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THE BIG TEASE Send This Review to a Friend
What a welcome surprise! "The Big Tease" turns out to be an unassuming but delightfully funny sleeper that jauntily recounts the colorful exploits of a gay hairdresser from Scotland who invades Los Angeles to enter a high-profile hairdressing competition.
Crawford Mackenzie, played with a wink and unbounded determination by Craig Ferguson of television's "The Drew Carey Show," gets a letter of invitation in Glasgow and heads for California convinced that he can win and bring glory not only to himself but to his country and friends who are rooting for him back home.
After he arrives, along with a documentary filmmaker to record his every move and holes up in a posh hotel suite that he thinks is complimentary, he learns the bitter truth. He was only invited to watch the competition, not be in it, and at his own expense. But Crawford is not one to take defeat, and the plot spins along leading to the inevitable triumph we know must come. The fun is all in getting there, and under the direction of Kevin Allen from a bright script by Sacha Gervasi and Ferguson, the comedy zips along with funny situations and characters, including Frances Fisher as Candy, a hot-shot Los Angeles publicist whose help Crawford desperately needs, Mary McCormack as Monique, the hair organization's stonewalling president, and David Rasche as Stig Ludwiggssen, the egotistical stylist champ who detests even a hint of challenge to his title.
There are scenes of wild hair creations in the competition and other enjoyable situations. Believable? Not always, including whether our gay hero would likely be able to betray his nature and become a heterosexual stud for a night. But this is a congenial, outrageous comedy, and Ferguson makes Crawford endearing and fun, so that when he talks directly to us at various stages of the film, we can easily warm to his personality and root for him to succeed. "The Big Tease" is one of those small films capable of winning us over with big laughs. A Warner Bros. release.
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