Review Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002

(click here to skip to this movie's rating)

"The barbershop is a place where a black man means something...our own country club..." --Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) CASS' CLIP (WARNING: **spoilers below**) The movie Barbershop opens late one night with two dumb and dumber thieves, JD (Anthony Anderson) and Billy (Lahmard Tate) stealing an ATM machine from a neighborhood grocery store. JD and Billy hookup the ATM machine to the bumper of the getaway truck, which happens to be JD's cousin, Ricky's (Michael Ealy) truck. Of course you know what happens to the bumper. They manage to pull the machine out of the wall and drag it around the dark Chicago streets, in hopes of opening it up later to recoup the cash. Through a comedy of errors, JD and Billy spend the entire day lugging this heavy ATM machine from home, to hotel, and then a chop shop trying to crack open this penniless machine. (What turns out to be an empty dream to JD and Billy turns out to be a ray of hope for others). The next morning, Samir (Parvesh Cheena) the storeowner, is in the middle of the street screaming about being robbed, while the other shop owners look-on and hope that their businesses aren't hit next. Working the crime scene is Williams (Tom Wright), a detective with a badge and a bad attitude. Checking out what happened is another shop owner, Calvin (Ice Cube), who is the heir to his late father's 40-year old barbershop. Calvin faces a different sort of dilemma: (1) to keep or not to keep the barbershop; or (2) follow his own dream of owning a recording studio (even if it's in his basement). He tries to keep the barbershop afloat but the bank denies his loan. His pregnant wife, Jennifer, (Jazsmin Lewis), is somewhat sympathetic, but lovingly explains to Calvin that had he not squandered their savings on selfish and impulsive get-rich-quick schemes, they may not be in such a financial pinch. But it's too late now and desperate people do desperate things when they can't clearly see their way out of a bad situation. With just a handshake, the barbershop's 40-year history of sometimes giving free haircuts, or providing a chair to young barbers to perfect their skills, is sold to the neighborhood loan shark, Lester (Keith David) for $20,000. Lester's plans -- keep the barbershop's logo on the outside but the inside will be a gentleman's club, and giving "trim" a whole new meaning. The barbershop is the female version of the beauty shop. So what would a barbershop be without a diverse group of expert cutters gossiping, debating world events or swapping politically incorrect opinions? Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) is the barbershop's eldest and clientless barber. At times his opinions are so laughable and outrageous, it almost sounds like he's performing at Def Comedy Jam. Also adding to the shop's antics and sometimes controversial discussions are: Ricky (Michael Ealy), an ex-con just one strike away from being locked up for life; Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), a condensing college student who gets more of an education in the barbershop than in school; Issac (Troy Garity), a white boy/wannabe brotha with skills; the barbershop's only female barber, Terri (rapper Eve), has issues with her co-workers drinking her apple juice without permission, as well as her cheating boyfriend, Kevin (Jason George); and Dinka (Leonard Earl Howze), a lovable but "rotund" Nigerian, who has a crush on Terri. Calvin discovers too late that his dreams were already being fulfilled every day the barbershop opens its doors for business. His dilemma is telling Lester that he has had a change of heart and wants the barbershop back. However, convincing a loan shark to take back money is like asking Satan if he'd like to take a bubble bath in holy water. Now Calvin has until the end of the day to pay Lester $40,000 (the initial $20,000 loan, plus an additional $20,000 in interest) to buy back HIS barbershop. DA 411 Barbershop is definitely a barrel of laughs with a more testosterone-driven point of view about life, love, and dreams. Although I liked Ice Cube in the Friday movies, in this role he delivers a solid performance. What also makes this movie work is the casualness in which the cast members deliver their lines. You got the feeling that they worked together for a long time and freely spoke their minds regardless of the backlash or consequences. That said, what's all the hoopla surrounding Cedric the Entertainer's tirade about O.J. Simpson, Rodney King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jessie Jackson and Rosa Parks. Okay, I didn't agree with the Rosa Parks comment, but I, along with the rest of the audience damn near fell out our seats when Eddie said that "O.J. did it," and yeah "Rodney King needed his ass kicked." Another side issue -- The fact that the ATM machine was empty, represented another message for me altogether. When you steal anything (regardless of what it is) that doesn't belong to you, you wind up empty handed. The slamming soundtrack, including P'Diddy & The Family, Glenn Lewis and Amel Larrieux, and The Staple Singers', "I'll Take You There," adds another cohesive spirit to the movie. And the scene where everyone starts dancing to Marvin Gaye's smash hit, "Got To Give It Up," was so natural I practically got up and started dancing too. [Sidebar -- I'd like to give a shout-out to artist, Brian Stringer, whose mural adds character to the barbershop's dˇcor. To my friend, Lorenzo Clemons, who portrayed the loan officer in the beginning of the movie, dude you know you could have hooked Calvin up with some Monopoly money. Finally, from my sister to Keith David, in spite of the hairpiece, you are still her all-time favorite actor. That chick screams every time she hears his hypnotic and melodious voice]. Even though the story is neatly tied-up with a predictable happy ending, I thoroughly enjoyed every joke and heartwarming moment. CASS' CONCLUSION What seems like an ordinary day turns out to be one long day where lessons are learned and dreams are fulfilled. BARBERSHOP:   back to top Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002 EMAIL: cass@3blackchicks.com