Stars:
Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve Troy Garity, Michael Ealy,
Leonard Earl Howtze, Keith David, and Cedric The Entertainer
Writers:
Mark Brown, Don D. Scot, and Marshall Todd
Based
On A Story By: Mark Brown
Director:
Tim Story
Feature
length: 1 hour and 42 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary With The Director, Producers, and Writer, Deleted Scenes With
Optional Director’s Commentary, Bloopers And Outtakes, Featurettes,
Interactive Game, Music Video, Photo Galleries, Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French, Spanish, and Portuguese
Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 32
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“Barbershop”
opened at the end of the summer with some controversy over some dialogue that
some felt was disrespectful to African American Civil Rights Icons. Despite the
controversy the film was not altered as far as I am aware of for both the
theatrical and DVD releases. I am not sure what to write regarding this because
I can understand what upset some people and yet in the context of this film it
did not seem out of place because the “Barbershop” in the film is a place
where the employees and community share uncensored banter for a large part of
the film so the film never sets itself up as being a politically correct thesis
though I found that the underlying theme of “Barbershop” was actually more
positive than negative with a strong undercurrent regarding one’s
responsibility for one’s action and to their community as well as the
importance of a united community against adversity as well as unbiased unity
that does not discriminate against race. This responsibility does extend to
filmmakers who produced “Barbershop” and it is one that they must ultimately
answer for accordingly, but the viewer is responsible too and as a reviewer I am
responsible for what I type and publish like anyone else so in the end all I can
state regarding the controversy in the film is to acknowledge that this film
will offend some, but it is so subjective that I do not feel it would be
appropriate to censor it so long as those who view it are consenting adults. I
do think that some discretion is needed for younger viewers if only to encourage
dialogue afterwards and discourage any sort of unfounded or derogatory belief.
With
that noted, I actually found “Barbershop” to have more in common with
“It’s A Wonderful Life” in a very general thematic sense because it deals
with an overall theme regarding responsibility, community, and unity that I
think is inherent in “It’s A Wonderful Life” at least as a subtext. The
story takes place in one day where Calvin (Ice Cube) is a barber and owner of a
Chicago neighborhood barbershop that he inherited from his father, who was a
barber too. He is deep in debt due to failed “get rich quick” business
schemes and sees his job as the owner and head barber of his father’s shop as
something transitory. However his employees see it as a place where they can
have a sense of pride in their work and themselves as well as the place where
they were given a fair chance to make something of themselves. A quality
Calvin’s father instilled in his son. While there is a deep attachment to it
by the community and employees based on the generosity and good will his father
had, Calvin blames the debt he is in on his father’s generosity and not on his
lack of appreciation and unwillingness to accept that the reason why he is in
debt is more because of his bad investments and not whatever responsibility his
father left him by leaving him the shop.
However
the bank will foreclose on his barbershop unless he can pay off the money owed.
So he sells the shop to the local lone shark (Keith David) thinking that he will
keep his barbershop open, but is increasingly alarmed that the only thing that
will remain of his shop is the name since the lone shark intends on turning the
place into a girly bar. When he tries to give the money back he is told that if
he wants the shop back he has to pay back double by the end of the day or else
all bets are off. As it becomes increasingly clear that he not only has a
responsibility to his community and the people who work for him, but that he is
a richer man because of his father’s legacy, Calvin struggles with the ticking
clock that will signal the end of the store until a twist of fate or a miracle
saves the day.
The
cast is top notch with Ice Cube generously allowing the supporting cast to shine
beside him. The standout performance belongs to Cedric The Entertainer who
grounds the film’s themes and has the best dialogue and not surprisingly the
dialogue that probably caused much of the controversy to begin with. The more I
think about “Barbershop” in hindsight though the more I look at it as a
fable of sorts with some wholesome lessons buried under the various physical and
verbal humor. As a whole I liked “Barbershop” much more than I expected and
hope the film will gain a wider viewing audience on DVD so they can decide for
themselves on whether this is a film that is misunderstood by some. Personally I
found the film to be more positive than negative.
MGM
has done a great job with this “Special Edition” DVD that presents
“Barbershop” with a good anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio
preserving the look of the theatrical presentation as close as possible for DVD-Video
viewers. There is a well-mixed English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as
well as a Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack with English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French, Spanish, and Portuguese
Language Subtitles encoded as options. Director Tim Story along with Producers
Robert Teitel and George Tillman, Jr., and Writer Don D. Scott provide an
articulate retrospective feature length audio commentary track and Director Tim
Story also provides optional audio commentary for seven deleted scenes (6:42)
with a good (1.85:1) aspect ratio presentation and stereo sound. A blooper
outtakes reel (4:53) is also included.
Under
the heading “The Hair Club” are four featurettes made up of a
behind-the-scenes video (19:26), a production design short (6:04), a look at the
costume design (5:59), and a short documentary featuring real barbers and cast
members discussing the various haircuts that have come and go and come again
with the times (7:01).
There
is also an interactive “Barbershop” trivia game that works quite well with
cast members recorded to provide individual question and right and wrong answer
clips for each outcome. There is also a bonus-deleted scene with Cedric The
Entertainer within the game and two different recorded outcomes depending on the
amount of questions one gets right. The music video for “Trade It All”
(5:13) and three still galleries accompany the theatrical trailer (2:12) and
bonus MGM DVD trailers for “Rollerball: Special Edition” (2:30), “What’s
The Worst That Can Happen? Special Edition” (1:01), and an “MGM Great
Movies” promo (1.15) as well as box art for other DVD titles from MGM that
include “Gang Related,” “3 Strikes,” “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,”
“Cooley High,” “Foxy Brown,” and “Coffey.”
The
main menu features scenes from the film with full motion transitions to standard
interactive still frame menus that are all easy to navigate. Give this film a
look for yourself and decide how you feel. “Barbershop: Special Edition” is
available now on DVD-Video from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.