Movie review: ‘Barbershop 3' doesn't quite make the cut
The 2002 film "Barbershop," the first in what's turned out to be an honest-to-goodness franchise, was a film that made me laugh, and earned a review that was of the thumbs-up variety. I didn't see "Barbershop 2," but with the release of "Barbershop: The Next Cut," I was looking forward to finding out how the series held up.
The setting is the same, with Calvin's Barbershop, still smack in the middle of Chicago's South Side, though it's been spruced up. The biggest change is that the male barbers have been joined by female stylists on the other side of the room, a business maneuver to keep the place running in tough times.
There are also returning characters. Calvin (Ice Cube) does his best to run things smoothly, make sure everyone's happy, and manage to keep the place open. But these days he's only half in charge, as he now has a business partner Angie (Regina Hall, new to the series), who runs the "salon" side. Don't worry, Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) is still there, spouting off the script's funniest lines with the best delivery.
Among other new characters who have something to add here are cutter Rashad (Common) and super-slick salesman One-Stop (J.B. Smoove), who's been allowed to set up shop within the shop, and will sell you anything, including counseling services. Of the returning cast members, it's unclear why Eve, playing stylist Terri — who is married to Rashad — is still there, as her acting has been stilted since the first film. And the addition of Nicki Minaj as flirty stylist Draya, is an exercise in having a film filled with mostly good performances marred by one from an over-actor.
But the film's problems go beyond a couple of casting gaffes. It's a comedy, and there's some absolute hilarity. But the script also shows a heavy, serious side. There's good reason for screenwriters Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, along with producer Ice Cube, to want to go into some sobering contemporary issues. Real-life Chicago is in trouble, and the film's focus on gang violence and gunfire in the streets is right out of the headlines. This stuff needs to be addressed, and why not do it in a movie that's sure to attract a lot of viewers. But the result is a film that tries too hard to be both funny and serious, and it comes out uncomfortably uneven.
When side plots veer off into Calvin's teenage son Jalen (Michael Rainey, Jr.) thinking of checking out a street gang, and Rashad's son — and Jalen's pal — Kenny (Diallo Thompson) appearing to be leading the way to trouble, you've got to wonder how the mood will lighten.
Meanwhile, violence nearly breaks out in the shop, as two rival adult gang leaders come close to an altercation when their appointments are accidentally booked at the same time.
Thank goodness there's all kinds of chauvinistic talk from the barbers, at which complaints are leveled from the stylists, who in turn get pretty raunchy themselves. Snappy, funny dialogue in these scenes deflates the tension and is welcomed.
But the film gets clogged up with all of the back and forth. Calvin is thinking of moving the shop to a safer part of town, Draya is flirting with Rashad, practically in front of his wife, and suddenly a plan is hatched to "save the neighborhood," after government officials threaten to close off some nearby streets to stem the violence. The answer is to have the barbershop become a safe haven for one weekend, enforcing a 48-hour ceasefire between gangs by offering free haircuts to go along with friendly chatter.
It's a good idea for a film plot and would be in real life, but the screen version plays out with a kind of thud. Even with the off-screen death of one minor character, everything eventually works out OK. But there's a feeling of the screenwriters just trying too hard, spewing out ending after ending till they finally tie up every last detail. Thank goodness the last laugh goes to Eddie, who deserves to get it.
— Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now.
"Barbershop: The Next Cut"
Written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver; directed by Malcolm D. Lee
With Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Regina Hall, Eve, Common, Nicki Minaj
Rated PG-13