Shampoo (1975)

	Directed by: Hal Ashby	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Comedy NORWEGIAN TITLE Shampoo RUNNING TIME 109 minutes
	Produced by: Warren Beatty
	Written by: Robert Towne Warren Beatty

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	PERFORMER	RATING
George Roundy	Warren Beatty
Jackie Shawn	Julie Christie	½
Jill	Goldie Hawn
Felicia Carr	Lee Grant	½
Lester Carr	Jack Warden
Johnny Pope	Tony Bill	½
Lorna Carr	Carrie Fisher

Review

Hal Ashby, Robert Towne and Warren Beatty were the creative trio behind this scrutinising film about sex vs. love, set in the midst of the sexual revolution and backdropped against central political developments. Shampoo was essentially Beatty's brainchild, and had been for years before production eventually began in early 1974. With Hal Ashby on board as director, and the fiery writing partnership of Towne and Beatty finally reaching full bloom, Shampoo became both a critics' favourite and a box-office success upon its release. It was hailed by people in and around the film business and the Beverly Hills area for its fairly unconcealed mocking of the easygoing, morally ignorant Hollywood way of life. In retrospect, what may be equally interesting about this satire is the unquestionable level of autobiography in Beatty's character. Except for the profession and the motorcycle, George and Warren arguably led very similar lives in the period depicted, and few, if any, of Beatty's characters have mirrored the star as well as George Roundy when it comes to mannerisms and personality. This is narcissism on an intellectual and self-critical level – the latter of which requires far more self-examination than most people of Beatty's status are capable of.

In form, themese and characters, Shampoo epitomised a certain fraction of 1970s intellectual filmmaking, in which the characters and situations are constantly self-referring and the comedy is understated. Beatty's George Roundy is like Woody Allen's persona with sexual confidence. In Shampoo, the ambience is more important than the plot – not only for the film, but also for how the characters lead their lives. When the emotionally handicapped Beatty rides his motorcycle from one mistress to the next, with his fashionable hair fluttering appropriately, always knowing how to look but rarely what to say, the writing team of Towne and Beatty tapped into something that resonated with American audiences. And if a few of the character relations come off as rather improbable, this only underlines the film's thematic core. Even if Shampoo is certainly a time capsule first and foremost, it has an intrinsic artistic value that makes it transcend the stylish anecdote that it seemingly is at face value.