Movie · 1975 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 50m · R · English
Curator score: 4.2/10 (44.4K ratings)
Your hairdresser does it better.
Overview
On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.2/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.41/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 65
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Hal Ashby
Production
Columbia Pictures, Persky-Bright Productions
Cast
Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, George Furth, Jay Robinson, Ann Weldon, Luana Anders, Randy Scheer, Susanna Moore, Carrie Fisher, Mike Olton, Richard E. Kalk, Ronald Dunas, Hal Buckley, Jack Bernardi, William Castle, Brad Dexter
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, very ’70s satirical comedy about sex, vanity, and the rot under California cool. It’s looser and more episodic than plot-driven, but Hal Ashby’s direction and Warren Beatty’s shamelessly self-mocking performance make it a smart time capsule with real bite.
Best for
fans of 1970s Hollywood satire
viewers who like sexually charged ensemble comedies
people interested in post-60s disillusionment and political backdrop
admirers of Hal Ashby’s humane, ironic style
Skip if
you want a tightly engineered story
you dislike morally messy, unlikable characters
you’re not in the mood for dated sexual politics
you prefer broad jokes over social discomfort
Overview
Shampoo is one of those movies that feels like it’s drifting until you realize the drift is the point. Set on the eve of Nixon’s election, it turns a Beverly Hills hairdresser’s endless romantic chaos into a portrait of a country sliding from permissiveness into cynicism. The film is funny, but the comedy is laced with embarrassment, self-delusion, and a constant sense that everyone is performing for everyone else.
Worth noting
Warren Beatty is perfectly cast as a man who thinks desire is a personality. He moves through the film with the confidence of a movie star and the intelligence of someone always one step behind his own impulses, which is exactly what the role needs. Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, and Lee Grant give the movie its bite, each bringing a different angle on privilege, frustration, and emotional gamesmanship.
Bottom line
Hal Ashby keeps the whole thing airy and observational, so the satire never hardens into sermonizing. What lingers is the mood: glamorous surfaces, political unease, and a feeling that the party is ending even if nobody wants to say it out loud. It’s messy, funny, and more revealing than its breezy setup suggests.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (4★) · 933 likes
"Let's face it, I fucked 'em all. That's what I do" - the ultimate Warren Beatty line of dialogue
demi adejuyigbe · 802 likes
WARREN BEATTY: Well I fool around sometimes. I do. When a girl seduces me and tells me all these hot stories and dirty things and tells me how much she wants to suck on me and take my shoes off and licks my feet and touches me.
When I’m in a limousine, she takes all of her clothes. The limo driver said, what is going on? And she started sucking me on the way to Mr. Koon's house. And I… more
nora (4★) · 458 likes
my warren beatty fucks? double feature:
BONNIE & CLYDE: warren beatty can't fuck
SHAMPOO: warren beatty fucks (everyone, all the time, god help him)
russman (3★) · 410 likes
Words of advice: never get a haircut from a person with a bad haircut
zoë rose bryant (4★) · 341 likes
the plot of this movie is pretty much just “everyone wants to fuck warren beatty,” and it’s perfect