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closeTuesday, Nov. 03, 2009
Rock brushes up on a subject that’s near and dear to women
By JOY SEWING
Houston Chronicle
Roadside Attraction
Good Hair’s Chris Rock and Nia Long, center, with Hair Wars winner James Gatson, left, and Kevin Kirk at the Bronner Brothers hair show in Atlanta. Roadside Attraction
While Chris Rock’s new documentary, Good Hair, is getting laughs, it’s also leaving the audience talking.
And that’s the point, the comedian says.
"When you talk about something with some weight to it, like hair, even when it’s over, you’re still in people’s heads," Rock said. "That’s what I wanted with this film."
The movie, now in theaters, examines the issue of hair in the African-American community and the pressure to straighten or lengthen naturally coily hair. Rock co-wrote and co-produced the film, which received praise at the Sundance Film Festival. He said the idea to do the film came after his young daughters questioned the "goodness" of their own hair.
We talked with the comedian about his movie and what he learned about women — and their hair — while traveling the country interviewing women and men at hair salons.
What did you discover in making the movie?
I didn’t realize women are really into getting their hair done and into beauty as much as guys are into sports.
Is hair an issue only with black women?
I think every woman has a hair issue. I know a lot of Jewish women who have curly hair and use straighteners, and Asian women who think their hair is too straight and use perms to make it curly and get more body.
Do you comb your daughters’ hair?
Comb it. Brush it, yeah. It’s not rocket science.
In your film, Maya Angelou refers to a woman’s hair as "her crown." Do you agree?
I really do. That’s why I spent so much time on it.
Then why feature a bald woman with alopecia (hair loss)?
Her crown is whatever she wants it to be. We put her in the movie to show you can be beautiful even without hair, and your beauty really does come from within. I actually thought she looked younger without the hair and was more beautiful and more exotic. With hair, she looked like so many women I’ve seen before.
Why should men see the movie?
Because it’s funny, and there are a lot of men in the movie talking about women’s hair and how it affects their lives. If your woman spends six hours at the beauty parlor, that’s going to impact your life.
Since making the film, you are against "kiddie perms" for children. Right?
Kids don’t have a choice, and the chemicals are kind of dangerous. So giving a perm to a 3-year-old? Come on.
How did you select the celebrities to feature?
For every one you see in the movie, three were cut out. We used the people who were the most forthright and had the least to hide.
In the movie, you also highlight the Bronner Brothers International Hair Show in Atlanta. Why?
It’s like going to the World Cup of hair. I went this year and saw someone cutting hair while eating fire. It was amazing. I have a feeling after this movie is out more people will want to go. It’ll be like a tourists’ destination.
What other projects are you working on?
A remake of Death at a Funeral with Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan.
Any stand-up tours in the works?
No, I have to pick up my kids from school for a year. They don’t want to hear, "Daddy’s got a show."
How have your own hairstyles changed through the years?
I had the high-top fade, like Kid ’n Play and Big Daddy Kane. I had a Jheri Curl at one point. Whatever the style was, I had it.
And your fashion sense?
I’m like a married dad, so I don’t really have a style. Calvin Klein makes some good stuff. I’m not trying to catch girls or go out. So I’m into wearing an Adidas warm-up every day. Not the same one. I have a ton of them in dark colors. Black, blue . . . . They’re perfect for picking up the kids.
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