This is a very satisfying movie. The plot may be a little tired, but the characters and the actors who play them bring a fresh and very irreverent face to it. Ice Cube sometimes doesn't bring quite enough facial expression to his characters (he too often has the blank look of the straight guy)but here his face is finally registering some of the emotion he usually lets his words convey. Cedric the Entertainer is a hoot, and I was very happily surprised by Eve, who was just good fun to watch as Terri, the girl who just isn't quite as tough as she wants to be. Yes, the movie is very funny, but it's also a nice depiction of the little lives that go on whether we see them or not. And on a slightly more strident note, this movie offered some things that you just don't see enough of, particularly in movies with all (or almost all) black casts: a married man who is excited about his wife's pregnancy, room for varied views on civil rights history, and the racism that African Americans can force on themselves in the absence of white people. And all handled with subtlety and respect.
Review of Barbershop
