Shampoo (1975)

Shampoo (1975)

Shampoo was a major disappointment for me. It had a fantastic cast headlined by Warren Beatty and Julie Christie whom both worked so well together previously in McCabe and Mrs. Miller. It had a great director in Hal Ashby who directed other critically well-received works such as Harold and Maude and Coming Home. The script was written by Robert Towne, who wrote what some critics call the best screenplay of all time with 1974’s Chinatown. The movie was promised as a black comedy with political farce and it was quite the daring, edgy movie for a 1975 release. So if you add up these ingredients, this movie has to be good, right? Unfortunately, there were problems. Enough problems to make me wonder how on earth did this film get nominated for four Academy Awards. Well, let’s talk about these issues more in-depth.

I did not think the movie was especially funny. There were some amusing moments for sure, but I never laughed or even chuckled the way I was meant to. Towne’s script left something to be desired especially after what he did with Chinatown. I can admire what he was shooting for, but the film wasn’t satirical enough. The setting of the movie was 1968 when Richard Nixon was just about to enter office, and the film was released shortly after Watergate and the resignation of Nixon. I know the whole thing was supposed to be a farce on that administration, but it was not sharp enough. I generally had no issues with the acting, but the characters are so unlikable. Warren Beatty just played a man using women for sex, including with a teenage girl and I was just thinking ugh to myself. The movie came out in a different time period, but man women are not portrayed well. They just want to be laid. Every…..single……woman it seems. That gives the movie an awfully dated look.

George (Warren Beatty) works as a hairdresser for a living. He is a mid-30’s man who swoons over his customers in the shop and in bed. His girlfriend is Jill (Goldie Hawn), a wannabe actress and naïve to her man’s sexual habits. Her best friend is Jackie (Julie Christie) who happened to have a previous relationship with George so of course she knows better. She currently is having an affair with an older businessman named Lester (Jack Warden) who happens to be the guy with connections when it comes to George starting his own salon and needing financial resources to do so. Lester’s wife, Felicia (Lee Grant) happens to be a regular customer of George’s and she wants sex with him because she has been deprived of sex. Then just because, George begins sexual interactions with Lorna, Lester’s daughter. Of course, all of these sexual affairs will come to a collision for George.

The performances are fine, although I did particularly love any character. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie apparently love working together, and they do have great chemistry. Jack Warden is quite sinister as Lester. Lee Grant actually won an Oscar for her role here, and whether she deserves it or not is up in the air. However, I shall not deny that she gives the best performance of the film. Also, keep an eye out for Carrie Fisher as young Lorna. She delivers a very capable performance in this role before Star Wars rocketed her to fame.

I wish I could have liked Shampoo more than I did. There were some good intentions, but the movie did not deliver the promised goods. The ending was also weak and messy. Solid performances, a great soundtrack (that features The Beatles and Buffalo Springfield to name a few), and a few amusing moments are not enough to save this movie. It’s not a complete, utter failure, but that line is in plain sight. How the movie was received well during awards season goes beyond me, but movies are subjective so that’s that.

My Grade: C-