A film by Tim Story

The barbershop has been a neighborhood institution in the African American community. It is the place that, historically, black men could gather together and talk about anything, from politics to religion to sports and not have to worry about white society. Long after the politics of the Civil Rights movement, the barbershop remains an important cornerstone of the neighborhood.

The barbershop in question here is owned by Calvin (Ice Cube). It has been in the family for fifty years and while Calvin dreams (and tries) grander things, he also wants the shop to succeed. Unfortunately, the shop is not making much money (the reason for that is debated throughout the movie), and Calvin goes to a loan shark for help. It is too late when he realizes his mistake and now the barbershop is under a serious risk of being closed for good. Meanwhile there is a strange subplot about a couple of guys who stole an ATM and are trying to get the money from it. Everything ties together in the end, in a surprising way.

This seems to be a fairly simplistic description, but the heart of the movie is actually in the barbershop and the dynamic of the relationships that we see there. I expected this to be another dumb comedy , but this is actually fairly classy and intelligent and worth seeing. This should not be dismissed as a genre film, but is honestly a good movie. Barbershop costars Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and Sean Patrick Thomas.