Barbershop 2
Opens
Friday, Feb. 6
An appealing cast inhabits well-defined characters with warmth and ease in this reunion of the Barbershop staff. Exec producing this time, Ice Cube reprises his turn as good-guy straight man to a winning comedy ensemble, while Cedric the Entertainer steps into an expanded role as the memorably opinionated, "semiretired" barber Eddie. Again pitting the beloved neighborhood institution against unwholesome business interests, Barbershop 2: Back in Business has a rollicking time reaching its foreseeable conclusion. With the built-in draw of an established concept and the addition of Queen Latifah, the film should have the legs to surpass its predecessor's take of $75 million.
The script by Don D. Scott, one of the 2002 hit's three writers, is more earthbound than the first installment. In place of painfully dumb thieves and unbelievable police raids is a bit of social context. Chicago itself is more of a presence, from its elevated trains to its late-'60s turmoil. Opening with a slice of back story from 1967 that shows how Eddie first arrived at the South Side barbershop, the film jumps into present-day action with his rant about biracial public figures and the D.C. snipers.
Given the controversy the first film stirred up with its skewering of civil rights icons, the comments this time around don't have quite the same shock value. As funny as Eddie's contrarian attitudes can be -- especially in Cedric's inimitable delivery -- there's a sense in the early going that the film is trying too hard, in its good-natured way, to offend. Once director Kevin Rodney Sullivan (How Stella Got Her Groove Back) relaxes into the story, though, the rants become an integral part of the nonstop kibitzing.
Having withstood money troubles and loan-shark maneuvers in the first film, Calvin (Ice Cube) finds his shop targeted by a cigar-chomping developer (Harry Lennix) who's installing Chicago's first branch of the Nappy Cutz chain directly across the street. Boasting such amenities as titanium clippers, leather smocks and flat-screen TVs, not to mention room to play hoops, the new haircut emporium gives Calvin ample reason to worry. Go-getter Jimmy Sean Patrick Thomas), who has left barbering for politics -- Eddie calls him West Wing -- tries to help Calvin save his business, appealing to his verbiage-spouting boss, Alderman Brown (Robert Wisdom).
As they navigate personality clashes and other tensions, Calvin's haircutters remain more or less united, especially against Calvin's fresh-from-barber-school cousin (SNL's Kenan Thompson), who they wordlessly agree is an annoyance and a fool. Isaac (Troy Garity), the sole white barber, is more convinced than ever of his haircutting super-talents, and Nigerian immigrant Dinka Leonard Earl Howze) still harbors a crush on take-no-prisoners Terri (Eve), who's catching everyone off-guard with her serenity-now enlightenment -- she's even willing to share her apple juice. Ex-con Ricky (Michael Ealy) is still secretive and enigmatic when Terri discovers what he's been up to, she uncovers another surprise in the process.
Introducing the role she'll play in the upcoming spinoff Beauty Shop, Queen Latifah makes an impression as Gina, an ex-girlfriend of Calvin's and a stylist at the women's salon next door -- where things really get raunchy. Gina and Eddie face off in a rousing bout of insult comedy that's one of the film's best scenes, not only for the laughs but for the underlying affection.
Colorful, witty production and costume design heighten the spirited proceedings, and cinematographer Tom Priestley effectively uses black-and-white and desaturated color in flashback sequences. Helmer Sullivan keeps it all moving at a lively pace. Despite the predictable story arc, he and writer Scott generally avoid plot tidiness, letting strands unwind and overlap, propelled by the terrific actors.
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS
MGM
State Street Pictures/Cube Vision
Credits:
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Screenwriter: Don D. Scott
Producers: Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr., Alex Gartner
Executive producers: Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez, Mark Brown
Director of photography: Tom Priestley
Production designer: Robb Wilson King
Music: Richard Gibbs
Costume designer: Jennifer Bryan
Editor: Paul Seydor
Cast:
Calvin: Ice Cube
Eddie: Cedric the Entertainer
Jimmy: Sean Patrick Thomas
Terri: Eve
Isaac: Troy Garity
Ricky: Michael Ealy
Dinka: Leonard Earl Howze
Quentin Leroux: Harry Lennix
Alderman Brown: Robert Wisdom
Kenard: Kenan Thompson
Gina: Queen Latifah
Loretta: Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon
Miss Emma: Jackie Taylor
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13...
