Gay Haircut (2022) Short Film Review
All stories are worth telling, even if they’re not as serious as you expect them to be.
I can’t imagine how Krista Fatka and Jude Harris got the idea to make a short film like Gay Haircut. It’s sleazy, bombastic and absurd enough to make yourself wonder where it’s all going. But sometimes films aren’t aimed at something larger. Or at least they don’t pretend to be.
Gay Haircut doesn’t have to fulfill something in a bigger agenda. It’s risky to even think it meets a broader message for the community it takes place in. Comedy works in mysterious ways when it makes you laugh, but also when it stays with you. Fatka is the star in a minuscule fable that isn’t about anything in particular but is decidedly poignant for sharing the importance of a moment: being your true self after meeting an ideal position, the one you couldn’t even imagine.
Perhaps, existentialism doesn’t have a place here. And maybe I’m just wrong about how I perceived this small gem of a comedy. But first impressions are important, and Gay Haircut is a minimal blast that could change your day from grim to hilarious.
Harris directs, and Fatka stars in Gay Haircut as Krista, a bisexual comedian who has decided to make her stand-up act a channel to come out as queer. This means her bits will have to change. Krista decides to get a gay haircut, so that she feels more comfortable in her change.
A friend recommends a beauty salon and Krista decides to give it a shot. Needless to say, the hair cutting methods aren’t traditional. Will Krista get the haircut she seeks? Will she be able to change her act?
Bear with me, and bear with Gay Haircut. This bombastic comedy runs for less than 10 minutes and is long enough to give viewers a taste of Fatka’s attitude and material. It goes beyond the personality of comedians. It goes beyond the habits and rules of queer culture. It’s more than humane when Krista reacts at the weirdness beyond weirdness. Trust me when I say this particular hairdresser takes his act to levels you can’t even imagine. Krista trusts him and goes all the way. The confidence resulting after going through that has to help her somehow.
Talk about release. It’s not that Krista ends up being comfortable or not with her result. It’s that coming out is a natural step that will take place whether her hair is good or not. It’s not easy to be natural when channeling comedy or performing in a position where you must justify as a screenwriter having mayo and candy licked off your hair. But Harris accomplishes more than just a short film. The director creates a world, and it’s present enough to make us enjoy Krista as a person in the first day of the rest of her life.
Yeah, I also feel curious about what happened that night. Did she succeed? Was her haircut effective? After what she went through, there’s nothing to do but root for her.
