Good Hair

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Although its tone is generally genial and jovial, Good Hair touches on some tricky issues, at times complicitly.

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.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Is it possible to talk about the fascinating and complex universe of black hair without dealing with race and identity? That’s the question posed by Good Hair.

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.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

One of those rare documentaries that works on two seemingly incongruous levels at once: It's both social commentary and pure delight.

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.

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.

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.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Hair is personal. It's also political.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Kevin C. Johnson

Rock misses the boat in deciding not to relate Good Hair to non African-Americans more.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

"Our self-esteem is wrapped up in it,'' admits actress Tracie Thoms (who sticks with a natural curly look). "A woman's hair is her glory,'' Angelou says.

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.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It’s an eye-opening and modestly funny look at a massive business and a culture with its own signifiers and language.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

It's funny, clever and marginally educational.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

About the only question not answered by Good Hair is whether Michelle Obama wears a hair extension (most come from religious ceremonies in India) or straightens her hair.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

Good Hair is also about how African-Americans spend $9-billion annually chemically treating and straightening their hair, buying 80 per cent of America's hair products. It's such a fascinating, complex tale that you hope one day some probing filmmaker will make a conclusive documentary on the subject.

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.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Rock takes his Good Hair job as a documentarian seriously enough to be interesting, but not so seriously that the film groans with earnestness.

Chicago Reader Staff (Not credited)

An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off.

Film Threat Jessica Baxter

In addition to the socio-economic impact, Good Hair also explores how hair care affects the African-American community in confidence (both personal and race-related), romantic relationships and every day life.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

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

NPR Bob Mondello

Good Hair isn't selling anything but a good time.

Slate Dana Stevens

The result is a pop documentary in the Morgan Spurlock mode, cheeky and smart without being too serious.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

There's plenty to appreciate in Chris Rock's rollicking documentary about what goes on when African-American women hit the salon.

Village Voice Melissa Anderson

Breezy, superficial documentary.

Time Out New York Keith Uhlich

A slipshod documentary about a fascinating subject: the loaded history and current complications of African-American hairstyling.