The drab working class town of Keighley has been chosen as the place to host the prestigious National Hair Championships. The mayor (Warren Clarke) is pleased as punch and volunteers to serve as the master of ceremonies for the competition. Only trouble is, with hairressers arriving from all over England, there is no one to represent Keighley.

Local hairdresser Phil (Alan Rickman) was a formidable force in the competition ten years ago. But on the night of the finals, his wife and model Shelley (Natasha Richardson) walked out on him and moved in with Sandra (Rachel Griffiths). Now they have their own salon while Phil has trained his son Brian (Josh Hartnett) to work with him. Needless to say, Phil wants nothing to do with the competition. He has never forgiven Shelley for abandoning him for another woman.

<>P>Meanwhile the reigning champion hairdresser (Bill Nighy) wants to win so badly that he plans to sabotage his rivals. Shelley finally convinces Phil and Brian to join her and Sandra in the competition as Keighley's home team. In the process, they reconfigure their family.

Blow Dry is written by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) and directed by Paddy Breathnach. Although there are a few funny bits here and there, this is a paint-by-the-numbers comedy. Nonetheless, it is a lark to watch pros like Natasha Richardson, Alan Rickman, and Rachel Griffiths milk the juice out of the large dollops of melodrama.