry. My well-trained horror brain rarely misses a trick.
Written by Mark Sieber
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