Friday, Feb. 6
An appealing cast inhabits well-defined characters with warmth and ease in this reunion of the Barbershop staff. Exec producing this time, Ice Cube reprises his turn as good-guy straight man to a winning comedy ensemble, while Cedric the Entertainer steps into an expanded role as the memorably opinionated, "semiretired" barber Eddie. Again pitting the beloved neighborhood institution against unwholesome business interests, Barbershop 2: Back in Business has a rollicking time reaching its foreseeable conclusion. With the built-in draw of an established concept and the addition of Queen Latifah, the film should have the legs to surpass its predecessor's take of $75 million.
The script by Don D. Scott, one of the 2002 hit's three writers, is more earthbound than the first installment. In place of painfully dumb thieves and unbelievable police raids is a bit of social context. Chicago itself is more of a presence, from its elevated trains to its late-'60s turmoil. Opening with a slice of back story from 1967 that shows how Eddie first arrived at the South Side barbershop, the film jumps into present-day action with his rant about biracial public figures and the D.C. snipers.
Given the controversy the first film stirred up with its skewering of civil rights icons, the comments this time around don't have quite the same shock value. As funny as Eddie's contrarian attitudes can be -- especially in Cedric's inimitable delivery -- there's a sense in the early going that the film is trying too hard, in its good-natured way, to offend. Once director Kevin Rodney Sullivan (How Stella Got Her Groove Back) relaxes into the story, though, the rants become an integral part of the nonstop kibitzing.
Having withstood money troubles and loan-shark maneuvers in the first film, Calvin (Ice Cube) finds his shop targeted by a cigar-chomping developer (Harry Lennix) who's installing Chicago's first branch of the Nappy Cutz chain directly across the street. Boasting such amenities as titanium clippers, leather smocks and flat-screen TVs, not to mention room to play hoops, the new haircut emporium gives Calvin ample reason to worry. Go-getter Jimmy Sean Patrick Thomas), who has left barbering for politics -- Eddie calls him West Wing -- tries to help Calvin save his business, appealing to his verbiage-spouting boss, Alderman Brown (Robert Wisdom).
As they navigate personality clashes and other tensions, Calvin's haircutters remain more or less united, especially against Calvin's fresh-from-barber-school cousin (SNL's Kenan Thompson), who they wordlessly agree is an annoyance and a fool. Isaac (Troy Garity), the sole white barber, is more convinced than ever of his haircutting super-talents, and Nigerian immigrant Dinka Leonard Earl Howze) still harbors a crush on take-no-prisoners Terri (Eve), who's catching everyone off-guard with her serenity-now enlightenment -- she's even willing to share her apple juice. Ex-con Ricky (Michael Ealy) is still secretive and enigmatic when Terri discovers what he's been up to, she uncovers another surprise in the process.
Introducing the role she'll play in the upcoming spinoff Beauty Shop, Queen Latifah makes an impression as Gina, an ex-girlfriend of Calvin's and a stylist at the women's salon next door -- where things really get raunchy. Gina and Eddie face off in a rousing bout of insult comedy that's one of the film's best scenes, not only for the laughs but for the underlying affection.
Colorful, witty production and costume design heighten the spirited proceedings, and cinematographer Tom Priestley effectively uses black-and-white and desaturated color in flashback sequences. Helmer Sullivan keeps it all moving at a lively pace. Despite the predictable story arc, he and writer Scott generally avoid plot tidiness, letting strands unwind and overlap, propelled by the terrific actors.
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS
MGM
State Street Pictures/Cube Vision
Credits:
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Screenwriter: Don D. Scott
Producers: Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr., Alex Gartner
Executive producers: Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez, Mark Brown
Director of photography: Tom Priestley
Production designer: Robb Wilson King
Music: Richard Gibbs
Costume designer: Jennifer Bryan
Editor: Paul Seydor
Cast:
Calvin: Ice Cube
Eddie: Cedric the Entertainer
Jimmy: Sean Patrick Thomas
Terri: Eve
Isaac: Troy Garity
Ricky: Michael Ealy
Dinka: Leonard Earl Howze
Quentin Leroux: Harry Lennix
Alderman Brown: Robert Wisdom
Kenard: Kenan Thompson
Gina: Queen Latifah
Loretta: Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon
Miss Emma: Jackie Taylor
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating PG-13...
- 3/15/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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