The Village Barbershop

"Cheers" alumni John Ratzenberger stars as Art Leroldi, a grumpy barber who holds some personal issues of his past a bit too closely. When troubled times come, he is forced to hire Gloria, a female - something he never thought he'd do. Although she comes across a bit brashly at first, she ends up being his business mind that might save the day. Enter other characters along the way, that both add and disparage each of them, and the tale keeps the viewer watching. The filming was done well. The story is interwoven with subplots, and moves ahead at a good pace. The characters are interesting, and each has their own tale to tell, while intertwining with each other. For a first effort, director/writer Chris Ford strikes a winner with this piece. Expect great things in the future. Don't miss this flick though.

Just watched the this little movie from netflix. I'm not sure what I rated on their system that had them recommend this one to me but they did, I checked it and am glad to have done so. It is nice to see a well acted, be it slow, character driven movie were nothing blows up, there are no fights and no green screen used. John Ratwhatever is outstanding as the older man who has lost what matters most to him, his wife and still has to muddle through his day to day life. One reviewer referred to him as unlikeable which I do not see, he is just left walking through life. The young lady who comes to work for him in his barbershop and shows him that he still has something to give is more then adequate. There is no heavy handed message here, just a little indi movie about people and their lives.

Firstly full marks to the art director, camera man & camera crew, as this movie's production and art direction, given the subject matter, are unbelievably brilliant. Also of note is the movie's tasteful soundtrack; and its acting wasn't bad at all.

The main problem with this movie is its screenplay. It sucked. In other words, all the other first class elements of this movie are totally let down by its screenplay and story. In fact, were it not for its most brilliant filming, the movie would scarcely be watchable. The movie's leads have such dire scripts and disengaging characters that it doesn't take long before the viewer is utterly disinterested in what will happen next.

Thus the man who owns the eponymous barbershop is so devoid of anything equating to charm or basic manners that it's hard to swallow the fact that even one other character in the movie would want to have anything to do with him. For his job is supposedly in the service industry and yet I'm reasonably sure there are grave yard attendants who have more soul, charm and warmth. That would be fine, albeit, if the chief barber were at least given an interesting story for us to chew on while we, the viewers, plunder on, watching a man who is described half way through the movie as "a barker not a biter".

Alas, those behind this movie clearly bit off far more than they could chew in developing a movie based on such an unlikeable and disengaging character.

Screenplay 4/10. Filming & art direction 9/10. Soundtrack and music 8/10.

This film tied for the audience award at Cinequest and this film was one of four films I managed to catch while at the festival. It's a decent little flick and the acting was fine, but for some reason every time I watch John Ratzenberger I can't help but think about Cliff from Cheers. Shelly Cole did an amazing job and I always liked her from Gilmore Girls. The story is supposed to take place in Reno, Nevada but the filmmakers use parts of Napa Valley to double which I could always tell which location they we're shooting in. In the end, it was just alright and semi- entertaining. The average film goer will probably like it.

This movie is a real gem that is making its way through the festival circuit as of Spring 2008. It is a feature length film about second chances in life - well acted with a nice musical score, solid story with a nice ending! John Ratzenberger does a fine job of portraying the quite dignity of the barber (Art Leroldi). Shelly Cole is fabulous as Gloria MacIntyre and I would hope to see more of her on screen. The paring of these two actors in this movie worked very well as it gave us a story and character that fit together perfectly. Cliff Traiman did a fine job as Cinematographer as did the post production audio and music artists.