A painful, insightful and ultimately entertaining look at "Good Hair"

C'mon, you know we've all done it. You walk by a woman - most likely a black woman - with an elaborate hairdo and say (hopefully not out loud!) "how in the world did she do that?"

Well, Chris Rock provides a few answers and a lot of laughs in the documentary "Good Hair" as he asks varieties on that question in hair salons around the country, at the world's biggest black hair show in Atlanta and even in India - and I can tell you from this gringo's perspective that after watching his movie it's hard to say which locale is the most exotic.

I was a little hesitant to see this this movie, not because of the subject matter - which has always kind of fascinated me - but because I don't always find Chris Rock to be all that funny. I just didn't think I could bear two hours of him ridiculing and berating these women who often - we find out - spend thousands of dollars on their hair, but he tries a new tack here, empathy.

He says at the outset that the idea for the movie came at least in part from his very young daughter asking, "Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" The movie is indeed often at its best as he talks with black women in hair salons and black men in barbershops because - perhaps with his daughter in mind - Rock manages to make this much more of a free-flowing conversation than a series of uncomfortable interrogations.

Sprinkled in with these visits are interviews with assorted celebrities who have achieved their fame at least partly by having "Good Hair," both women and men. Ice-T is very funny as he talks about wearing curlers to school, and the stunning Nia Long is the most candid as she talks about the lengths she goes to to both acquire and protect her 'do. I guarantee you'll just squirm in your seat, however, after you hear all about the painful weave process and then see a game Raven Symone showing off her tremendous head of fake hair. (As an aside, as a young kid growing up near Baltimore, I always thought self-promoting Charm City business man Mr. Ray invented the hair weave.)

Rock and director Jeff Stilson wisely frame their movie with the outlandish Battle Royale that closes out the Bronner Brothers International Hair Show each year in Atlanta. A lot of my favorite documentaries feature some kind of competition to build in suspense, and you'll definitely pick a favorite and probably hoot out loud while watching the four star stylists who compete here (mine was Freddie J, whose elaborate production was probably doomed from the start but still the most fun to watch.)

"Good Hair" takes a brief but very wrong turn as Rock gets into the touchy subject of why so few black people - and so many Asians - have made so much money off of this billion-dollar industry. It's a worthy question to ask, but Rock adds absolutely nothing to the flick when he sinks down to the "gotcha" style of documentary making and ambushes an Asian hair store owner, trying to get him to buy some "black hair." It's just the kind of stunt that Michael Moore leans on at his worst, and it adds nothing at all to "Good Hair."

That's only a minor beef, however, about a movie that's almost as insightful as it is downright entertaining. See this one while you can, since it will probably only get a few more weeks in theaters. And, apropos of nothing except for the fact that i like it so much, I'll leave you today with a video of the queen of "Good Hair" and great voice, Etta James, singing what is still probably my favorite song, "I'd Rather Go Blind." Peace out.

Say it ain't so, Hulu

Before I get into any of that, there's some much better news out there for people who like their TV to make them laugh, which I certainly do.

First up is that NBC has given full-season orders to two shows I tune in for every week, "Community" and "Parks and Recreation." The former is already very funny and seems to get a little better with each episode, and the latter has a sweetness that masks just how sly it can often be.

And, in even better news, it seems that both Jane Lynch and Kristen Bell will be returning for the second season of Starz's "Party Down," set to begin in April, if only for limited runs. Lynch was, as usual, extremely funny as a regular on season one before she got a better gig on "Glee," which, yes, I watch. And Bell showed up at the end, most likely as a favor to "Veronica Mars" and "Party Down" creator Rob Thomas, as a rival caterer with a mean streak but a wounded heart. Lynch will return for the second season finale, while Bell will apparently show up for a few episodes mid-season to stir up some trouble.

If you've never seen this often wickedly funny show about a group of wannabe actors who work at a catering company, you can catch up on all of season one with that watch instantly thing at Netflix. I'd highly recommend it.

And now on to the bad news. Since I don't own a cell phone and never will, and the only computer I own sits permanently on the desk in my front room, I'd say Hulu.com is just about the best technological innovation of the last five years or so, and easily one of the most addictive.

For anyone who's never used it, the site essentially compiles TV episodes and some movies (including, somehow, Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan," which I've watched at the site), which you can watch in their entirety with limited commercial interruption. It's a great way to catch a recent episode you might have missed (if you somehow don't have any kind of DVR device), but even better, it's a great place to rediscover shows long gone. For example, you can watch the entire first season of "Arrested Development" there now for free, and since it rotates, I'd imagine seasons two and three will appear soon, as they have in the past.

The key word there, however, and what may change very soon, is "free." Though is hasn't yet said what form any coming fees might come in, News Corp., which owns the site with NBC Universal, the Walt Disney Co. and Providence Equity Partners, announced Thursday that a subscription fee of some sort could come as early as next year as the site struggles to remain viable.

Oh well. I guess something this cool couldn't last forever, but I don't think I'll be paying for the service, since I already have the Netflix and more than enough digital cable.

OK, enough of the bad news. All I've got otherwise today is two clips that will hopefully pick up everyone's spirits at least a bit. First up comes the first eight minutes or so of ABC's upcoming remake of "V." The network apparently plans to release four episodes of it in November to see how it does, and then bring it back as a midseason replacement. That just sounds goofy as hell, but I'll tune in for at least the first four to see what they have going on, because my TV is sorely in need of some good sci-fi right now. Enjoy.



And finally today comes the second (I think) trailer for "Men Who Stare at Goats," which will hopefully play everywhere when it drops Nov. 6. It just makes me smile every time I see George Clooney stare down a poor goat, and it looks like this one is just gonna be insanely funny. Enjoy, and have a great rest of the weekend. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to get a gyro at the Central Georgia Greek Festival and then go see Chris Rock's "Good Hair." Peace out.