[.ca] Barbershop (Widescreen Special Edition)

gimme a trim:
enjoyable cast. cedric the entertainer lays it on a bit too much and his old man act not quite believable, but what the heck, why quibble? the charismatic and gorgeous eve steals every scene she is in. about two thirds of her scenes require her to be angry and she is terrific, pulls it off with aplomb! some women are never more beautiful than when angry--and eve is one wonderful lady the guys will fall in love with on the spot. This viewer sure did. worth seeing. you'll have fun.

classy and intelligent, a surprising film:
A film by Tim Story The barbershop has been a neighborhood institution in the African American community. It is the place that, historically, black men could gather together and talk about anything, from politics to religion to sports and not have to worry about white society. Long after the politics of the Civil Rights movement, the barbershop remains an important cornerstone of the neighborhood. The barbershop in question here is owned by Calvin (Ice Cube). It has been in the family for fifty years and while Calvin dreams (and tries) grander things, he also wants the shop to succeed. Unfortunately, the shop is not making much money (the reason for that is debated throughout the movie), and Calvin goes to a loan shark for help. It is too late when he realizes his mistake and now the barbershop is under a serious risk of being closed for good. Meanwhile there is a strange subplot about a couple of guys who stole an ATM and are trying to get the money from it. Everything ties together in the end, in a surprising way. This seems to be a fairly simplistic description, but the heart of the movie is actually in the barbershop and the dynamic of the relationships that we see there. I expected this to be another "dumb comedy", but this is actually fairly classy and intelligent and worth seeing. This should not be dismissed as a genre film, but is honestly a good movie. "Barbershop" costars Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and Sean Patrick Thomas. -Joe Sherry

Freakin Hilarious!!:
I finally watched this movie and I laughed my ass of all the way, Cedric is like getting funnier and funnier.Man what a movie

CEDRIC Saves the Day but Not the Film:
I may be in the minority on this, but I could care less. Anyway reviews are supposed to be honest and here is mine. I found Barbershop a huge disappointment along with Waiting to Exhale and Soul Food. All three films were hyped up beyond belief but once you watch them your interest deflates faster than a nerf ball. The only and I repeat ONLY reason to watch this for more than five minutes is because of Cedric The Entertainer, the only funny character in the film. With Anthony Anderson along for the ride I expected nonstop laughs. Instead I get the African-American version of National Lampoon's Barbershop. Ice Cube is good in dramas but he has no business being the lead character in a comedy. Ice Cube is frightening, not funny. He relies on comedy relief from co-stars such as he did in Friday which would have bombed without the hilarious Chris Tucker. There were too many wasted characters. I love Eve but she didn't do anything worth mentioning. Only one woman in the shop and you can't give her one funny thing to say? Ranting about apple juice...oh yeah that's funny. Men sitting around talking about black women's butts...yeah that's original to disrespect sisters. NOT! A big butt woman comes into the shop for men to gawk at...oh that's nothing we've never seen before. YEAH RIGHT! The funniest part was Cedric's take on Rosa Parks and we all know the heat Barbershop got from that. With a better lead this would have been very funny and lived up to the hype. Chris Rock or Brian Hooks would have sent this film to the roof with laughter. Ice Cube moped and whined. The funniest line he delivered was about the barbecue, other than that...he wasn't the right man for the part. I applaud Cube's efforts for trying to recapture the humor of Friday but he was the weakest spot. Also there were too many wasted characters and not enough women. What, sisters need something to relate to too. We're sick of seeing the same lame jokes put out by black men about our bodies, hair and attitude. Come on, Barbershop I expected something much more intelligent and funny. Cedric saved a sinking ship. If it hadn't been for him this movie would have sunk like a dead fish. Watch it if you want to. If you laugh, good for you. If you find something in this that's original, you deserve a million dollars. If you didn't find Barbershop worth the time and money, you're not the only one. The Barbershop on my corner is funnier than this. As I watched this one question popped into my head over and over: Where is Bernie Mac when you need him?

Alright:
The first half of the movie was on a roll that almost convinces you that this will be a very funny and enjoyable film, only then you realize the movie is still playing even when the jokes run out and the plot is stretched paper thin. I give the movie props for portraying a black male who didn't turn back to crime after getting his life together and another who realized what owning his father's shop really meant. In that sense it got away from some cliches. Still overall the movie got much more hype than it deserved mainly because of the people mentioned by Cedric's character.