It’s Saturday afternoon, you’ve got a hot date tonight and church in the morning, so where do you go to get yourself ready for the action? Nowhere but Calvin’s Barbershop in Southside Chicago.
But don’t just go there to get your hair done, go for the latest gossip about relationships, the word on the street and of course the checker games.
“Barbershop 2: Back in Business,”,the sequel to 2002’s surprise hit “Barbershop” met all levels of entertainment as the original film had and even surpassed a few marks.
Moviegoers asked for more laughs from Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), as well as more supporting cast character development and the producers delivered.
Reprising his role as Calvin, Ice Cube is the owner of Calvin’s Barbershop, a place that has historic value in the neighborhood. It’s a place that the old and the young alike can come together to enjoy life and reminisce on good times. However, that bliss is quickly interrupted by Nappy Cuts, a new upscale barbershop that offers all the amenities anyone could ever request.
Of course, like all other situational comedies, you’ve got the existing store that is interrupted by a new business owner who thinks he can close all mom-and-pop shops by buying them out. However, the old owners think about selling out, but in the end, everything works out.
The movie is pretty predictable and at times it seems like it is dragging on and needs to end. Nevertheless, spectators become ignorant to the two hours passing by because of the subplots the directors attempted to intertwine and the countless laughs.
Eddie grabs the spotlight again with his one-liners and rants about society’s issues. In the first movie, his character was criticized for talking about Rosa Parks and Jesse Jackson. This go around he avoided such touchy subjects but still got some ideas rolling after calling the DC sniper the Jackie Robinson of crime.
Other characters have moved on. Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), the college kid who thought he was better than his fellow barbers, has become an aide to the local alderman, whose morally dubious role in the redevelopment scheme tests Jimmy’s idealism. Terri (rapper Eve) is working to control her volcanic temper with yoga and grow beyond her attraction to roughnecks like Ricky (Michael Ealy), a glowering ex-convict who cuts heads beside her. And the film introduces a substantial new character, beauty parlor operator Gina (Queen Latifah), who banters with the best of them.
Grade: B-
contact Dominique Drake at ddids1@Aol.com