AMERICAN MULLET

Directed by Jennifer Arnold

Narrated by Matthew Bose

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

THUMBS DOWN DOCUMENTARY REVIEW RATING!

Short on top and long in the back: the Shlong. The Mullet. Ugly. Hideous. Out-of-date. Whatever you want to call it, this hair style is something that was probably better off forgotten.

Some might laugh at the simple commentary (I didn’t), or feel a twinge of nostalgia if they mulletized themselves back in the 70s or early 80s. But that’s about the only entertainment you’re going to get from AMERICAN MULLET.

Never having wore this style myself, I can’t relate very well to the film. I had bushy hair, but never the short-long version. So the nagging "Why?" question kept tugging at me. Why am I watching this? What purpose does it serve? Are there really that many Harley-riding, lesbian, faux country-western singers out there?

Maybe I’m completely unaware of this niche group.

The documentary-makers traveled around the Western U.S., finding those poor lost souls who still think the mullet is cool, or is a statement of individuality (something I wished they’d covered in more depth). One Harley Davidson riding tough-guy commented on how he doesn’t care what others think of his hair, he wears the style because it represents him as a person — showing people what’s on the inside by wearing the mullet on the outside. I thought this was the most insightful commentary in the entire film (especially with the Jennifer Aniston look-alikes that currently decorate a huge portion of American women’s heads). But this information is touched on for only a minute and then quickly brushed aside as we move from mullet-wearer to mullet-wearer and hear a bunch of rubbish that makes the entire documentary feel scatterbrained.

The biggest blessing about American Mullet is that it’s only 52 minutes long. I don’t say this in an antagonistic fashion, either. It’s actually somewhat of a compliment. The film-makers didn’t stretch this rather static topic out into a two hour presentation. I’ll give them credit for that, but that’s about it.

(My advice to those who still wear this hairstyle? It’s okay if you want to be "an individual". It’s okay if you want to be retro. But is this style what you really want? It’s horrible! Get a haircut!)

No movie trailer available. Soooorrrrry!