Jeff Stilson, 12A (96min)
Chris Rock, a peerless stand-up comic but a maker of malformed movies (Pootie Tang, Osmosis Jones), finally finds his feet with the documentary Good Hair. At times witty and provocative, this investigative feature lifts the lid on a powerful $9 billion black hair industry that pushes painful hydrogen peroxide “relaxant” and over-priced extensions on African-American women. The ultimate goal is the perpetuation of a homogeneous ethnically European hairstyle, and Rock is momentarily outraged by this idea. But mostly he’s happy to play the role of deadpan inquisitor, passing wry comment and pulling giggles from subjects including Eve, Ice-T and Maya Angelou.