Normally, we don’t bother with TMZ reports or every little lawsuit in the world, especially ones conveniently filed the week of the film’s release, but a gateway, entry talking point is a gateway entry talking point.
So Chris Rock’s “Good Hair,” documentary hits theaters this weekend in limited release and a new lawsuit has emerged claiming Rock’s doc is a stolen idea. Regina Kimbell evidently claims she showed the comedian her 2005 documentary, “My Nappy Roots,” on the set of his TV series, “Everybody Hates Chris,” in 2007 and this is where he got his idea for the documentary on African-American hairstyles.
Having not seen either (and no one sadly invited us to “Good Hair”), we can’t speak to either, but watching both trailers you can definitely see the similarities (though Rock’s doc looks much more lighthearted and comedic).
We finally watched the trailer to “Good Hair,” this weekend (trailers are always better in theaters), we were struck deeply how the documentary takes African-American hair and seems to use it as a platform to discuss African-American identity, history, culture and self worth.
Some heady concepts that you might not imagine would be in a Chris Rock documentary, but the film actually looks quite sharp and seems to use disarming humor to spark some interesting sociological, anthropological and cultural discourse in it which is a nice surprise. Though “My Nappy Roots” seems to tackle the same subject, but with less smiles on its face. Rip-off? You decide, both trailers are below. “Good Hair,” film opens October 9 in limited release on Friday and then goes wider on October 23.
