Times Hollywood Diary

Matt Wolf

(Times 5th June 2000)

Personally, we blame Warren Beatty's now-classic 1975 comedy, Shampoo. But whatever the reason, suddenly films about hair competitions are coming in pairs. Already this year we've had The Big Tease, with comedian Craig Ferguson as a gay Glaswegian hairdresser who hits the big time, kind of, in Los Angeles, where he enters the Platinum Scissors award. Now comes Blow Dry, a farce from director Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down) and writer Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) that casts Alan Rickman as a hairdresser fallen from grace who wants to restore his career - and the odd coiffeur - by winning the Silver Scissors prize at England's National Hairdressing Championship. Unfortunately, it requires Rickman to reteam with his lesbian ex-wife (Natasha Richardson). Playing the couple's son is America's latest teen heartthrob, Josh Hartnett (The Virgin Suicides), here having a go as a Brit in contrast to all those Britons who of late have been playing Yanks. The film opens in August in America and towards the end of the year here.