Common sense advice: when you’re in a rut, change things up a bit… emphasis on “a bit.” In Maximillian Aguiar’s comedy feature, Hairy, 29-year-old Tyler (Logan Diemert) is in desperate need of a makeover. The film opens as Tyler is preparing a dinner for his online date. When his date arrives, she’s instantly turned off by Tyler’s rotund, slightly drunk, “hairy” appearance. As the dejected Tyler looks in the mirror at the massive amounts of hair growing from his head and face, Tyler decides to shave his head bald.
Thus, Tyler’s adventure begins as he attempts to turn a new leaf and find true love. Like the incredible Odyssey, our hero navigates his way from one adventure to the next, hoping to find meaning in his life at the end. Tyler’s first stop is to see his best friend. Said friend gives Tyler his full support and challenges him to stop drinking while on this quest.
Next, Tyler stops off at his favorite bar, where he stumbles in on a fight between Candy (Amanda Graeff) and her latest bad boy love interest. In an effort to get out, Candy enlists Tyler to help her escape. The slightly-smitten man agrees, and as a thank you gift, Candy introduces Tyler to her drug-dealing brother… a real nice dude. No, seriously, he’s nice. As the story progresses, Tyler finds himself on a journey of self-reflection and change. He shows compassion to a homeless man by buying him some booze, connects with his closeted uncle in a park bathroom, and experiences acid for the first time.
“…she’s instantly turned off by Tyler’s rotund, slightly drunk, ‘hairy’ appearance.”
I have mixed feelings about Hairy. Its biggest problem is its length. Running just shy of two and a half hours, it’s long and feels it, particularly for a comedy. The problem is not necessarily the story structure but that individual scenes drag on and on. They need to be tightened up and focused in order to propel Tyler’s journey. Instead, the narrative feels like a series of comedic sketches, introducing one crazy character after the other after the other.
Speaking of crazy characters, much of the humor comes from them and bald guys who like blowjobs. The comedy is about watching these people act crazy, which is funny when first introduced but loses steam over time. Candy’s nice drug-dealing brother is a good gimmick and says things drug dealers say with a sunny disposition. But now you’ve got to take this odd situation and build upon it to something hysterical or ironic. Instead, it just lays flat.
Hairy has charm, and its story has heart. The cast feels at ease with one another and clearly bought into the fun of the premise. Logan Diemert and Amanda Graeff are a joy to watch on the screen. The plot starts off flowing well, but by the end, it started to run out of gas by the end. If Aguiar can grab hold of the length and work more on the comedy of each scene, his next film should be pretty amazing.
For more information, visit the official website of Maximillian Aguiar and Hairy.
"…has its charm, and its story has heart."
