The desire to succeed and fit in leads to insatiable consequences in Justin Simien’s new feature BAD HAIR, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this week in Park City. The pic, set in Los Angeles, 1989 follows Anna (Elle Lorraine) in her journey up the corporate ladder at a BET-esque television company. After deciding to get a flashy new look, the hair grows a mind of its own causing death and mayhem in a sometimes hilarious send-up of 80’s horror schlock. Heavily laced with wicked social commentary the film has a bit too much to say, resulting in a leaden horror-comedy.

Sexism, racism, and misogyny firmly entrenched in the 80’s corporate culture. Anna enters a company-wide meeting to learn that new boss and ex-model Zora (Vanessa Williams), has taken the reigns and things will be headed in a flashy new direction. Meek Anna has to decide; Fit in and succeed or fall to the wayside and lose her apartment. The hierarchy of hair and skin tone is firmly established from the first frame of the film with traditional black 80’s styles giving way to the length and flow of weaves and we know where she is headed.

Gunning for the associate producer role, Anna takes the advice of her new boss and visits Virgie (Laverne Cox) for extensions. “I don’t usually let people touch my hair,” Anna demures before enduring excruciating pain. Cox is wonderfully vampy as the mysterious hairstylist and frankly, we don’t get enough of her. Soon things take off for Anna, but her sentient hair pulls an Audrey 2 and demands more and more blood for future success.

With a keen sense of time and place, Simien perfectly captures the trends of the late 80s fashion and music accentuating the absurd need to conform. Inside jokes are peppered throughout, in every scene thanks to the flawless production design by Scott Kuzio, Art Direction by Alex Gaines, and set decoration by Tamar Barnoon. I’ve never seen so many vintage Apple computers in an office set. Positive notes are also due for costume designer Ceci. Putting Vanessa Williams in a banana-yellow outfit with shoulder pads was genius. Additionally, the cast is solid and does a fine job having a great time with the premise.

In the end, though, all the en-pointe nuances in the world can’t salvage a weighty script. While the first act is slow but promising, the second and third don’t move any faster. We expect an uptick in pace when the hair begins picking off all who wrong Anna or get in her way. Instead, the pace remains, and we are only given flashes of brilliance here and there. With a few trims here and there this could have been a savage satire of the 80’s.

5 out of 10 stars

This film screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.