Icecube plays Calvin in the movie, 'Barbershop'.THE COMEDY Barbershop is more than just laughs. It offers credible social commentary in ways that audiences can relate to.
Calvin (Ice Cube), a barber, inherits his father's barbershop. For Calvin, though, and the other barbers and patrons, the barbershop has a larger meaning. It is their answer to the genteel country club, it is their parliament.
There historical and current issues are debated, personal conflict and quarrels are settled, feuds of all sizes and nature are ignited by those longing for a little excitement, and are defused by the peacekeepers among the lot. In short, the barbershop boasts a wide offering of characters.
Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas) is the arrogant intellectual, who fully appreciates education as a way out of poverty. However, his know-it-all attitude sets him apart from the group and they take much pleasure in making fun of him.
There is the community rogue who constantly needs protection from himself; there is the buffoon whose life-long goal is to win the love of a woman preoccupied with coping with her two-timing boyfriend. There also is the caucasian male who identifies with negroes but first must earn the right to before he can truly become one of them. Then there is the serious-minded Calvin, who faces the dilemma of keeping a barbershop, which is often bankrupt, while at the same time fulfilling his ambitions of providing a nice home for his wife and unborn child.
The decision making for Calvin is not easy since the barbershop is like a heirloom that must remain in the family. It provides an emotional outlet and economic sustenance for the other 'family members'.
Unfortunately, foreclosure looms on the horizon and Calvin secretly seeks help from Lester Wallace (Keith David), a loan shark, who will own the barbershop in exchange for cash. Herein lies the high point of the movie as everyone's worst fear is realised, that is, unless someone saves the day.
Barbershop offers characters that are our neighbours. We understand, empathise and laugh with them.
However, comedy is not the sole reason Barbershop is a winner. In fact, the comedy is downplayed. What the viewer sees are scenarios, conflicts, and humour that arises naturally from people being together. In essence, Barbershop represents a microcosm of society.
Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), delivers a sparkling performance and dares to 'debase' the names of significant persons within the black community. Persons such as Rosa Parkes and Martin Luther King do not escape his fiery tongue. This was done in a way that is both humorous and thought provoking. In addition, the on-screen chemistry of the entire cast was a big plus for the movie. The plot never becomes boring and there are humorous sub-plots, one of which features two characters whose quest it is to manoeuvre a stolen automatic banking machine through the streets of Southside Chicago, dodging and outsmarting policemen and injuring themselves in the process.
Few jokes are delivered by dialogue. More often than not, the humour is of a physical nature.
Perhaps the only negative thing about the movie is that it delivers a string of sweeping generalisations about the way of life of blacks. However, audiences may identify, at least in part, to most of what is said.
Ultimately, Barbershop gives blacks a chance to laugh at themselves.
