Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 30, 2018

Barbershop 2: Back in Business may suffer at least a bit from what might be termed “The Perils of Pauline Syndrome,” meaning there are only so many supposed obstacles or trials that a character can face before the audience figures out that the character is going to triumph, no matter what. Perhaps because the first Barbershop was such an unexpected success, it took a moment for the creative crew behind the film to realize that the “happily ever after” posited at the end of the film needed to be appended with a “but wait” in order for any sequel to work. The first Barbershop detailed the trials and tribulations (maybe not quite at the peril level, so to speak) of Calvin Palmer, Jr. (Ice Cube), who had inherited his family’s long standing inner city tonsorial parlor only to find tastes changing and an unscrupulous developer waiting to snatch up the land and transform the Palmer business into something a bit on the questionable side. Of course Calvin prevailed in the conflict, after the expected number of obstacles and subplots had been dealt with at least cursorily. Barbershop ends with a patently “feel good” crane shot indicating that the entire neighborhood is once again united, with the Palmer business at the center of everything right and maybe even holy. That may be one reason why Barbershop 2’s revisiting of unscrupulous developers seems positively old hat this time around, though in a way this film presents an at least somewhat more believable thesis of urban gentrification rather than an isolated villain spelling potential doom for the business. Barbershop 2 also kind of cheekily works in a subplot involving a new, better funded, “chain” of barbershops called Nappy Cutz which opens a franchise directly across the street from the Palmer facility. Guess how that one turns out.

Perhaps because it actually was realized by writer Don D. Scott (one of the co-writers of the first film) and other involved in the behind the scenes efforts to produce the film that another barbershop in, well, peril storyline might strike some as preposterous, this effort is devoted perhaps even more to sidebars and character subplots, rather than any incipient threat itself. The film actually starts with an interesting flashback sequence, told partially in black and white, which documents some of the early history of Eddie Walker (Cedric the Entertainer) and how he got involved with the barbershop.

There are in fact distinct subplots devoted to many of the supporting characters, including volatile Terri (Eve) and the perhaps dimwitted Isaac (Troy Garity). There’s also some sweet material showing the more noble qualities of Calvin as he navigates what might be termed the perils of fatherhood. The film also introduces Queen Latifah as Gina, who would get her own entry in the franchise in Beauty Shop. But with the film so full of little vignettes, it actually becomes almost tangential that Calvin’s livelihood is being threatened by Nappy Cutz and its vain owner Quentin Leroux (Harry Lennix). Perhaps because of the sheer number of competing storylines, the emotional center that Barbershop tended to provide gets lost in the fray.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Barbershop 2: Back in Business is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Marquee Collection imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. I'm grading this a 3.0 in part to delineate it's a slightly less pleasing looking presentation than Barbershop, though it's a matter of degrees and some may feel this one warrants a 3.5 as well. Generally there's a bit more (admittedly fairly minor) age related wear and tear on display here, this despite the fact that this film is newer than its progenitor. Detail and fine detail levels can still be quite excellent throughout the transfer, especially in close-ups (see screenshot 1), but there's more variability in terms of clarity and fine detail in this presentation. Quite a bit of the nighttime and other dimly lit material struggles with not just shadow detail, but detail levels in general, and there are occasional compression hurdles that are also encountered (see screenshots 18 and 19). Still, the palette, while arguably a tad faded, still resonates with sufficient authority and in decent lighting fine detail levels offer good looks at everything from "nappy" (hey, they said it) haircuts to the fabrics on some of the outfits the women in particular wear. As noted above and seen in a couple of the screenshots accompanying this review, there are some interstitial black and white sequences that look rather sharp and well defined, with solid blacks and good grayscale.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with its progenitor, Barbershop 2: Back in Business is rife with some fairly bombastic source cues, and those provide the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track included on this Blu-ray with good opportunities to exploit the side and rear channels, as well as even to occasionally engage LFE. The raucous environment of the barbershop itself allows for directional dialogue, often overlapping, and there's a good sense of lifelike sonics in many of the more crowded scenes. Simple dialogue scenes are presented cleanly and clearly as well, and there are no problems with distortion, dropouts or other distractions.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cast Video Commentary with Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Troy Garity and Jazsmin Lewis features intermittent picture in picture content.


• Deleted Scenes come with optional commentary:

  Calvin & Family (480i; 00:18)

  Japanese Guidebook (480i; 00:23)

  Quentin at the Barbecue (480i; 00:57)

  Eddie vs. Kenard (480i; 1:01)

  Calvin Ponders (480i; 00:12)

  Tai Chi (480i; 00:10)

• Outtakes (480i; 6:22)


• Music Video - "Not Today" featuring Mary J. Blige and Eve (480i; 7:27)


• Music Video - "I Can't Wait" Sleepy Brown featuring OutKast (480i; 5:10) is anamorphically stretched.


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (480i; 36:06)


• Trailers includes Barbershop 2 (480i; 1:59) along with several other MVD releases.


• Audio Commentary with Director Kevin Sullivan and Producers Bob Teitel and George Tillman Jr. can be found under the Setup menu.


• Audio Commentary featuring Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Troy Garity and Jazsmin Lewis can be found under the Setup menu

Note: This disc appeared to be authored a bit wonkily for the supplements. I'd recommend MVD consider a "Play All" option with Deleted Scenes as short as the ones included on this release, but I had almost random things happen when any given supplement ended or if I pressed Chapter Skip on some of the supplements while they were playing. I'm not even sure what the disc booted to next in some cases, but it seemed like at least on occasion it went to some of the Trailers that were included. A couple of times it booted to the main menu screen, albeit without any of the menu options displaying.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Most guys who keep their hair trimmed probably have to visit their barber around once a month, but this return to Calvin's emporium seems an awful lot like the first Barbershop, in ways that are perhaps more harmful than not. The whole "threat" aspect just seems hackneyed and contrived this time around, leaving the bulk of the film to the interpersonal relationships and some of the history for at least some characters. In that regard, the film provides some good moments for its energetic cast, but the feeling of emotional catharsis that helped elevate the first Barbershop is largely missing in action here. Video is a little spotty at times, but audio is fine, and the supplemental package quite enjoyable, for those considering a purchase.