Um Salão do Barulho

VERY mild spoilers.

This movie has some great funny parts. The friends I was with kept saying "where's the plot?" Well, the plot was done in, well, chick-flick style - plenty of relationship touchy-feely stuff, and not much action. But that's what I expected.

For me the strength of the film was in the development and interaction of the characters. The writers spared no silly jokes in virtually any conversation - which is why I wanted to see the film in the first place.

Kevin Bacon as a fake German gay hair-salon owner was a bit disappointing; when we actually saw him try to work he didn't seem to know anything about the how to do hair - which contradicts the premise of his character. He could have been a competent hair-dresser and still been a total jerk.

Queen Latifa, as usual, was wonderful, witty, funny, delivered her lines perfectly, and simply knows how and when to do things just at the right moment. I'm sure the editors, director and others also deserve credit for her performance, but she shines in whatever she's in.

OK, I don't mean to make this out to be a great movie; it isn't. It's entertaining, touching and funny - but it's mostly just "there" and doesn't really move me beyond the moment. When it was over I was ready to go home.

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

I really enjoyed this movie! And these words come from a complete pessimist of black films. I've never truly been fond of sequels but on this rare occasion Beauty Shop is arguably better than Barbershop 2.

The movies have several comparisons such as the ensemble effort and the moral values. Queen trades in Cedric the Entertainer, who played the older, wise yet hilarious barber for a female counterpart in Alfre Woodard. The white barber who couldn't catch a break is replaced by the white hairstylist with the same dilemma. Both films involve the financial hardships of trying to run a business while not being ran out of business. Unlike the original Barbershop films, Beauty Shop lacks the intensity but more than makes up for it with comedy.

And…the movie was funny! How could it fail? The support cast included comedians (or scene stealers) Sherri Shephard, Sheryl Underwood, Adele Givens, Ms. Laura and L'il JJ. But no one could compare with Kevin Bacon's performance as the Scandinavian stylist extraordinaire Jorge. At 50, he still looks like a man in his 30's. And while we're talking about the supporting cast, I can't forget to tell you about Keshia "L'il Rudy" Knight Pulliam. She's grown into a beautiful young woman and she's still a decent little actress. I just hope she doesn't go the dismal way of child stars and end up in the center on Hollywood Squares.

Who knew that when we saw Queen Latifah pushing those chess pieces off that large board in the Ladies First video that one day she would stand out as a gifted actress, singer and comedian. I guess she showed us

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.

More of a spin-off movie than it is a sequel to 2002 and 2004's Barbershop movies; Beauty Shop comes to us as the female rendition of the popular franchise. Beauty Shop gives us the return of Gina, played by Queen Latifah, from the second Barbershop movie. Gina has moved away from Chicago to Atlanta so her daughter can attend a prestigious music school. She has made a name for herself at a posh European-style salon owned by the famous hairstylist Jorge. After a scuffle with her boss, Gina decides to quit her job and achieve her dream of owning her own beauty shop. She brings with her, a few loyal customers along with another worker at the salon. With the help of her family and the electrician slash romantic interest who lives above the shop, Gina finds success with her beauty salon.

The cast of Beauty shop follows the same formula as the barbershop movies. There's the obvious ice cube parallel with Queen Latifah's Gina. The older and wiser stylist, the male form of Cedric the Entertainer's character, played by Alfre Woodard who quotes the wisdom of Maya Angelou to her customers. The token white worker is present with Alicia Silverstone, and the one opposite sex worker played by Eve in the barbershop has her counter part with Bryce Wilson's James. Also included in the film is everyone's favorite Huxtable, Keisha Knight Pullian, famous as Rudy Huxtable. And lastly, quite possibly my favorite part of the movie and funniest character in the movie, Kevin Bacon is hilarious as the egocentric Jorge. The cast works very well together and the fun they had while making the film shows in each scene.

While the cast is fun to watch, I still felt as though something in the film was missing. When watching Barbershop, that classic old town feel emits throughout the show. The characters are so fun to watch as we see their relationships with each other and their own personalities work and clash with each other. While watching Beauty shop, while the characters were fun to watch interact with each other, that feeling just isn't the same when you walk out. I left feeling somewhat unfulfilled.

However, after more reflection on the matter, I realized, that the mood of a beauty shop is no the same as the mood of a barbershop. Maybe I didn't feel the same, because, well, I'm not a woman. As with any television spin off, a movie spin off should be able to hold its own ground. It doesn't need to be a complete reference to its predecessor. Think of Frasier. One of the things that made the show so great was the fact that it held its on ground separate from Cheers. The same goes with Beauty Shop. Yes, it relies on a few references and relations to the barbershop movies, but other than that, it completely holds its own. Which, as I thought about it, made it more enjoyable to know that I wasn't watching the same movie in female form.

Beauty Shop is a fun movie to watch with a very solid cast. Queen Latifah does a fine job as Gina and makes and, more or less, makes up for her involvement with last year's Taxi. If for anything else, see the movie for Kevin Bacon, you wont be disappointed. Beauty shop is pretty enjoyable and is the closest to a hair cut ill come to. I give it 3 stars.(out of 5)