Writer and director Max Aguiar brings us a behemoth sized comedy-drama that follows the highs (in some cases, literally) and lows of 29 year old millennial, Tyler. After what can’t even be described as the “worst date ever” because the woman never makes it across Tyler’s threshold, meaning their encounter doesn’t qualify as a date, he decides to get his life together. Having a woman stand on your doorstep and call you gross will definitely trigger some sort of reaction. In an impulsive moment, Tyler shaves his long hair off. It’s unclear whether this is an act of defiance, conformity, or just an instant of craziness. Either way, a chain of events is set in motion, driven by Tyler’s desire to find a direction and a purpose as well as someone to love.
Helping him at the beginning is his friend, Calvin (Fronzo Gilkey II) who has some good, engaging dialogue. Gilkey carries the role well, contrasting Tyler’s slobbish behaviour with a little drive and hustle. Together, they decide that Tyler will go on a run the following morning. The typical “I’m going to improve myself” thing to do. Despite being waylaid by the aftermath of a night of heavy drinking, Tyler finally makes it on his run. Throughout the film, Tyler meets different people who seem to in directly teach him something. On the day of his run, he bumps into a questionable character lurking in the bushes of the park. Apparently he is sat on “the blow-job bench”, and Gary (Tyler Nickell) has come to collect on this unspoken social contract. After clearing up the confusion, Gary and Tyler get to know each other over milkshakes. It turns out that Gary is terminally ill with cancer and has decided to live his life exactly how he wants to, not letting anything stand in his way. Gary has made it his mission to go on as many adventures as possible. These range from sky-diving to trying out different drugs. The latter is something Gary encourages Tyler to try.
Another encounter Tyler has is with a homeless guy called Timothy, who hangs outside the store and keeps his money in a water bottle to keep it wet. The wacky character is superbly portrayed by Max Aguiar who delivers some brilliant lines that made me laugh out loud. Tyler does Timothy a favour by buying him booze after he’s been denied service. The favour is repaid later in the film, where Timothy plays a key role.
Drugs appear to tie the characters together within the narrative. Tyler meets a woman called Candy (Amanda Graeff) who is immensely grateful to be treated like a human being for once. The two hit it off and end up going on an acid-fuelled adventure. The sequence makes for entertaining viewing, even if it does over-sell drugs as a solution to boredom in life. The pitfalls of drugs appear in the form of a deranged wanna-be musician turned coke dealer named Arthur (Rich Willhelm). Arthur also happens to be Candy’s ex-boyfriend. Tyler and Candy find themselves caught up in a farcical situation with the crazy coke dealer, who also happens to have a gun.
While the dialogue and pace of Hairy is a little slow in places, the vibrancy of the characters is impressive. Rich Willhelm, Max Aguiar, Amanda Graeff and Tyler Nickell are among the highlights. Logan Diemert as our protagonist, Tyler, ties the cast together in a strong, but understated way. The wandering, almost aimless, narrative is propelled mostly by the brilliance of these characters. It is not to say that the wandering quality of the narrative is bad, but rather a stylistic choice made by the director that compliments the overarching themes of exploration and adventure. The climax of the film is pretty intense in comparison to the rest of the narrative and is elevated immensely by the performance of Rich Willhelm who channels some Jesse Pinkman Breaking Bad vibes.
If there was an award for the most heartfelt monologue about a blow-job, Hairy would definitely win it. While two and a half hours makes for a very long viewing, the moments of comedy (relating mostly to blow and blow-jobs) manages to keep the entertainment and the engagement up throughout. The soundtrack of the film is also worth mentioning. The many songs used throughout the film are superbly chosen, and this helps to break up the longer running time. It’s nice to get a good listen to a track, as we do in this film, rather than just one or two lines.
With many commendable attributes, and many risks taken (most of which pay off), Hairy is a wacky, off the wall comedy that is so weird it works. Watch the trailer below!