‘Barbershop’ is a real cut-up
Dennis Piszkiewicz
Everybody, it seems, needs a place to hang out, somewhere where
they can escape from the house, talk to people and maybe do a little
business.
We have a lot of places like that in Southern California: coffee
shops with overpriced lattes, country clubs and golf clubs. On the
South Side of Chicago, in a mostly black neighborhood where most
people are struggling to stay on the bottom rung of the economic
ladder, a barbershop is where everybody meets, and “Barbershop”, the
movie, is hilarious.
“Barbershop” does tell a story, but fortunately it does not get in
the way of the fun. It begins when the shop’s owner, Calvin, played
by Ice Cube, sells his shop to a sleazy businessman who intends to
turn it into a strip joint. Calvin quickly realizes that selling his
shop was a mistake and he decides to get it back. There is also a
side-splitting sub-plot about two stupid burglars and their stolen
ATM machine.
An ensemble cast weaves in and out of the barbershop in tightly
played scenes that cover the range from low-brow humor to social
satire. Celebrities and other notables verbally skewered by the movie
include O. J. Simpson, Rodney King, Walter Payton, Jennifer Lopez and
Rosa Parks.
Actor-rapper Ice Cube has the unenviable task of playing straight
man to a crew of energetic young faces. Cedric the Entertainer, plays
an aging barber with no interest in retiring, spouts opinions --
maybe goofy, maybe wise, always funny -- about everything and
everybody. Grammy-winning rapper Eve, plays Terri, the only woman who
works in the shop, is in constant battle with the other barbers and
her cheating boyfriend. Leonard Howze as Dink, an immigrant from
Nigeria, is a big teddy bear of a man with a secret love for Terri
and an appreciation of the love poems of Pablo Neruda.
An interesting feature of this inner-city drama is that most of
its characters have had to deal with the question of whether they
will join a gang, do drugs, or take up a career of crime. They made
those decisions long before the story begins. The issue they face now
is how they can make better lives for themselves, their families, and
their friends.
“Barbershop” is intelligent, irreverent, and outrageous. It is
also a feel-good film without being saccharine.
* DENNIS PISZKIEWICZ is a Laguna Beach resident.
‘Stealing Harvard’ just plain tripe
America’s favorite imbecile, Tom Green, returns to pollute the
silver screen in “Stealing Harvard.”
The success of his first project, “Freddy Got Fingered,” can be
politely referred to as a belly flop into an empty pool. Co-starring
Jason Lee, an overly eager actor who has been tenaciously trying to
carve his niche in the film industry, this comedy is a case of too
much, too late.
“Stealing Harvard” is nothing more than a facile plot with
hackneyed slapstick that makes you wish that you had a remote control
handy or a hefty item to throw at the screen. Lee is forced to choose
between an idyllic life with his fiance or the forgotten promise of
sending his niece to college. Green serves as the comic relief that
is neither humorous nor relieving. The audience is left with a
sensation of pity and embarrassment as Green unabashedly traipses
through this picture, proving conclusively that his brand of
entertainment expired long ago. Devoid of chemistry, plot and
character development, “Stealing Harvard” unapologetically labors it
way from a painful beginning to a welcomed end.
“Stealing Harvard” serves up enough tripe for seconds and thirds,
but I strongly recommend ordering something else.
* EVAN MARMOL is a Laguna resident. He graduated from UC Irvine
with a degree in psychology and social behavior.
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