Shampoo (1975)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Robert Towne (written by) and
Warren Beatty (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Your hairdresser does it better...

Plot:

Lovers undo a hairdresser from Beverly Hills around Election Eve in 1968.

Plot Keywords:

Hairdresser | Cooking | Motorcycle | Cuban Heels | Beatles Song

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	George Roundy
Julie Christie	...	Jackie Shawn
Goldie Hawn	...	Jill
Lee Grant	...	Felicia Carp
Jack Warden	...	Lester Carp
Tony Bill	...	Johnny Pope
George Furth	...	Mr. Pettis
Jay Robinson	...	Norman
Ann Weldon	...	Mary
Luana Anders	...	Devra
Randy Scheer	...	Dennis
Susanna Moore	...	Gloria
Carrie Fisher	...	Lorna Carp
Mike Olton	...	Ricci
Richard E. Kalk	...	Detective Younger

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

240 N Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Loosely based on "The Country Wife," a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley, whose protagonist Horner feigns impotence in order to be allowed into the company of married women, who he then seduces. George in "Shampoo" would be considered non-threatening due to the stereotype that hair-dressers are gay, such as the scene in Jackie's bathroom when Lester walks in and the bistro sequence when George is fluffing Lester's hair. "Shampoo" only retains a distant reflection of the Horner character, but reportedly, the screenplay was inspired by the 1969 Chichester Festival production, according to a 2003 edition of the play edited by James Ogden.

Goofs:

Continuity: After George cuts Jackie's hair, her formerly streaked tresses are all a uniform blonde tint although he has not colored her hair.

Quotes:

Banker: Do you have any references?
George Roundy: I do Barbara Rush.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

Good Shepherd

Fun 60s lifestyles with social criticism thrown in

Hal Ashby always leavened his comedic films (Harold and Maude, Being There, Last Detail) with sharp social commentary and observation, and "Shampoo" is no different. Taking place on the eve and day of the 1968 Presidential Election, it's as concerned with the "free love" hedonism as it is with the profound and dark social changes that had taken place by 1975 (the year "Shampoo" was produced).

Beatty has never been more charming - or revealing as emptily vain as anyone so "successful" with women can become, and the film switches between surprisingly adult material even for now with a concern for mid-life crises, cultural politics, and ultimately, a cynical view of how the free-wheeling 60s counterculture didn't take themselves seriously enough. Robert Towne's influence in the script is clearly evident.

Already "dated" when it came out, it's a great snapshot of the times, its concerns and issues, and is relevant today.