The Big Tease 3 Stars (Out of 4) Reviewed by Mac VerStandig critic@moviereviews.org http://www.moviereviews.org January 25, 2000 USA Release Date - February, 2000
A copy of this review can be found at http://www.moviereviews.org/big_tease,_the.htm
Breathing off the limited oxygen that Scottish and homosexual jokes can provide, The Big Tease makes the absolute most of its 86 minute life-span before its tank runs dry. Had the film not prudently cut off, and instead joined the infamous ranks of many current movies, I would not be able to declare it the funniest film of the century to date (take a second, think about it), a title of which it is well deserving.
Crawford Mackenzie (Craig Ferguson) is the finest and most respected hairdresser in Glasgow, Scotland. When a much-deserved invitation arrives for him to go to America and compete in the World Freestyle Hairdressing Championship, a documentary crew decides to follow. Upon arrival, 12 minutes into the film, Crawford runs into problem after problem, not the least of which is that he wasn't actually invited to compete and has instead been offered a seat in the audience between Daniel Day Lewis and Carrot Top.
As Crawford's ego deftly guides him, he stumbles through obstacle after obstacle in his quest for the Platinum Scissors and to honorably represent all of Scotland. The most humorous moment comes when he needs a job to get his HAG (Hairdressers of America Guild) card and finds himself prepping animal costumes at a theme park, just an example of the many odd and hysterical situations he encounters.
In the spirit of last summer's most underrated film, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Big Tease is a near-textbook mockumentary. Much of the film's humor can be credited to the constant spoofing of major competitions and the hairdressing industry. But don't expect this film to create many believers like Woody Allen's latest work, Sweet and Lowdown, or the smash hit The Blair Witch Project as that certainly isn't the intent here.
The Big Tease perfectly captures and lampoons the essence of Hollywood; a cab driver carries around head shots, you need an appointment to get into anywhere and the elite know they're elite. But don't be mistaken, this is not a Hollywood film. Although the mammoth Warner Bros. is distributing the picture, it more closely resembles independent products like The Full Monty and The Castle than studio pieces.
Positive word-of-mouth should make The Big Tease a pleasantly surprising box office draw in the traditionally weak time between the release of Oscar contending films and the highly rated awards ceremony. Just don't expect any hair-splitting drama or overly flaky jokes.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews