Blow Dry
Encyclopedia
Blow Dry is a 2001 comedy film
directed by Paddy Breathnach
, written by Simon Beaufoy
and starring Alan Rickman
, Natasha Richardson
and Josh Hartnett
.
) operates a small hairdressing shop in Keighley named "The Cut Above" with her domestic partner Sandra (Rachel Griffiths
). When the British hairdressing championships are awarded to Keighley, Shelley asks her ex-husband Phil (Alan Rickman
) and her son Brian (Josh Hartnett
), who work in a competing barber shop, to enter the championships as one shop. Phil rejects the proposition. Meanwhile, two-time defending British champion Raymond Robertson (Bill Nighy
), finds to his surprise that Phil lives in Keighley and visits him to see if Phil is competing. Phil had once been in the same position as Raymond as two-time defending champion, but on the night before his third competition, Shelley and his model Sandra ran off together. Phil has never forgiven them. However, Brian meets Raymond's beautiful daughter Christina (Rachael Leigh Cook
), who had been a childhood friend and is visiting from the United States (where she lives with her mother), and decides to compete for Shelley's team.
Christina is a colorist but is having problems. Brian brings her along to a funeral parlor in the middle of the night, where she can practice on the corpses while Brian cuts their hair for their services. However, during an argument, the two accidentally lock themselves out of the parlor, and the next morning some families find their corpses with shocking hair dyes and styles. During the first round of the competition, Brian is beaten up as a result and is about to quit when Shelley reveals to Phil and Brian that she has terminal cancer, which she has not told Sandra. Phil agrees to coach but not to cut, and he exposes and sabotages a method of cheating that Raymond's team had in place for the second round, which permits the top teams to narrow the gap to Raymond. Christina solves her coloring problems using sheep, but Brian is visibly dismissive of her for helping Raymond cheat.
During the night before the third round, Sandra finds out that Shelley's cancer is terminal, and the team crashes apart. Nevertheless, Shelley recruits one of her clients from a nursing home as her model for the round ("Hair by Night") and wins it, moving "The Cut Above" into second place overall. Phil finally understands Shelley's intent in entering—to bring her "family" together before she dies, not to win—and agrees to do the cut with Sandra that they had intended to do years before, at the competition where Sandra and Shelley ran off. Meanwhile, 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, "Total Look", Phil's novel design, including the use of several tattoos and body paints on a naked, winged Sandra, snatches the overall victory for "The Cut Above" by one point, and Shelley, Sandra, Phil, Brian and Christina leave the competition arm-in-arm as Keighley celebrates a hometown winner.
and Dewsbury
, West Yorkshire
, where the story was set and filmed. Releases in other countries followed between May 2001 and May 2002.
At one point Ray tells his daughter Christina that she is not in Minneapolis anymore. Rachael Leigh Cook
, who plays Christina, is from Minneapolis.
The release of Blow Dry was delayed when a similarly themed film about the world champion hair competition called The Big Tease
came out in 2000.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Paddy Breathnach
Paddy Breathnach
Paddy Breathnach is an award-winning Irish film director and producer. He directed Man About Dog, Blow Dry and Shrooms. He was also involved in the production of The Mighty Celt and Ape....
, written by Simon Beaufoy
Simon Beaufoy
Simon Beaufoy is a British screenwriter. Born in Keighley, he was educated at Malsis School in Cross Hills, Ermysted's Grammar School and Sedbergh School, he read English at St Peter's College, Oxford and graduated from The Arts Institute at Bournemouth...
and starring Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
and Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
.
Plot
Shelley Allen (Natasha RichardsonNatasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
) operates a small hairdressing shop in Keighley named "The Cut Above" with her domestic partner Sandra (Rachel Griffiths
Rachel Griffiths
Rachel Anne Griffiths is an Australian film and television actress who came to prominence in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding and her Academy Award nominated performance in the 1997 film Hilary and Jackie....
