Shampoo (1975)
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63% of critics liked it
(30 reviews) -
50% of users liked it
(6,212 ratings)
A frankly adult comedy about the sex lives of the aimless and the rich, Shampoo is also a pointed commentary on the demise of 1960s idealism at the dawn of the Nixon era. It is Election Day, 1968, and randy Beverly Hills hairdresser George Roundy (Warren Beatty) is too worried about attending to all… More A frankly adult comedy about the sex lives of the aimless and the rich, Shampoo is also a pointed commentary on the demise of 1960s idealism at the dawn of the Nixon era. It is Election Day, 1968, and randy Beverly Hills hairdresser George Roundy (Warren Beatty) is too worried about attending to all of his women's tonsorial and sexual needs, while trying to swing a bank loan to fund his own salon, to notice the fateful Presidential race. As George juggles the demands of girlfriend Jill (Goldie Hawn) and mistress Felicia (Lee Grant), not to mention Felicia's daughter (Carrie Fisher), he meets Felicia's husband Lester (Jack Warden) to get money for the salon and discovers that his beloved ex-girlfriend Jackie (Julie Christie) is now Lester's mistress. Lester asks George to escort Jackie to a banquet for Nixon supporters, leading to a series of climactic confrontations at the dinner and a Hollywood orgy that expose the conflicting demands of sex, love, and security among these terminally narcissistic L.A. denizens. As Nixon's victory speech drones in the background the following day and Paul Simon's mournful '60s music plays on the soundtrack, George's free-wheeling world collapses around him for reasons that he can barely begin to comprehend. Produced and co-written (with Chinatown scribe Robert Towne) by its star Warren Beatty, Shampoo became Beatty's second critical and popular success as a producer after Bonnie and Clyde, and it bolstered Hal Ashby's track record as director. Shampoo earned Grant an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a Supporting Actor nomination for Warden and Beatty's first nomination as writer. With Nixon's 1974 Watergate disgrace adding an extra edge to the humor for 1975 audiences, this tragic bedroom farce became one of the highest-grossing films in Columbia Pictures' history at the time. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Directed By
- Hal Ashby
- Written By
- Robert Towne
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Feb 14, 1975 Wide
- On DVD
- Jan 21, 2003
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
There's a self-awareness to Shampoo that gives the movie a cleansing sadness and, oddly, makes Beatty an affectingly amoral roue.
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Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
Shampoo, made in 1975 but set in 1968, the night before Richard Nixon's election to the presidency, was directed by Hal Ashby and written by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty, who may have produced one of the best scripts in the last three decades.
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Variety Staff, Variety
All the excellent creative components do not add up to a whole.
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, Time Out
The laughs are tempered by bleakness and the film ends up saddened by its characters' waywardness.
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Nora Sayre, New York Times
Disappointment comes in all weights and flavors, but the brand that's generated by Hal Ashby's Shampoo is a bit harder to swallow than some.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Cast
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Warren Beatty
as George
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Julie Christie
as Jackie
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Goldie Hawn
as Jill
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Lee Grant
as Felicia
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Jack Warden
as Lester
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Tony Bill
as Johnny Pope
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Carrie Fisher
as Lorna
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Jay Robinson
as Norman
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George Furth
as Bank Officer
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William Castle
as Sid Roth
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Jack Bernardi
as Izzy
- Susan Blakely
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Hal Buckley
as Kenneth
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Howard Culver
as Newscaster
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Brad Dexter
as Senator East
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Howard Hesseman
as Red Dog
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Richard E. Kalk
as Younger Detective
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Sharon Kelly
as Painted Lady
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Joan Marshall
as Mrs. Schumann
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Susan McIver
as Customer
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Kathleen Miller
as Anjanette
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Sue Moore
as Gloria
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Mike Olton
as Ricci
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Dina Ousley
as Hairdresser
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Doris Packer
as Rosalind
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Michelle Phillips
as Girl at Party
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Daryl Roach
as Boy at Party
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Randy Sheer
as Dennis
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Constance Smith
as Twin
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Ann Weldon
as Mary
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Cynthia Wood
as Beauty Shop Customer
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Luana Anders
as Devra
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Wally Crowder
as Malone's Delivery Boy
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Andrew Stevens
as Boy #2
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Sean Walsh
as Boy with Twins
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George Justin
as Producer
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Cherie Latimer
as Girl in Car
