Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary examines how the Vietnamese came to dominate the nail industry in the United States, and how the industry becomes part of the Vietnamese American experience. The film moves at a crisp pace with the cadence of a long news report. Structurally, the film follows a loose chronological overview of Vietnamese involvement in the nail industry starting in 1975. It also weaves in some autobiographical elements from the director Adele Pham. Tying the film together are a few quirky and fun animation scenes of hands and nails that work as transition elements. The filming and editing are solid and support the filmmaker’s narrative.

Where this film really shines is in the breadth of interviews undertaken by the director. She collects a rich array of interviews, from those important to the growth of Vietnamese involvement with nails, through to individuals currently working in the industry. She names and recognizes all her interviews. Kelvin Saint Pham who started working in the industry to support his family as well as Thuan Le, one of the first twenty women that were introduced to manicuring by Tippi Hedren. In fact, this first set of women are brought together with Tippi Hedren and are interviewed as a group. Equally important is the interview with Olivett Robinson and Charlie Vo, the operators of the first chain of nail salons called Mantrap.

The reporting style and length of Nailed It does limit the ability to go into a deeper analysis. Some valuable points are presented, but there often isn’t a fuller look at why or what this means. To the director’s credit, she interviews Olivett Robinson at length and pays tribute to her as the African American co-owner of Mantrap, who influenced the development of the nail industry. Adele Pham mentions how this partnership is an anomaly yet largely leaves unexplored why this is so. There are other moments in the film when the viewer is left to infer, or make assumptions concerning a factor of the nail industry.

The structure of this review site is to ask for the appropriate viewing audience age of a film. This is listed above. However, audiences can be grouped in other ways as well, and it seems that Nailed It has three different audiences. The first would be a general audience that may know only a limited amount about the nail industry. For this audience the film gives a detailed and positive account of Vietnamese involvement across the decades. A second audience would be the Vietnamese American community. In this it is a celebration of the successes made by Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans. While I am part of the first audience, my impression from the warmth and openness of this film is that many members of the Vietnamese community would recognize and really enjoy this documentary. The final audience would be a personal one for the director Adele Pham. Although her father is not part of the nail industry, she does interview him a few times. The goal is to highlight the various reactions from the second generation to the success of the nail industry. While it works to a degree on that level, it still feels a little forced. That said, this is a small portion of the overall film and there is a quality to it that comes across as very meaningful to the director. Ultimately, it does highlight the importance of family in the Vietnamese community.

This is an informative film that works on many levels. It is a valuable overview on how the Vietnamese community became involved with the Nail Industry. For communities that have a sizeable Vietnamese population, this film would be a great addition. Likewise, collections that look at immigration and immigrant communities would also value this film. While particularly engaging for these specific audiences, this worthwhile film is recommended for any collection.