The big tease
A hair-raising tale of short cuts and  near misser

actors
Craig Ferguson
Frances Fisher
Mary McCormac
director
Kevin Allen

locations
Glasgow, Scotland
and Los Angeles

outtake
Ferguson got the
green light for this
project by hawking
it as "Rocky in curlers."

In actuality, the movie is partially set in Glasgow, a fine Euro stand-in for the don't-get-no-respect state. Ferguson, who is best known on this side of pond as Drew Carey's boss on The Drew Carey Show, plays the amiable and gifted Scottish hairdresser, Crawford Mackenzie.

Worse than a bad hair day, Mackenzie arrives in Beverly Hills thinking he is to compete in the World Freestyle Hairdressing Championship, but is informed that he only has observer status. Of course, this will not do, and Mackenzie sets his sights on showing everyone that he's a cut above the rest.

The film is a classic fish-out-of-water tale along the lines of Crocodile Dundee. In fact, substitute scissors for the machete, haggis for Vegemite, and L.A. for New York, and you have a lot of what makes up The Big Tease.

But hats off to Ferguson, who also cowrote the script, and pal Sacha Gervasi for imbuing the story with their own brand of subtle, quirky humor.
The satire of movie stars is sly enough that the pair managed to convince glitterati such as David Hasselhoff, Drew Carey, Cathy Lee Crosby and hairstylists to the stars Jose Eber and Giuseppe Franco to make cameos.

Ferguson's commitment to the project was so complete that rumor has it he actually attended hairstyling school to prepare for his role. After initially dismissing the notion as pure hairsay, Ferguson fessed up, confirming the story and admitting that despite his schooling, he isn't exactly Vidal Sassoon material.

The cast is rounded out by Frances Fisher (Titanic) who plays Candy Harper, the bitchy publicist, and Mary McCormack (Private Parts) as Mackenzie's arch-nemesis.

But the real star of the movie is the hair itself. "It's like having somebody sit on your head," says supermodel Kylie Bax, describing how it felt to wear one of the four-pound wigs created for the film. "Like a baby or something. It's really heavy."

A writer couldn't ask for a better quote to end on, I think. Shear perfection.

                                                                                         - Michael Naccarato