SHAMPOO   1975 Directed by Hal Ashby 110 minutes In English
 
Set in Los Angeles in 1968, this film maps the emergence of a new society - it's about people who are nice in a very American way... in other words they have that feel-good vibe, but actually only care about money and are absolutely self-centered. 1968 has the reputation of being the 'Summer of Love', but director Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) knew that it was just a myth. In reality the dream was already over by then, and disillusionment had set in. The world was already moving into a new direction in places like LA. It was the beginning of the self-obsessed and terminally shallow 'me generation.' In actor Warren Beatty's words, this movie is about hip people "living a lie."

This is a dark comedy that centers on a popular hair stylist (Warren Beatty) who has a girlfriend (Goldie Hawn), but is sleeping with almost every woman he meets, including married women like Felicia (Lee Grant) as well as her teenage daughter (Carrie Fisher, in her debut). It's a world where everyone is only preoccupied about how they look.... and this selfish vibe is fueled by the 'feeling groovy' folk rock song of Simon & Garfunkel on the soundtrack. The film can easily be seen as actor-writer Warren Beatty exposing how shallow his own world and self-image had become. It has been called gender-bending because it depicts a new kind of male - not a tough macho, but a soft type of guy who wants to look pretty, cool and hip.

What this movie did, when I saw it way back in the mid-70s, was to capture a mood that was emerging everywhere around me. The entire country was transforming. Forget about civil rights and the anti-war movement. Fuck the environment. There was now a new wind... a superficial attitude that only cared about short-term gain, and fuck everything else. This sharp flick is about detached, fragmented and lonely people. It is a farce, but a painful one, and one that can be applied across the board today - from the art and fashion world to guilt-free hipster profiteers, to the worn-out clichés that rock music has become, to cinema and politics. This is a very subtle movie about a world derailing, short-circuiting and going to hell. Robert Towne (Chinatown) wrote the script along with actor Warren Beatty. And it has a dynamite cast, including Michelle Phillips, Julie Christie, Lee Grant and a 17-year-old Carrie Fisher.

This will be a high-definition screening