). When the British hairdressing championships are awarded to Keighley, Shelley asks her ex-husband Phil (Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
) and her son Brian (Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
), who work in a competing barber shop, to enter the championships as one shop. Phil rejects the proposition. Meanwhile, two-time defending British champion Raymond Robertson (Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
), finds to his surprise that Phil lives in Keighley and visits him to see if Phil is competing. Phil had once been in the same position as Raymond as two-time defending champion, but on the night before his third competition, Shelley and his model Sandra ran off together. Phil has never forgiven them. However, Brian meets Raymond's beautiful daughter Christina (Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
), who had been a childhood friend and is visiting from the United States (where she lives with her mother), and decides to compete for Shelley's team.
Christina is a colorist but is having problems. Brian brings her along to a funeral parlor in the middle of the night, where she can practice on the corpses while Brian cuts their hair for their services. However, during an argument, the two accidentally lock themselves out of the parlor, and the next morning some families find their corpses with shocking hair dyes and styles. During the first round of the competition, Brian is beaten up as a result and is about to quit when Shelley reveals to Phil and Brian that she has terminal cancer, which she has not told Sandra. Phil agrees to coach but not to cut, and he exposes and sabotages a method of cheating that Raymond's team had in place for the second round, which permits the top teams to narrow the gap to Raymond. Christina solves her coloring problems using sheep, but Brian is visibly dismissive of her for helping Raymond cheat.
During the night before the third round, Sandra finds out that Shelley's cancer is terminal, and the team crashes apart. Nevertheless, Shelley recruits one of her clients from a nursing home as her model for the round ("Hair by Night") and wins it, moving "The Cut Above" into second place overall. Phil finally understands Shelley's intent in entering—to bring her "family" together before she dies, not to win—and agrees to do the cut with Sandra that they had intended to do years before, at the competition where Sandra and Shelley ran off. Meanwhile, 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, "Total Look", Phil's novel design, including the use of several tattoos and body paints on a naked, winged Sandra, snatches the overall victory for "The Cut Above" by one point, and Shelley, Sandra, Phil, Brian and Christina leave the competition arm-in-arm as Keighley celebrates a hometown winner.
Cast
- Alan RickmanAlan RickmanAlan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
as Phil Allen - Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
as Shelley Allen - Rachel GriffithsRachel GriffithsRachel Anne Griffiths is an Australian film and television actress who came to prominence in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding and her Academy Award nominated performance in the 1997 film Hilary and Jackie....
as Sandra - Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
as Christina Robertson - Josh HartnettJosh HartnettJoshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
as Brian Allen - Bill NighyBill NighyWilliam Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Ray (Raymond) Robertson - Warren ClarkeWarren Clarke-Biography:Clarke was born in Oldham, Lancashire. His first television appearance was in the long running Granada soap opera Coronation Street, initially as Kenny Pickup in 1966 and then as Gary Bailey in 1968. His first major film appearance was in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork...
as Tony - Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
as Daisy - Heidi KlumHeidi KlumHeidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...
as Jasmine - Peter KayPeter KayPeter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
as Cyrill The Bar Man
Production Details
The film was released in US cinemas on March 9, 2001. The UK Premiere was on March 30, 2001 in the Town of KeighleyKeighley
Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...
and Dewsbury
Dewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, where the story was set and filmed. Releases in other countries followed between May 2001 and May 2002.
At one point Ray tells his daughter Christina that she is not in Minneapolis anymore. Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
, who plays Christina, is from Minneapolis.
The release of Blow Dry was delayed when a similarly themed film about the world champion hair competition called The Big Tease
The Big Tease
The Big Tease is a 1999 comedy film starring Craig Ferguson, directed by Kevin Allen, and written by Ferguson and Sacha Gervasi.- Plot :Ferguson plays Crawford Mackenzie, a Scottish hairdresser who, while being filmed as part of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, is invited to the World Hairdresser...
came out in 2000.