The Lovely Lee Grant Bogathon – Shampoo (1975)

This is my second of 3 reviews for the The Lovely Lee Grant Blogathon 2018 being hosted by Gill of WeegieMidget 

and Chris of Angelman’s Place

Tnx for letting me partake Guys!

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“Stop kissing everybody’s ass that comes into that shop. That’s not going to put you in business. That’s going to make you a kiss-ass! ” – Jill

Number of Times Seen – 1 (19 Aug 2018)

Brief Synopsis – A popular LA hairdresser tries to get his business afloat, but the fact that he constantly sleeps with his customers causes much friction with all of those around him.

My Take on it – This is a film that I heard of before, but never really had much interest in seeing since I’m not the biggest fan of Warren Beatty.

When trying to find films to watch for this blogathon, I saw that Lee Grant won an Oscar for her role here and that clinched it for me.

I must say that I think Warren Beatty made the right choice casting himself in the lead role because based on all of the stories that have been told about his “single” life in Hollywood, this character seems perfectly connected to his own persona and in a way this role helps satirize his own life in the world of the Hollywood elite.

Besides Beatty, the supporting cast is amazing with Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Julie Christie and Carrie Fisher all giving great performances here.

The story manages to show what each of these characters feels about Beatty from various perspectives and viewpoints which work quite well.

The standout among the supporting cast is indeed Grant who plays the neglected wife of a potential investor who starts an affair with Beatty.

I’m not surprised that she was able to get an Oscar for this role because just watching the way she reacts with her eyes to certain events is superb to see.

The choice to have the main character’s life complicated by his love for women is great and the added effect that he has problems with successfully creating a business due to all this works really well because he must try and find a way to constantly choose between the two.

H then must continue to make excuses and lie about his whereabouts which further complicates his life and lifestyle.

Love the way that this story takes place over a short period of time because that helps emphasize his problem and how he must juggle so much in such a short time frame.

This is a film that probably worked much better when it came out since it’s a social satire of that era yet there are still enough parts that are still relevant to today’s world that make it enjoyable to watch.

Bottom Line – Beatty perfectly cast himself in the lead role of this film and in a way satires his own life in Hollywood. The supporting cast is amazing and we get to see so much about what is stopping him from achieving success in business from all of their viewpoints.  Grant is the standout here as the wife of a potential investor who is having an affair with Beatty’s character since she is neglected by her husband who is having his own affair.  Just her reactions and eye moment in certain scenes show how deserving she was in winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for this role. The fact that the main character has a prevalence to bed every woman he meets constantly makes him required to juggles his life and excuses because he must constantly lie around every corner.  The idea that the story takes place over only a few days makes things even more complicated for him since he has so much going on all at once.   This film probably worked much better when it came out as a social commentary on the time, but there are definitely elements that still feel very relevant to the world we live in.

MovieRob’s Favorite 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. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

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