MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (4/15/16): BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT
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| 'Yo, son! Remember when we had beef back in the day and now we're both almost better known for our movies than our rapping? Getting old in hip-hop is great, ain't it?!" Calvin (Ice Cube) embraces Rashad (Common) in a scene from director Malcolm D. Lee's BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT. Credit: Chuck Zlotnick © 2016 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Ice Cube, Common, Cedric the Entertainer, Diallo Thompson, Michael Rainey, Jr., Nicki Minaj, Regina Hall, JB Smoove, Deon Cole, Eve, Lamorne Harris, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Jazmin Lewis, Tyga, Margot Bingham, Jamal Woolard, Renell Gibbs, Anthony Anderson, Torion Sellers and Sean Patrick Thomas
WRITER(S): Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver (screenplay); Mark Brown (characters)
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Arriving in theaters 12 – yes, 12 – years after the last installment (anyone besides me remember that Beauty Shop spinoff?), Barbershop: The Next Cut finds Calvin (Ice Cube) doing his usual – Running his South Side Chicago barbershop – but now joined by a partner in Angie (Regina Hall). This mixed gender shop has its pros and cons for Calvin's crew as old, cantankerous veteran Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), former ladies man Rashad (Common), son of Middle Eastern immigrants Raja (Utkarsh Ambudkar), the nerdy Jerrod (Lamorne Harris), appropriately named jack-of-all-trades One-Stop (JB Smoove) and shop regular Dante (Deon Cole) all try to make due as best they can. That's not to say things are any easier for Angie's fellow female stylists Bree (Margot Bingham) and Draya (Nicki Minaj), especially since the latter is drawing the ire of Rashad's wife and former shop regular Terri (Eve) for her flirtatious ways.
In any case, the shop is still as boisterous as ever personality-wise, but business is in danger of dwindling ... Not because Calvin, Angie and company are providing bad service, but because the neighborhood is becoming way too dangerous as the murder rates go up and the chance of surviving a shooting continues to go down. While young hoods like Yummy (Tyga) are hoping to be the next kings of the streets, Rashad's and Calvin's sons Kenny (Diallo Thompson) and Jalen (Michael Rainey, Jr.) are in danger of getting caught up in the drama.
Hoping to put a stop to the violence before city hall takes action that could reduce the crime but hurt their business, Calvin, Angie and the rest of the shop regulars come up with a plan of their own: a 48-hour cease fire to encourage peace. But will their actions prove to win out in the end when just about every day is filled with gunfire that threatens to shut them down for good?
In any case, the shop is still as boisterous as ever personality-wise, but business is in danger of dwindling ... Not because Calvin, Angie and company are providing bad service, but because the neighborhood is becoming way too dangerous as the murder rates go up and the chance of surviving a shooting continues to go down. While young hoods like Yummy (Tyga) are hoping to be the next kings of the streets, Rashad's and Calvin's sons Kenny (Diallo Thompson) and Jalen (Michael Rainey, Jr.) are in danger of getting caught up in the drama.
Hoping to put a stop to the violence before city hall takes action that could reduce the crime but hurt their business, Calvin, Angie and the rest of the shop regulars come up with a plan of their own: a 48-hour cease fire to encourage peace. But will their actions prove to win out in the end when just about every day is filled with gunfire that threatens to shut them down for good?
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Ice Cube fans; parents and educators who will admire the way the film takes a realistic look at some of the difficulties in urban neighborhoods; President Obama supporters; Chicagoans; fans of the first two barbershop films
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who feel the issues discussed in the film don't do anything more than provide additional chatter as opposed to solutions; those within the black community that dislike when African-Americans criticize other African-Americans and/or feel the film would be better served by focusing on one main topic/issue than several at a time; anyone who feels like they can't relate to the subject matter given their political beliefs
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who feel the issues discussed in the film don't do anything more than provide additional chatter as opposed to solutions; those within the black community that dislike when African-Americans criticize other African-Americans and/or feel the film would be better served by focusing on one main topic/issue than several at a time; anyone who feels like they can't relate to the subject matter given their political beliefs
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? When more than a decade passes between a film's franchise installments, the results are usually not good in terms of both the film itself and its box office numbers (sorry Zoolander 2). Fortunately, Barbershop: The Next Cut is the rare third installment in a film series that does something the first two do not: It delivers the best chapter in the bunch as this one has something to say that is relevant in both its timing and its message to its core audience.
