Wednesday, October 3, 2018

BARBERSHOP: TRADITION



I was surprised to find out it’s been 16 years since BARBERSHOP was released in theaters. As part of the new MVD Marque Collection it’s being released on blu-ray and a welcome title to find in that format. Watching the movie it left me with a few surprises.

The movie revolves around a barbershop in the south side of Chicago. This is one of those classic barbershops, a place where people in the neighborhood gather together not just to get their hair cut but to spend time with one another, to shoot the breeze, to play a game of checkers and to socialize in a time before Facebook and Twitter when people met face to face.

Ice Cube stars as Calvin Palmer the owner of the barbershop and a man with dreams of the future. Inheriting the shop from his father he wants more for his soon to be born son and a different career for himself. Having tried various new business ideas and using his money for this, he’s about to lose the barbershop to the bank. With no one else to go to he turns to Lester Wallace (Keith David) the local loan shark who wants to buy the business.

But Calvin learns that keeping the shop intact is not the plan Wallace has in mind. Instead he plans on turning the location into a strip club with a barbershop theme to it. When he tries to return the money Calvin is told to do so means paying back the loan and the interest, 100%. He has until 7PM to get the money to Wallace or the shop becomes his.

The movie is about more than this simple transaction though while it sits in the center of everything else that surrounds it. The movie is about the people who are in the shop and that surround it. There are distinctive barbers working here and each has their own story to tell. The young man who thinks he has to impress everyone with how smart he is, the one with a criminal past trying to do right, a young woman who has a habit of picking the wrong men, an immigrant who is in love with her and finding his way in this world, a white young man influenced by black culture and the old codger who weighs in on every topic that comes up and almost always picks an opposing side.

In addition to those working here there are the characters who are in the neighborhood as well. A street hustler keeps coming in trying to sell bootleg CDs and DVDs. Two bumbling thieves who steal an ATM from across the street in the opening scenes. Police that tend to think ill of those with a past. The owner of the nearby grocery mart who decides to stay open inspired by Calvin and the longevity of his business.

As Calvin watches each of these people, both those who work for him and those in the neighborhood, he comes to realize the true value of the barbershop that his father left him. He realizes the sense of community that revolves around this simple shop. And he comes to understand that there is more to life than money, more to life than yourself and your own dreams when it comes to those around you.

I remember enjoying the film the first time I watched it but this time around I fell in love with it for so many reasons. First and foremost I loved the fact that while it had the potential to be part of the Blaxploitation genre it didn’t choose that route. Instead it was a family where race didn’t matter. It may take place in a black neighborhood but the sense of community, the morals that it promotes could take place anywhere.

The next thing I loved was the performance by Ice Cube. It would be easy to write him off as just another rapper who wants to make movies. But his performance here shows that there is more to him than that. His career as an actor began with the usual roles delegated to blacks and his roots in Compton, playing gang members and thugs. That slowly began to change to more standard roles. But this movie allows him to show a depth of character that I can’t recall any role prior allowing him to do so. He shines here and you wind up feeling for Calvin.

The rest of the cast shine as well with every single one turning in a stellar performance. While it would be hard to single any one of them out perhaps this should be done for Cedrick the Entertainer. Only 38 at the time this movie was made he does an amazing job playing someone who seems to be 25-30 years older. His comic timing in the comments he makes are priceless.

As part of the MVD Marquee Collection they are including all of the previously available extras on the film that were on the regular DVD years ago. They include an audio commentary track with director Tim Story, producers Robert Teitel and George Tillman and writer Don Scott Jr., 4 behind the scenes featurettes, 7 deleted scenes with commentary from Story, bloopers and outtakes, “Trade It All” a music video with Fabolous featuring P. Diddy and Jagged Edge, “Barber Banter” a featurette, a photo gallery, the original theatrical trailer, the trailer for the sequel and the trailer for the somewhat connected BEAUTY SHOP. They’ve done a great job here. And the movie itself plays better than a number of new releases making this one worth adding to your collection.

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