Beauty Shop

This amusing little movie appeals to a wide range with its comfortable humor, racy but utterly inoffensive conversation, and its roots in Disney-style family values (but for the real world). Queen Latifah does a relaxed and amiable job of tying the film together, and the ensemble cast is sweet and funny. I was impressed with Alicia Silverstone's turn as a geeky little white country girl--it's the first time she hasn't been playing off a well-to-do type and she carries it off. We had a nice relaxing time of it while we were watching, and half an hour later I've forgotten most of it--but that's just fine. Means I can pop it in the DVD player later on, enjoy it, and not remember a word.

Barbershop spin-off finds Latifah in Atlanta where she's recognized as the city's best hair stylist even though she works for a dandy, self-absorbed shop owner (Bacon). Ambitious and fed up with his disrespect, she quits her job then branches out and opens her own shop. Despite her undeniable talent, and the support of her devoted co-workers, she still has to learn how to endure the hardships of owning and operating her own business. The plot is a little too simple, and seems set up a bit too easily, but it's likable and pleasant with an appealing, first-rate cast. Bacon has an odd but amusing supporting role, and Latifah is an ideal leading woman. Laughs aren't always consistent but they are effective, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. **½

This was Booty Shop more than Beauty Shop, and a spin off with a strong cast and a lot of potential was buried in silliness. The Barbarshop films were successful because they were feel good, fun and had a sense of victory for the hardworking father.

This time, we have the exact same sentiments in reverse - mother instead of father, all women stylists except the one guy, all black except the one white girl - except instead of having a white guy who is trying to be a boy from the hood from the outset, we have a girl who forgoes her personality in favour of becoming a black wannabe. So the message from that perspective is that in order to fit in and be accepted one must conform to be just like everyone else. Good for a few laughs, but loses something in the translation.

The standouts here are Kevin Bacon who is outstanding and hilarious as Jorge the not- quite-Austrian salon owner, and Djimon Hounsou, who is charming and catches you with the kindest face in film.

The rest of the cast are average, each actor and actress playing themselves and bringing nothing special to the table.

On the whole, this film is just a shadow of the Barbershop films, basically trying to emulate them frame by frame, except for one important aspect: this film has no plot. No story. it's just a bunch of scenes strung together by the overall premise of a beauty shop owner trying to make it in this crazy world. No story and no Cedric the entertainer and a ton of excessively vulgar booty humour equals a poor (wo)man's Barbershop. I'd save your tenner and wait for the DVD - or better yet, rent the Barbershop films. They're the better bet, as the originals usually are when compared with the clones. 5/10.

I am not black. I am not a woman. I have never had a weave or extensions, and I try to stay out of the ghetto as much as possible.

Yet I got a kick out of Beauty Shop for some reason???

The script itself is not all that strong, but the performances by QL and the rest of the ensemble cast are watchable and engaging.

Props to Kevin Bacon. His outrageous and flamboyant Jorge' is a nice departure from his other roles and he comes across as quite convincing in the part.

The movie only gets 3 stars from me because the storyline is quite conventional and played out. However, for the most part the jokes are funny and the actors deliver them nicely.... so tack on an extra star for that.

While it won't win any awards, "Beauty Shop" is pure mindless fun.

Being an admirer of Queen Latifah, who I believe as a great talent, I really to like this film. But I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

First, it is clear the cast and crew think the script funnier than it is; that's important, because it means there are going to be editing mistakes - not glaring ones like mismatched shots in inter-cut, but mistakes in timing, when the editor thinks there's a audience laugh to be allowed for with the brief "take" of an actor's response to a line or slow-burn; but the laugh doesn't arrive, so the takes are just dead time, dragging the film down.

Which of course leads to the second problem , the film's pacing. It is very erratic. Some scenes have no build-up, some have too much and end up over-extended which all amounts to "slow"; there are actually 'slow comedy' techniques (Jack Benny was a master). But this is basically a sit-com without a laugh track, so it needs to move at a real clip; but it doesn't.

Finally there's manner in which Latifah is presented. The director clearly admires her acting as much as I do, but he keeps trying to emphasize it. Latifah understands that an actor only needs small gestures and expressions on film, since the camera enlarges everything; but the director here really tries to bring our attention to her performance so that she appears to be over-acting sometimes when that is not the case - actually, the camera lingers too long, there are too many close-ups and they are too close for the naturalistic performance Latifah is trying to accomplish.

That happens, to a lesser extent, with all the actors, all of whom are doing their best.

But it's a weak script to start with, and the director hasn't yet found a focus that elevates it, so the acting gets pretty lost along the way.

Watchable, but not much more.