Calvin (Ice Cube) never wanted to take over the family business, a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Disgusted with the shop's crime-ridden neighborhood, and caught up in his moneymaking schemes, one morning Calvin decides to sell the shop to the shady Lester (Keith David). Chastised by his pregnant wife, Jennifer (Jazsmin Lewis), for his rash decision, Calvin spends the day cutting heads at the shop, and starts to understand the importance of the legacy his grandfather and father have
left to him. The bickering barbers include Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), the old-timer with his own unique perspective on black life; Terri (rapper Eve in her film debut), a hot-tempered woman with a trifling boyfriend; Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), a college educated snob; Ricky (Michael Ealy) a reformed criminal; Isaac (Troy Garity, the son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden), a white B-Boy, whom no one is ready to let cut their hair; and Dinka (Leonard Howze), a recent African immigrant who's too shy to express his feelings for Terri. Calvin learns to appreciate them all, and discovers that the place where they work is more than just a place to get a haircut -- it's a meeting place for the neighborhood, a place where folks can speak their minds and find out what's happening. Calvin gradually changes his mind about selling the shop, but it may be too late. Meanwhile, a bumbling thief, J.D. (Anthony Anderson) spends a painful day trying to crack open the ATM he's stolen from the grocery store across the street. Barbershop was directed by Tim Story and produced by George Tillman Jr. and Robert Teitel, the producers of Soul Food. Barbershop had its world premiere at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
Some of the verbal jousts are hot, and a Laurel and Hardy routine involving a stolen ATM is fitfully hilarious, but this reminds me of a pilot for a cable sitcom.
Rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube ably provides the emotional core in this story of a neighborhood barbershop and its assortment of colorful inhabitants, which is a cut above standard hip-hop cinematic fare.
Perhaps because it promotes traditional values - respect women, crime doesn't pay, family comes first - the film shines in those rare scenes when it plays with received wisdom.
Pretty good joint, but was it good enough for a sequel and a spinoff? Don't curr just cut my hurr. My barber's Vietnamese so I would have liked to have seen some Asians in the shop. Cedric carried this, great performance by him.
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