Barbershop

December 9, 2004

Rated: R Runtime: 102 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The best way I can think of to describe Barbershop is as a Kevin Smith movie made for black people. Very smart dialogue, very good performances and funny as hell.

Barbershop

Ice Cube plays Calvin, the owner of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. This isn’t Calvin’s chosen line of work, he inherited the shop from his father and would rather be doing something else… anything else other than running the shop. He’s tried several “get rich quick” style plans, but nothing has worked. In fact, his attempts have caused the barbershop to be in dire straits and will be foreclosed on if he can’t make the tax payments. His solution? Sell the shop.

Of course, after he sells the shop he has buyers remorse as he starts to see the barbershop for what it really is, a community gathering place where people can hook up and talk about anything on their minds. And that’s what the movie is really about, people talking.

The shop has a full range of people in it, the young smart guy, the old wise guy, the felon just looking for a chance to prove himself, the African guy, the hot chick, the old guys who play checkers all day and the white guy that doesn’t get any respect. There’s more, but you get the idea. Just like Clerks, the star of the story is the dialogue. They talk about everything, and love to give their opinions. You’ll be busting a gut at some of the things Cedric says and you’ll be hearing a lot of “uh huh’s” of agreement from those around you in the theater. Oh, and you won’t just be hearing that from white folk, people of all races were nodding their heads during this movie.

Go see this movie, it’s well worth the ticket price and you will want to see this one with a crowd.

Posted by John | Filed Under 4 Stars, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Comedy, Eve, Ice Cube, R, Sean Patrick Thomas, Theatrical