Blow Dry

Blow Dry is a charming and well-acted comedy whose small story perhaps belongs on the television screen rather than in the cinema.

The film is set in the small English town of Keighley, which is in a complete flap because the annual British hairdressing championship is to be held in the town. It is a bit of a blow, though, that the town itself is not represented in the competition, despite Keighley having several former prizewinners in its midst.

When the hairdresser Shelley Allen learns that her cancer gives her only a very short time to live, she tries to get on speaking terms with her ex-husband Phil. At the same time she makes an effort to normalise her strained relationship with her grown-up son Brian, who lives and works with his father. The rift in the family is due to Shelley having run off several years ago with her colleague Sandra, with whom she has since lived in a lesbian relationship.

Shelley suggests that they enter the competition together, but Phil is not quite ready to forgive and forget just like that. When old rivals turn up, however, the temptation is too great, so Phil agrees after all to take up the fight. The event thus helps to reunite the family, but whether it also brings victory in the competition is less certain. For quite a few of the contestants cheat like mad.