Just so...so bad

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There are a lot of experiences that young men should have growing up. Being exposed to the barbershop culture is one of them. I loved going to get my haircut when I was a teenager. Not just because I felt rejuvenated with my fresh cut, but because I enjoyed the banter, the stories, and even the superfluous arguments. It's something I still look forward to when I go get a trim. And it's captured perfectly in this 2002 Ice Cube comedy.The story isn't anything too intricate. It surrounds Cube's character, Calvin, trying to decide whether or not he should sell the barbershop passed on to him by his late father. But most of the film is spent filling us in on the happenings of the employees and patrons of the shop, and their own stories. By far the most interesting part, we get a great sense of who these people are and what makes them tick. We feel like we're right there in the shop with them.It has its fair share of broad comedy, but there aren't a lot of moments of subtle humor. Which is okay, since it does the former so well. While it's rarely hysterical, you can definitely appreciate the repartee. In fact, most of the highlights don't come from the barbershop at all, but from Anthony Anderson and Lahmard Tate's characters stealing and attempting to open an ATM machine. This subplot goes on throughout the entire film. With an impressive cast and an even more impressive Ice Cube, the beauty of this film is in its characters. They're not all likable, but you get to know them well enough to understand them. It's deceptively deep.Ultimately, Barbershop turns a very simple premise into something much bigger and more meaningful. And it does it without ever feeling like it's being stretched too thin. Although it's not perfect, it's perhaps one of the most accurate portrayals of a culture so beloved by American males. Twizard Rating: 84

Of all the Ice Cube films this is my favorite, it is filled with raw comedy and it is totally cool. The whole Idea of what trouble it is to steal an ATM machine, and then what happens when you borrow money from the wrong people was like a vehicle to progress when it comes to comedy in this film.I guess my take on Barbershop is that the acting is very much OK, the comedy is well delivered and always straight to the point, causing you the watcher to make regular withdrawals at the laugh bank. The movie was like a helping hand to acting newcomers Eve and Michael Ealy, and it featured some well-rounded actors like Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer and Keith David.Barbershop makes you laugh all through and plays on the issue that bothers many, "What matters most me or others?" Well that was the question Calvin Palmer, Jr. had to answer as he (Calvin played by Ice Cube) was faced with a dilemma, he either sells the barbershop and chase his dreams or keep it and continue to slug it out with life.Well Calvin decided to go with the later, believing his dream is bigger and better so he gave up the barbershop that he inherited from his father by selling it to Lester Wallace (Keith David), who fooled Calvin to thinking he will still keep it as a barbershop when he actually will just keep the name Calvin's Barbershop and turn the shop to a gentleman's bar.After a while Calvin learnt he had made a big mistake then he decided to take back the money which ended up being the whole problem that the film is based on, well actually that is half of what the film is based on, because let's not forget the theft of an ATM machine by JD (Anthony Anderson) and Billy, who believed that they could pry an ATM machine open with power tools.I just can't tell you which was funnier to watch, "The tale of the ATM" or "Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) in the barbershop." Both were just funny to the core, and in the end of the whole movie both incident ended up in the middle with everyone going home happy.The huge success of the movie led to a sequel (Barbershop 2: Back in Business) being done two years later and then a Spin-Off Beauty Shop. Both movies didn't make as much money as the first and didn't get as much critical approval also.So if you are like me looking for some good homemade laughs, go see barbershop again.www.lagsreviews.com

Part Michael Shultz's "Car Wash", part Kevin Smith's "Clerks", part Robert Altman's "Five and Dime", Tim Story's "Barbershop" is an intermittently interesting comedy revolving around a band of African Americans who gather at a South Chicago barbershop to work, chat, hangout and gossip.Forget the film's tired plot; that's just there to hold things together. All that matters in a film like this is that the characters we're forced to hang out with are a likable bunch, and along these lines the film works well. There's barbershop owner Calvin (Ice Cube), local gangster Lester, and Eddie, a funny old timer played by Cedric the Entertainer. The rest of the cast are a colourful assortment of West African poets, small time crooks, no-good boyfriends, racially insecure white boys and East Indian shop owners. Like the aforementioned films, this loosely structured comedy is less about plot than it is about lazily hanging out with a jovial ensemble cast. Cedric the Entertainer steals the show as an opinionated black man who bashes everyone from Rodney King to Rosa Parks.7.9/10 – Worth one viewing.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)From the Sisyphean (say what?) misadventures of a kind of black Laurel and Hardy duo (Anthony Anderson and Lahmard J. Tate) who steal an ATM machine with no money in it that they can't open, to the white dude who thinks he's black, to Cedric the Entertainer who thinks that Rosa Parks got too much credit for parking her butt on the bus, to sexy and saucy Eve who always loves the wrong guy, this is one fine piece of entertainment. And Ice Cube as Calvin who owns the shop ain't so bad himself, although he sure has to frown a lot.Well, he's got troubles right here in the Windy City. He's always got an entrepreneurial scheme up his sleeve that just doesn't quite work out which causes him to fall behind in his property taxes. Now this might not be such a big deal but the barbershop has been in his family for three generations and it serves as a kind of neighborhood club where people can hang out and shoot the breeze. It's a beloved kind of place. Enter Lester Wallace the loan shark with muscle who makes Calvin an offer he can't refuse. Well, he does refuse it or at least he tries, but Wallace ain't the kind of dude to take a refusal.Can Calvin save the barbershop? That's the question of the main plot line, but what really makes this movie such a treat are the barbershop mini-stories that are neatly tied together and the fine repartee. And what makes THAT work is that everything in the film is seen from a point of view inside the black community and not from somebody else looking in (which never works, but is often tried). Add a warm and redemptive ending, and there ain't nobody cryin'.But see this for Tim Story who directed and got it all right, and for Mark Brown, Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd who wrote the neat and very funny script.