Blow Dry
Blow Dry | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Paddy Breathnach |
Based on | the screenplay Never Better by Simon Beaufoy[1][2][3] |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Cian de Buitléar |
Edited by | Tony Lawson |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Box office | USD $830,286[4] |
Blow Dry is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Paddy Breathnach and based on the screenplay Never Better by Simon Beaufoy.[1][2][3] The film stars Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Rachel Griffiths, Rachael Leigh Cook, Josh Hartnett, Bill Nighy, Rosemary Harris, and Heidi Klum.
Plot
Shelley Allen operates a
When Keighley is chosen to host the British hairdressing championship, Shelley wants to participate one last time. She asks her ex-husband Phil and her son Brian, who operate a barber shop, to join her and Sandra as a team to enter the competition. Phil rejects the proposition: ten years previously Shelley had been his partner in the competition, and she ran off with Sandra (their model) the night before the third event; Phil has never forgiven them.
Meanwhile, defending champion Raymond Robertson visits Phil to ensure that Phil is not competing. Brian is offput when Raymond belittles Phil's confidence and ability. When he is attracted to Raymond's beautiful daughter Christina, Brian offers to join Shelley's team.
Christina aspires to be a hair colourist, but lacks experience. Brian brings her to a funeral parlor where he works, where she can practice on one of the corpses after hours while Brian cuts its hair. Christina is startled when the corpse "groans" (expels trapped gas in the lungs) and flees into the street. Brian follows to console her and inadvertently allows the doors to lock behind them. The next morning the family of the deceased is displeased to find shocking pink spiky hair on their 95-year-old uncle. During the first round of the competition, Brian is cornered by the relatives of the deceased and is physically beaten.
Shelley reveals to Phil and Brian that she has terminal cancer. Phil reconsiders and agrees to coach but not to cut. After Raymond's team successfully cheats in the first round, Phil sabotages a second attempt in the second round, allowing the other top teams to narrow the gap to Raymond. Christina gains colouring experience using the sheep of the family that assaulted Brian. Brian however disowns her when he realises she is helping Raymond cheat.
The night before the third round, Sandra learns that Shelley's cancer is terminal. Angry that Shelley lied to her, Sandra quits the team. Shelley recruits one of her clients as the model for the third round and wins, moving the team into second place overall. Phil is congratulatory, but Shelley reveals that her motivation was not to win – she wanted the team effort to bond the four of them into a family before she dies. Phil agrees to participate in the final round; he also talks Sandra into rejoining the team. Christina cuts off most of her hair so that she cannot participate in her father's scheme for the final round, and she and Brian reconcile.
In the last round, Phil's novel design includes shaving Sandra's head to reveal an old scalp tattoo and applying body paint to her naked, winged body. The result snatches them the overall victory by one point. Shelley, Sandra, Phil, Brian and Christina leave the competition arm-in-arm as Keighley celebrates a hometown winner.
Cast
- Alan Rickman as Phil Allen
- Natasha Richardson as Shelley Allen
- Rachel Griffiths as Sandra
- Rachael Leigh Cook as Christina Robertson
- Josh Hartnett as Brian Allen
- Bill Nighy as Raymond "Ray" Robertson
- Warren Clarke as Tony
- Hugh Bonneville as Louis
- Rosemary Harris as Daisy
- Heidi Klum as Jasmine
- Peter McDonald as Vincent
- Michael McElhatton as Robert
- David Bradley as Noah
Production and release
Blow Dry was released in American cinemas on 9 March 2001. The UK premiere was on 30 March 2001 in Keighley Batley and Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where the story was set and filmed.[5] Releases in other countries followed between May 2001 and May 2002, including on 21 June 2001 in the Czech Republic, 26 July 2001 in Germany and 18 April 2002 in Hungary.[6]
The release of Blow Dry was delayed when The Big Tease, a similarly themed film about the world champion hair competition, came out in 2000.[7]
Reception
Box office
Blow Dry opened in North America on 9 March 2001, grossing over
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 19% based on reviews from 64 critics, with an average rating of 4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus was that the film is "[h]eartwarming, but over-the-top and too formulaic".[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]
Emma Cochrane of
References
- ^ a b Rose, Steve (14 January 2000). "Local hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b Gorman, Sophie (10 May 2001). "Blow Dry - the director's cut". independent. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b Behrens, David (12 November 1999). "Peter Kay and his amazing rise to comedy stardom". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Blow Dry (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Blow Dry (2001) Filming Locations". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Blow Dry (2001) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ Rob Blackwelder (8 March 2005). "Blow Dry Review 2001". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ "Blow Dry". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ "Blow Dry". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ Emma Cochrane. "Blow Dry". Empire.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (7 March 2001). "FILM REVIEW; The Full Gel, Curlers and Cream Rinse (Published 2001)". The New York Times.
- ^ Koehler, Robert (8 March 2001). "Blow Dry". Variety.
External links
- Blow Dry at IMDb
- Blow Dry at AllMovie
- Blow Dry at Box Office Mojo