Official Synopsis
It’s been more than 10 years since our last appointment at Calvin’s Barbershop. Calvin (Ice Cube) and his longtime crew, including Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), are still there, but the shop has undergone some major changes. Most noticeably, our once male-dominated sanctuary is now co-ed. The ladies bring their own flavor, drama and gossip to the shop challenging the fellas at every turn. Despite the good times, big laughs and camaraderie within the shop, the surrounding community has taken a turn for the worse, forcing Calvin and his friends to come together in an effort to not only save the shop, but their neighborhood.
Director Malcolm D. Lee is well know for his comedies. He does a good job wth turning bigger-than-life characters into perfectly realized comedy pieces (see Undercover Brother for details). His knack for comedy has always been sprinkled with a sense of truth, and well-placed truth at that, so his involvement with the third installment of Barbershop isn’t an unusual direction for him to go. Along with writers Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, Lee establishes a visual flow to a story filled with drama, truth and pit stops of comedy.
Without further delay, let’s dig right into it.
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The first act of Barbershop: The Next Cut introduces us to the newly formed situation that Calvin (Ice Cube) and his fellow barbers have established – a mixture of personalities and genders in one place. The ladies, led by Angie (Regina Hall), have moved in with the guys to create an all-in-one hair cutting establishment for south side Chicago residents. Outside of quipping with each other and throwing in the occasional raunchy, yet hilarious comedy bits, the first act does a great job of establishing the trials and tribulations the barbershop is facing with a gang-driven youth that have found their way into south side’s community. The first act ends on a down note as two rival gang members almost come to blows inside the barbershop, thus truly putting a face on the problem.
The first part of the film does a great job with putting us back in the world of Calvin and his fellow barbers. For those of us who have never seen a Barbershop movie before in their lives (me included), the film treats you like a welcomed guest, making sure you feel right at home with catching you up on the details. Most sequels don’t spend time bringing their viewers in and showing them where the story came from, rather they just continue without caring. Barbershop: The Next Cut makes sure you understand who Calvin is, the folks he works with and the new additions (the ladies) to the already established environment. Dialogue helps recap and introduce, while the visuals from cinematographer Greg Gardiner reveal intricate details loudly (like the ladies). To boot, the first act of the story is meaningful and sincere, creating a comedy-to-drama-to-comedy flow from the get-go. To help maintain this narrative flow, the array of cast members put together bring their own story to the mix, as well as reflect what seems like many different stories/problems in the African-American community. Everyone seems to have a story to tell in act one, both internally and externally.
Amazingly more complex than expected, right? Never judge a book by its cover, folks.
Act two begins and the community issues really start to rear their head. Outside of gang issues, which is the crux of the story, act two introduces Calvin’s struggle to stay in the south side and fight for a community he believes in, rather than run away and start a new shop on the north side. In addition, the introduction of infidelity and trust issues between barber Rashad (Common) and his wife Terri (Eve) are brought to the forefront, as well as potential homosexuality with barber Jerrod (Lamorne Morris), though his situation isn’t as cut and dry as it’s portrayed. There is also a shady transactions to make money character named One-Stop (J.B. Smoove — love this man), who provides strong comedy to the gaggle of players. Essentially, act two spends a large amount of time addressing actual concerns that the African-American community goes through on a day-to-day basis in real life. It’s a wonderful, yet terrifying reflection of a struggling community trying not to crumble. The issues aren’t treated like once-over matters, rather they’re explained and wrapped in the most endearing manner. As act two starts coming to a close, and all of these matters in the mix for tying up by the end of the film, the act concludes with Calvin discovering his son has joined a local gang. Definitely a low note for the second act to end on.
The second act is filled to the brim with so many issues that it feels overwhelming at times. It seems to want to mirror a social message that people continue to ignore, which is there is a large amount of problems within the African-American community that is literally trying to tear it apart on a day-to-day basis. It’s incredible truth that is handled in balanced way. Director Malcolm D. Lee shines in act two by balancing out when to laugh and when to listen. He and his writers create small pit stops of comedy to allow your mind to process the very real situations at stake with these issues. It’s eye-opening, mind-blowing and it’s all tucked away in what has been promoted as a wacky, off-the-wall comedy about a barbershop. It’s far deeper and real than one would expect, but it’s an appreciated view into a society/community that most of us haven’t taken the time to learn about. It’s easy to write things off when situations that don’t involve us become too much. Lee, his production crew and his cast do a good job of gently walking you through a small preview of outstanding issues that America hasn’t addressed to make the lives of African-American’s better.
Again, this is a comedy with so much more inside of it.
In my usual tradition, I don’t want to giveaway too much in act three. I will say that the barbershop does some great things to bring down the gang warfare that has infected the south side. Holding a free-haircut weekend for the community, as well as asking the rival gangs to ceasefire, helps to bring some positivity in the sea of community problems. As you would expect, something doesn’t go as planned and a tragedy occurs that hits home that pushes an unfortunate reset button on the barbershop’s weekend work. By the end, the movie provides hope and a sense of a stronger community, but there is still work that has to be done.
Overall, Barbershop: The Next Cut was a real experience that might be advertised as a loud comedy, but truthfully has some direct intent and eye-opening moments that lets you know this country truly needs better methods for every community to succeed, especially the African-American community. As it stands, we’re not even close to everyone being equal, but there is hope.
Extras to add to the mix:
– The Next Cut: Barbershop Bootcamp
– Deleted Scenes with Malcolm D. Lee
– Gag Reel
