Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
I never saw the original "Barbershop"
a year or so ago, so I went into this film with minor
trepidation and few expectations and, overall, I was
pleasantly surprised. "Barbershop 2" is light, frothy
and fun entertainment that doesn't try to be much
more than it is. Basically, it's a thin veiled set-up
for a bunch of African-American actors and comedians
to engage in some witty banter and amuse us. That's
the best thing going on here, the talk. Of course,
with Cedric the Entertainer (the funniest guy here)
using a crackling, raspy, muttering, "ethnic" voice,
half of his humor gets lost on a middle class white
guy like myself. Still, this film was simply fun to
watch.
The plot basically centers on a
urban development project going on in the Barbershop's
Chicago neighborhood and uses this device to discuss
the politics, problems and corruption generally inherent
in such an undertaking. But don't let this scare you
away from the film. This is a minor point and one
that is treated with the exact typical approach that
we have come to expect from "message" pictures about
urban plight.
More interesting is the opening
of a rival chain store hair salon across the street
from the titular barbershop. Hilariously, this chain
store is called Nappy Cuts (the funniest name for
a black- oriented product since Jonathan Witherspoon's
Ho-Cakes in "Hollywood Shuffle." - "Ho's gotta eat!")
This allows much humor to evolve from the rumors about
what the new establishment will be like and a fun
scene where Ice Cube and his co-stars actually break
into the recently completed Nappy Cuts to check it
out.
There are also some really lovely
scenes in the film including a flashback segment to
the night MLK was shot and how the riots affect the
barbershop. Cedric the Entertainer's work in this
scene is quite nice and it allows the film a chance
to be a reminder about black history that the opening
credits set it up to be. These credits, by the way,
utilize still pictures and are wonderful looks at
how black hairstyles have affect popular (i.e. white)
culture over the past 40 years.
Sure there are problems with this
film. There's an entire series of flashbacks with
Cedric the Entertainer on subways (infused with a
humorous modern scene that makes fart jokes at the
expense of a stereotypical white businessman) that
evolves into a romantic scene that doesn't really
make any sense at all. (Maybe it has something to
do with something that happened in the first film?)
And the biggest problem, the set-up of Queen Latifah
as the owner of a (female) beauty salon next door
to the barbershop which is obviously a set-up for
a spin-off. (MGM in fact recently announced plans
to release just such a film in November of this year
called "Beauty Shop.").
"Barbershop 2" plays as an homage
to classic African-American cinema. The hand-held
camera work, the loose narrative structure, the humor
mixed with serious drama all reminds one of the films
that established black cinema in the 70's like the
works of Melvin Van Peebles and his films like 1970's
"The Watermelon Man." As a continuation of the genre,
it works as a pleasant diversion with just enough
seriousness to make it seem thoughtful and worthwhile
and just enough humor to make it utterly enjoyable.
Note:
Also with Eve, Kel (or is it Kenan
- no it was Kenan), Michael Ealy, and, of course,
Ice Cube, who also acts as Executive Producer here.
The score music by Richard Gibbs
is quite nice.
Filmed on location in Chicago.
Viewed at a sneak in Austin in February
2004.
