Good HairMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Good Hair."

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Avg. Critic Score: 72 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Good Hair is cause for hope that Rock continues to make documentaries. His style is lively, smooth and up-to-date, like the most coveted 'do. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Rock gives Good Hair a rousing message: Where African-Americans in the '60s adopted a ''natural'' look, they now feel free to coif their heads any way they want. That's cultural power. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | Justin Chang

    A raucous and rigorous inquiry into the subject of African-American hair -- the stigmas, the secrets, the shocking price of maintenance -- that gets at universal but rarely discussed truths about black femininity. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Thanks to Rock's running monologue, combining scathing humor with trenchant observations, the film manages to be side-splitting even while making its most poignant points. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis

    Spirited, probing and frequently hilarious, it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees, most of them women. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey

    The result is a documentary that weaves as much comedy as fact into the narrative, making the experience a satisfying entertainment even for the lucky few who have no hair cares at all. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    It's funny, clever and marginally educational. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    There's a lot of Michael Moore's ambulatory spirit in this film, which the comedian Jeff Stinson directed. There's also a lot of the damning comedic commentary that made Rock's old HBO series so urgent. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Rock conveys a lot of information, but also some unfortunate opinions and misleading facts. That doesn't mean the move isn't warm, funny, and entertaining. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck

    Entertaining and substantive enough to be interesting even for those completely unfamiliar with weaves and relaxers. Read full review

View more reviews for Good Hair on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Funny, smart docu is OK for older teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this Chris Rock documentary includes some mature themes related to race, femininity, and class. There's a fair amount of strong language (a couple of "f--k"s, as well as "s--t," "bitch," and the like), conversations about how hair affects sexual relationships, and consumerism (mostly hair-product brands). Kids will see two approaches -- African-American celebrities like Eve, Raven Symone, and Nia Long are straight up about masking their natural hair with expensive weaves, while a few outspoken women rage against the "slavery" of a straightening regime and sport their natural locks (or, in one case, a bald head).
  • Families can talk about the various reasons that African-American women -- and women in general, really -- might want hair other than what they have naturally. How does the obsession with hair specifically affect the African-American community?
  • What message does the documentary convey to young girls? What lessons can be learned by those not in the African-American community?
  • How is African-American beauty depicted in the media and pop culture? Why do you think straight hair is often a part of that depiction?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The movie has a positive message about how natural hair can bring "freedom," but most of the interviewees admit that they've bought completely into the idea that they must change their hairstyle in order to be attractive -- even if it means spending lots of money and time to do it.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Maya Angelou, Tracie Thoms, and an outspoken woman with alopecia stand out as women who say that they're purposely not straightening their hair because they don't think African-American women should have to sport "straighter" hair to be beautiful or accepted in society.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: It's not violent, but there's a disturbing description of what a chemical burn caused by a chemical relaxer feels and looks like.
  • sex false3 Sex: Candid conversation about what it's like for men to make love to a woman with a weave (including tips on which positions are best for men not to be tempted to touch their partners' hair -- references include terms like "doggy style"). Plenty of cleavage; women wearing lingerie and bikinis walk around at the hair show, and photos of topless African women are shown briefly during a slideshow of how black women's hairstyles have changed throughout the ages.
  • language false3 Language: Occasional (but not frequent) strong language like "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," and the "N" word, as well as "ass," "titties," "damn," "hell," and "oh my God."
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Mostly hair products and related industry brands: Bronner Brothers, Dudley hair products, Revlon, Loreal, etc.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false1 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Jokes about how hair treatments are more addictive than crack or "the pipe."
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