In 1977, as the miniseries “Roots” hits the airwaves, two women are inspired to try and integrate their small Southern town. In a place where there are still “right” and “wrong” sides of the tracks, these two young women — one white, one black — forge an unlikely friendship that sparks a journey of independence and self-discovery, and ultimately results in the creation of the perfect hairdo. Stars Maggie Grace, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth McGovern, Adam Brody, Cicely Tyson.
A black woman and white woman attempt to integrate their small southern community after being inspired by the release of the miniseries “Roots” in 1977 and form an unlikely friendship in the process. Just in time for the new four-part remake of Roots(premiering over Memorial Day Weekend on the History Channel) comes the cringe-inducing Lifetime movie Showing Roots, which uses the first airing of the seminal 1970s miniseries about slavery in America as backdrop for a tone-deaf race-relations parable. The Help with hairdressers.
Then adorably dippy hippie Bud (Adam Brody) rolls into town, slamming his van into Violet’s red wagon filled with recyclable Coke bottles. (She planned to use the proceeds to purchase a new stylist chair.) It’s the first contrived step toward a full-on rebellion that sees Violet and Pearl repudiating their hypocritical boss (who happens to be secretly getting it on with the town sheriff) and going into business for themselves. The duo opens a competing salon called “Salt and Pepper” that slowly but surely attracts clientele from both the White and African-American communities, thus forcing the town’s age-old prejudices into the open. P-push it real good, gals!
All of the action takes place over the course of the eight consecutive days during which the original Roots miniseries aired. So the title has an eye-rolling double meaning: Roots is literally showing on television and Whynot’s African-American women learn to proudly show off the natural roots of the hair that they’ve historically kept covered up with wigs and other mock-tresses.
