Hal Ashby | Scott's Film Reviews-1,425 + Reviews posted so far!!!

Shampoo-1975

Director Hal Ashby

Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn

Scott’s Review #1,362

Reviewed May 19, 2023

Grade: A-

Shampoo (1975) is a drama and comedy hybrid that reminds me greatly of a Robert Altman film without the customary overlapping dialogue common in his works.

The political environment against the posh Los Angeles backdrop emotes the vibes of The Long Goodbye (1973) and Nashville (1975) with enough sly satire and humor to generate a comparison.

Of course, the film, nestled in mid-1970s cinema greatness is in the right decade. Further, the 1968 setting is perfect for the Los Angeles mood where the Manson killings, hippies, sex, drugs, and rock n roll were all commonplace.

Listening to the soundtrack of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and other familiar bands of the late 1960s makes Shampoo a grand slam of authenticity and richness.

Director, Hal Ashby, who created the dark comic genius Harold and Maude in 1971, hits it out of the park again with Shampoo, a study of love and loneliness and a sense of belonging and fulfillment.

I wasn’t won over right away and the film took me a while to warm up to if I’m being honest but by the end, I was a big fan, especially of the writing. But, some of the slow-build films are the best.

The film takes place against the backdrop of Election night in 1968 when eventually shamed former president Richard Nixon won the presidency. The characters bounce from one election party to the next but barely notice the outcome choosing booze and lust over politics.

Beverly Hills hairdresser and notorious cad George Roundy (Warren Beatty) runs into trouble when his bedroom antics interfere with a possible business deal with the influential Lester (Jack Warden). George is sleeping with Lester’s wife Felicia (Lee Grant) and his best friend and ex-girlfriend, Jackie (Julie Christie), in addition to his current girlfriend, Jill Haynes, played by Goldie Hawn.

Part of why Shampoo sneaks up on the viewer is that it’s not a laugh-out-loud comedy in a physical way. Instead, the intelligent dialogue and the development of its characters are the winning formula.

We first meet George in bed with his older mistress, Felicia, who we assume might be his girlfriend. When he makes an excuse to check on Jill, we realize he is playing the field, but with no ill intent. He genuinely likes the women he beds and despite his antics is feeling empty and mindlessly trudging along.

A wonderful scene atop the Hollywood Hills brings George’s peril to a climax when he professes his love for one of the women but is it too late?

Beatty, who co-wrote the screenplay, fleshes his character’s motivations out well. He really only wants happiness and a successful business. Some of the action takes place in his salon where he meets his conquests.

The scenes between Beatty and Warden work particularly well especially when Lester discovers George in a precarious situation or three assuming he is gay.

Let’s not forget the ladies. The triple bill of Christie, Hawn, and Grant is a force to be reckoned with. Grant is an interesting character since she has all the wealth she wants but instead loves the financially struggling George. Should we feel sympathy for her?

Jill presumably will find happiness with a director smitten with her. They seem like a quality pair and Christie’s Jackie also makes out well at the conclusion of the film.

Surprisingly and effectively, the presidential election is more of a background effect and is largely ignored by the characters who have better things to worry about.

Ashby mostly has the news telecasts and election returns blurred intentionally. The point made is that Nixon’s cheating is a reflection of the self-obsession affecting the United States during that time.

Despite his flaws, the audience nonetheless roots for George. This is a testament to the writing of Beatty and Robert Towne and the rich slow build that Ashby provides to Shampoo (1975) amid a shiny yet tarnished Los Angeles veneer.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Supporting Actor-Jack Warden, Best Supporting Actress-Lee Grant (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction

Harold and Maude-1971

Director Hal Ashby

Starring Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon

Top 100 Films #59

Scott’s Review #208

Reviewed December 30, 2014

Grade: A

Harold and Maude (1971) is the bravest and most left-of-center film that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. A subject matter so taboo that it had never before been explored in cinema and, to my knowledge, has not since.

The film challenges so many mainstream views of aging, sex, and relationships.

Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort give performances of a lifetime.

The film tells the story of an unhappy, wealthy teenager named Harold (Cort) whose mother- hilariously played by Vivian Pickles- is a cold socialite attempting to reform Harold of his rebellious adolescent behavior.

Harold frequently plays suicide pranks on her and the numerous females she tries to set him up with, reducing them to tearful exits from the family mansion in frightened hysterics.

Obsessed with attending funerals for fun, one day Harold meets Maude (Gordon), an elderly woman, at a funeral, and it turns out that both share the same fascination, but for vastly different reasons as the story shows.

They embark on a tender romance despite their age difference of over sixty years.

In many ways, Maude is the real adolescent of the film, which I love. It is a role reversal of sorts. On the cusp of age eighty, she has a pure zest for life, living each minute as if it was her last, unconcerned with the consequences of her actions- she is a true free spirit.

She gleefully steals cars that happen to be parked on the street and her erratic driving is comically brilliant.

Harold becomes the more responsible one despite being the tender age of only nineteen. He cares for Maude and her shocking revelation towards the end of the film floors Harold.

It will also shock the audience.

Harold and Maude deal with death but the film is not a downer. It is hilarious at times, brilliantly written, and Maude, a Nazi prison camp survivor, does not fear death- she has seen her share of it and almost embraces it.

Harold is just beginning his life and the contrast of the characters and their growing bond is what works best in this film.

The aforementioned Vivian Pickles knocks it out of the park with her portrayal of Harold’s mother- her comic wit and timing are excellent- she callously hosts a dinner party and boasts of her travels to France to the guests while Harold sits ignored, bored, and depressed, staring at his mother in disbelief.

He wants nothing to do with her or her trivial lifestyle. She makes an unimportant phone call while Harold dangles from the ceiling in a faux suicide attempt- clearly a cry for attention from his mother.

This is a total black comedy.

The implied intimacy between Harold and Maude was too much for many viewers in 1971. I find it sweet and quite tastefully done. They simply fall in love and it feels wonderful for both of them.

I would be remiss for not mentioning the wonderful, lively soundtrack by Cat Stevens.

Edgy, laugh out loud, unusual, and witty are words to describe Harold and Maude (1971)- one of the most intelligent comedies in film history.