Hal Ashby | 1975 | USA | 1h50m | English language and subtitles
Released at the tail end of New Hollywood, SHAMPOO looks glossy on the surface but plays like a quiet autopsy of American self-absorption. Ashby takes the energy of a sex comedy and drains it of triumph. What remains is a portrait of a protagonist circling money, status, and desire while the country itself drifts into disillusion.
Set over a single day in Beverly Hills on the eve of the 1968 presidential election, the film follows celebrity hairdresser George Roundy as he juggles lovers, clients, and business ambitions. His professional intimacy grants him access to the bedrooms and secrets of the wealthy, yet that access never translates into real connection. Warren Beatty turns charm into a kind of existential trap. Every encounter promises freedom but tightens the same loop of vanity and compromise. Beneath the farce sits a sharp study of power, gender politics, and the commodification of intimacy in a culture obsessed with superficiality and image.
SHAMPOO belongs to a moment when American cinema briefly allowed filmmakers to smuggle social critique inside mainstream entertainment. Its satire lands softly but cuts deep. The laughter comes with the uneasy sense that no one escapes the system they help maintain.
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left behind the jewellery stand. One flight up. Video instructions here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17933106294029235
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0102 Tbilisi, Georgia