If you haven't paid attention to the situation of violence in Chicago despite the fact it's been making national news for a while now (click here or here or here for more on that), you might not understand the severity of what is happening across the country, let alone concentrated in the Windy City's urban core. Spike Lee did make a whole movie based about this recently, but hey, he's not everyone's cup of tea (or should that be black coffee) so maybe you missed it in its limited engagements outside of major cities nationwide. (People also had mixed opinions on the film, so don't take that as a diss of your care or concern.) Anyway ... For all the progress African-Americans have made in the last 75 years, the furor/debate over what can be done to reduce violence in the urban community and the underlying causes/situations that allow it to proliferate (if not be encouraged in some instances) rage on.
The Next Cut takes a look at this issue with performances that feel 100 percent genuine, while at the same time delivering jabs of humor and introspection at the same time in discussing a number of subjects that may in turn inspire the audience to do the same. In other words, the true value of the film comes not from it offering some never-seen-before, grandiose and/or preachy solution, but by discussing several issues honestly (sometimes in ways that may be too honest for the room) to show how these things are affecting real people (in a fictionalized setting ironically) and why something needs to be done and the value of trying to do so. Whereas Cube plays his role as a concerned business owner and father extremely well, Common and Eve address male/female relations in solid fashion (there's no new information here as much as just good reminders of what makes the dynamic work) while the rest of cast explores friendship and family with a solid mix of humor and raw energy that clicks.
So yes, while the jokes are still there and hit more than they miss, the jokes aren't actually what makes this installment of the Barbershop series the best one yet. For while you might remember a joke or two leaving the theater, it will make you want to talk to a neighbor/friend/family member/kid about what can be done to make your local neighborhood a better place.
That makes this Barbershop a cut above the previous two.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
If you haven't paid attention to the situation of violence in Chicago despite the fact it's been making national news for a while now (click here or here or here for more on that), you might not understand the severity of what is happening across the country, let alone concentrated in the Windy City's urban core. Spike Lee did make a whole movie based about this recently, but hey, he's not everyone's cup of tea (or should that be black coffee) so maybe you missed it in its limited engagements outside of major cities nationwide. (People also had mixed opinions on the film, so don't take that as a diss of your care or concern.) Anyway ... For all the progress African-Americans have made in the last 75 years, the furor/debate over what can be done to reduce violence in the urban community and the underlying causes/situations that allow it to proliferate (if not be encouraged in some instances) rage on.
The Next Cut takes a look at this issue with performances that feel 100 percent genuine, while at the same time delivering jabs of humor and introspection at the same time in discussing a number of subjects that may in turn inspire the audience to do the same. In other words, the true value of the film comes not from it offering some never-seen-before, grandiose and/or preachy solution, but by discussing several issues honestly (sometimes in ways that may be too honest for the room) to show how these things are affecting real people (in a fictionalized setting ironically) and why something needs to be done and the value of trying to do so. Whereas Cube plays his role as a concerned business owner and father extremely well, Common and Eve address male/female relations in solid fashion (there's no new information here as much as just good reminders of what makes the dynamic work) while the rest of cast explores friendship and family with a solid mix of humor and raw energy that clicks.
So yes, while the jokes are still there and hit more than they miss, the jokes aren't actually what makes this installment of the Barbershop series the best one yet. For while you might remember a joke or two leaving the theater, it will make you want to talk to a neighbor/friend/family member/kid about what can be done to make your local neighborhood a better place.
That makes this Barbershop a cut above the previous two.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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