Barbershop

Rating:
Summary: I was rolling...:)
Review: This movie was great. Low keyed and laid back it was really funny though some of the scenes of the 2 guys stealing the ATM got a little monotonous. The banter between the people in the barbershop was fun and none of the characters were lacking. The movie was really funny though and Cedric the Entertainer was particularly fun to watch. The story line was good and was super funny without being real raunchy either. I loved it and say that I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Great fun! And not necessarily stereo-typed fun, either!
Review: My husband and I enjoyed this movie, and he was fully prepared to dislike it. It was a good flick and provided some stereotype-breaking moments as well. In addition to a good plot and good laughs, there were several "speeches" that added value to the ongoing discussion concerning the plight of the black man.
If you need a smile or two, rent it!

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming, urban magic
Review: Although "Barbershop" didn't make its deserved mark on the box office, this should definitely be a rental for anyone wanting a funny, light-hearted tale about keeping things real and remembering what's important.

The story centers around Calvin, a 30-something barbershop owner whose get-rich-quick fever reminds me of Ralph Kramden of "The Honeymooners". Inheriting both the barbershop and its debts from his father, Calvin desperately wants to "buy Stedman's (Oprah's boyfriend) guest house" by producing a platinum record and becoming wealthy to support his wife and future child. Seeing the barbershop as a money pit, he impulsively sells it to a crooked loan shark. Realizing how important the barbershop is to the neighborhood, his employees, and himself, he begins an earnest quest to get the barbershop back.

The ensemble that works in the barbershop is a comfortable group of cozy characters. Cedric the Entertainer plays the senior leader in the shop, entertaining the customers and the employees with his brash opinions and uncouth comedy. Eve plays the girl with attitude and a good heart who keeps ending up with the wrong guy. Sean Patrick Thomas plays the intellectual of the cast, constantly chided by his peers as being a "sell out" who believes his education makes him better than everyone else.

I could go on forever about the engaging cast, but to sum it up, SEE THIS MOVIE! The characters are strong, the story is great, and, although not necessarily the award-winning film of the century, it is an entertaining story of family and friendship.

Rating:
Summary: Ensemble Cast Would Make a Great 1-Hour TV Drama/Comedy
Review: Calvin's Barbershop is the "Black man's answer to the country club." Located in South Chicago, it has stood for forty years as the neighborhood meeting place. The "chairs" appropriate a melange of characters that keep the place jumping from all different directions. Calvin, the shop's reluctant heir wants the shop gone--he wants to rid himself of what he sees as a money pit rather than an asset. Eddie, the shop's veteran barber, shoots his mouth off as one would expect of the local elder statesman except his little truisms do not necessarily smack of sage advice. Rather, they are outrageously amusing anecdotes designed to knock the deity status out of such cultural luminaries as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rodney King, Jesse Jackson, and, oh, yes, O.J. Simpson. Terri, the shop's only female haircutter is a get-in-your-face diva with a philandering boyfriend. She is loved not-so-quite-from-afar by the sweet faced West African who sweeps the floor, quotes Pablo Neruda love poetry and leaves red roses on top of her locker. Jimmy, the college boy, thinks his educational aspirations ranks him at a higher level than Ricky, the twice convicted felon. Both dis the shop's only white haircutter--in a bit of amusing reverse discrimination, this poor guy's whiteness insures he is never requested for cuts by the shop's more color-conscious patrons.

The plot is driven by the robbery of an ATM machine from an Indian's convenience store located across the street from the barbershop and Calvin's decision to sell the shop to a loan shark for $20,000. As the scenes shift from the action at the shop to the hysterically funny activities of the two bumbling theives, we eventually see the connection between the two events and the larger connection that the barbershop has to the barbers, the patrons and the neighborhood.

This day-in-the-life technique would work fabulously as a one hour per week television comedy drama modelled along the lines of CBS's short-lived Italian-American venue, "That's Life". "That's Life" was also thought to be stereotypical, but somehow despite this critical representation it managed to be funny and warm and depict real family life and values instead of politically correct blurred viewpoints that distort reality rather than promote truth. "Barbershop" has that same potential---do see it, it comes highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe, just maybe, you can go home again.
Review: Here is a movie that didn't use any hi-tech equipment to make hi-tech explosives or cause hi-tech crashes or have "ganstavision" as it's premise. It just did what Hollywood lost sight of; it told a story. Each one of the characters were real and nothing was too much, and that was what made this movie even more endearing. Cedric the Entertainer, however, was the star that shined the brightest, because he made me remember the old men who inhabited the barbershops of my youth and, no matter how much you believed what you knew, they made sure you listened to what they had to say and you thought about it for awhile. Of course, sometimes they were off-course with what they had to say, and sometimes you had to listen twice just to believe they had the nerve to say it, but these men held up to their convictions and didn't back down, and any topic was fair game to them. If you agreed, fine, but if you didn't, then it was okay, and you moved on to another subject, while silently learning from them. For me, this was one of the best movies of the year and I hope to see more that abandon glitz for the sake of story.

Rating:
Summary: Best DVD Ever
Review: Not only was this a great movie which is flat out funny. But DVD graphics especially the special features was off the hook. This is the DVD to get.

Rating:
Summary: A "Cut" Above the Rest.
Review: "Barbershop" was one of those films I slept on when it was released in theatres in 2002 (actually, I slept on a LOT of films in 2002, but that's for another conversation). Its cast, premise, and success at the box office made me take a mental note to check out the DVD, and having finally done so, I can now understand why it was so warmly received. While "Barbershop" won't exactly change the rules of filmmaking, it's a carefree and easygoing comedy that's guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Ice Cube is in good form as Calvin, the owner of a barbershop that's been running for three generations. But when he gets into a financial pinch, desperate times call for desperate measures, so he gets into shady business with a loan shark who threatens the shop's future. So will Calvin lose his shop for good? I won't say, but I will note that "Barbershop" is a sure-fire crowd pleaser with good performances from Cedric the Entertainer (hilarious as an opinionated barber from the old-school), Eve as the sassy Terri ("Who drank my apple juice?!"), and Sean Patrick Thomas as the smarter-than-thou Jimmy James, who will never let you forget that he has a college education. The plot wears a wee bit thin if predictable, but for a feel-good film this agreeable, you have to be a serious killjoy to turn your nose at "Barbershop."

Rating:
Summary: Really funny
Review: This if a really cool movie to watch with your family together!

Rating:
Summary: Hillarious!
Review: This movie is one of the funniest that I have seen in a long time.

Ice Cube plays a struggling young barber who inherited a barber shop from his father, but would rather be producing his own records. The majority of the dialogue within the movie actually takes place within the barbershop and it can't be beat. Cedric the Entertainer plays an elderly barber quick to spew out his thoughts on all things controversial, indeferent to anyone else's opinion.

Not realizing what a treasure he has, Ice Cube sells the barbershop to a loan shark, realizing too late that he really wants to keep it.

One of the side plots of the movie revolves around the theft of an ATM from a convenience store. One of the funnier scenes in the movie is when a cop drives by as they are moving it down the street. The quickly form a line and the cop stands in line waiting for the machine to dispense some cash.

In the end, the barbershop is saved and all is well.

A great, funny show for all to watch.

Rating:
Summary: First rate entertainment with a moral
Review: Just watched the DVD - I missed it at the theaters. What a great social commentary. It captures a sense of community and all the good natured ribbing and banter that goes with it. If you come from a place with any sense of community I guarantee you'll recognize at least a few of the characters. Reminds me of my barbershop!