Barbershop 2: Back in Business

One and a half stars

Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Screenplay by Don D. Scott, based on characters by Mark Brown. Released by MGM. Rated PG-13 (for language, sexual material and brief drug references). Run-ning time: 118 minutes.

The cast

Calvin Palmer Ice Cube
Eddie Cedric the Entertainer
Gina Queen Latifah
Terri Eve
Isaac Troy Garity
Quentin Leroux Harry Lennix
Jimmy Sean Patrick Thomas

by Michael Drakulich

The gist of this film can be summed in one short phrase: "Sorry. My bad."

The fictional neighborhood barbershop on Chicago's south side is under attack. Corporate America threatens to invade, as a chain salon called Nappy Cutz has moved in across the street from Calvin's (Ice Cube) family owned shop.

Calvin’s whole existence could be wiped out in a matter of months.
This is expected. Conflict is necessary to create dramatic tension.

But it's treated half-heartedly.

What this film seems more concerned with is repairing the damage from its predecessor.

Oh, you remember. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and any other Reverend who wanted to be heard came out against "Barbershop" for some of the comments Cedric the Entertainer’s character Eddie made about Rodney King and Rosa Parks.

So to make up for the controversy, through flashbacks, Eddie is portrayed as downtrodden, then an activist who was given a break and a job by Calvin’s father.

He repays the kindness by saving the barbershop during the 1968 riots.
The logic here is if he’s struggling himself, and he does the heroic deed of saving the shop from a Molotov Cocktail or two, it’s okay for him to make those later comments.

I didn’t think they were offensive in the first place. Eddie's comments were neighborhood-style proselytizing and I suppose you should consider whether the source is credible.

That was the charm of the first film, which the sequel cannot match. Much of the shop’s chatter was half-baked and funny because of it. For those who came from humble neighborhood beginnings, this was a chance to identify and reminisce.

The second time around, it tries to one-up its predecessor and comes across as forced. It resembles a schoolyard argument where each insult just more and more lame.

What's confusing is why all of this was not made to fit better with the rest of the movie. There is no coherence here.

We have the Nappy Cutz and Eddie plot lines, Terri (Eve) tries to get hold of her anger; Ricky (Michael Ealy) struggles with work and trying to pass the GED, and Issac (Troy Garity) is the cross-over Jewish guy who can’t fit in no matter how good a barber he is.

The unfortunate part of all this is it’s too busy. These stories don’t have a direct relation to the overall theme. They’re introduced and just kind of left out there to hang.

Their only recognizable purpose is to lengthen the film long enough to constitute a feature.

The whole story is protracted for nearly two hours when at least 20 minutes could have been lopped off in the editing room.

There are some fun parts, and of course they all come from Eddie, whenever he’s not being portrayed as more sympathetic to black issues.
Most every other aspect is treated too casually for us to really care.
*
Michael Drakulich is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He may be reached at (708) 802-8841 or via e-mail at mdrakulich@starnewspapers.com