Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Barbershop Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 11, 2018

Barbershop is in essence a film about community, and in that regard it’s kind of interesting to think about how unique barbershops are in some African American neighborhoods. It’s actually hard to think of a similar sort of commercial establishment that serves as such a regular meeting place for other ethnicities, unless one agrees that often multi-ethnic watering holes like the ubiquitous (unavoidable?) coffee shops that have sprung up over the last several decades qualify. Barbershop is unabashedly cartoonish a lot of the time, but it also has a surplus of heart, and a lot of that heart stems from the sweet if occasionally barbed interactions that take place at the hair cutting emporium run by Calvin Palmer, Jr. (Ice Cube). Calvin inherited his urban Chicago establishment from his Dad, but the film suggests that in the early years of the 21st century (the film debuted in 2002), times may have been changing enough that barbershops were no longer a viable commodity, either as a business or in fact maybe even as a place to gather and commune in one way or the other. Calvin is in desperate straits, as is quickly detailed, with a very pregnant wife named Jennifer (Jazsmin Lewis) and mounting debts that finally make him willing to sell the place to the obviously villainous Lester Wallace (Keith David). Meanwhile, the film introduces two other characters named J.D. (Anthony Anderson) and Billy (Lahmard Tate), two lunk headed would be “masterminds” who manage to steal an ATM from a store across the street from Calvin’s barbershop, but not without leaving behind an important clue that will end up fingering the wrong suspect.

While there’s a certain authenticity in terms of some of the underlying emotions at play in Barbershop, the film does still often play like a live action cartoon. This is probably most noticeable in some of the vignettes involving the two dunderheaded would be thieves, who have to deal with transporting an insanely heavy ATM all over the place, not to mention a bratty little sister who wants to spill the beans on what they’re doing, and a number of other obstacles to supposed untold wealth. But there are hyperbolic aspects galore throughout the film, including whole scenes built around elements like a kind of snarky female named Terri Jones (Eve), who first catches her studly boyfriend in a dalliance with another woman and then goes ballistic when she thinks someone has consumed her apple juice at the barbershop.

What’s kind of captivating about Barbershop from an “outsider”’s perspective is that for all the raucous humor on display, in some ways the depiction of the community at the center of the film provides ample evidence that not all of them behave like angels. That aspect might seem to be at least a little curious for those who consider the film a bit of "civic boosterism" of what a supposedly typical inner city black experience can be like, even with that very "warts and all" approach on display. But the film is virtually stuffed with disreputable characters. There’s not just the bumbling pair of ATM thieves, even the character of Lester Wallace is really just a barely masked version of a pimp, and there are other supporting characters, like the dallying boyfriend, who seem to have a somewhat variable moral compass. All of this may be just one reason that there’s an underlying melancholy that actually helps to counterbalance some of the more cartoonish aspects. And even some of the unseemly behavior, as in the very ATM theft that begins the film, is shown to have devastating effects on others, as with the store owner whose shop is more or less demolished by the pair of idiots, something which in and of itself helps to actually define what being a community means (for better and/or worse).

There’s a certain sanguine quality to a lot of the portrayals of behavior in Barbershop, and it may be salient to remember that this film sparked not just sequels but a television series as well. And in fact the film often plays kind of like a “very special episode” of a tv series, with a bunch of vignettes offering various actors moments to shine, even as the underlying drama of Calvin’s need to make a decision as to whether he wants to continue with the barbershop provides a through line. The film perhaps gets to something approaching happily ever after a bit too easily, at least when considering some of the grittier aspects that have at least been hinted at. (One thing that is arguably never properly addressed is why the barbershop is in such financial straits when it sure seems to be crowded a lot of the time. What works in Barbershop is both its sure footing in its comedy as well as its undeniably heartfelt subtext, two elements that are brought to often boisterous life by a highly enjoyable cast.

Barbershop Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Barbershop is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. MVD Marquee has relatively decent luck with some of its MGM releases thus far, something that's notable since the once mighty studio does not have the best track record for preserving and curating its catalog in high definition. This may not a brand spanking new transfer (I haven't been able to track down any authoritative data), but for the most part it looks surprisingly spry a lot of the time, even if colors are a bit faded and somewhat dowdy looking. Detail levels are routinely quite commendable (check out the ribbing on Ice Cube's shirt in screenshot 1), and the transfer maintains a generally organic appearance, with just a couple of very slight hurdles encountered in grain resolution. There are a few murky looking moments in some of the darker scenes (which also provide a couple of the more challenging moments for the grain field), but the transfer is devoid of any really egregious compression issues, and doesn't show any signs of over aggressive digital tweaking. My score is 3.75.

Barbershop Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Barbershop is suffused with both scenes involving a lot of participants as well as a ubiquitous use of source cues, two things which help to elevate the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. While surround activity is very good in the more crowded moments, it tends to kind of ebb and flow, and as such it may not provide the constant "wow" factor that some may be expecting. Fidelity is fine across the board, supporting everything from some of the thumping bass of various cues, to the raucous environment in the barbershop when emotions become heated. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Barbershop Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Hair Club includes:

  The Final Cut (480i;19:27) is a generalist EPK with cast and crew discussing the importance of the barbershop in black culture.

  
  

  Set, Press, and Style (480i; 6:04) gets into aspects like production design.

  
  

  Finishing Touches (480i; 5:59) focuses on actual hair designs for various characters.

  
  

  Hairdos and Don'ts (480i; 7:01) interviews some real barbers and customers.

• Deleted Scenes all feature optional commentary by Tim Story and include:

  "You Want Boom Boom?" (480i; 1:27)

  Ricky's Routine (480i; 00:41)

  "You Know We In the Ghetto" (480i; 00:32)

  "You Ain't Right With Jesus" (480i; 00:58)

  "All I Need is $18,900" (480i; 1:14)

  "Just Give Me a Sign" (480i; 00:58)

  "You Smell Chicken?" (480i; 00:52)

• Bloopers and Outtakes (480i; 4:53)


• "Barber Banter" Featurette (480i; 2:39) is a brief set of reminscences about barbershop experiences.


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (480i; 1:56)


• "Trade It All" Music Video With Fabolous Featuring P. Diddy and Jagged Edge (480i; 5:13)


• Audio Commentary by Director Tim Story, Producer Robert Teitel, Producer George Tillman, Jr., and Writer Don Scott, Jr. can be found under the Setup Menu.

Note: This disc has been authored a bit clunkily in my not so humble opinion. There's not only no "Play All" option on the deleted scenes, but the disc boots back out to the Main Menu after each deleted scene has played, meaning you have to go back to Extras, then to Deleted Scenes, then to all of the deleted scenes included in that submenu to get to the next offering. Also, while it may have just been a couple of "ghosts in the machine", two odd things happened when I was playing the disc. First, when I got to the end the first time, the film just started over with the commentary track playing though I hadn't pressed any buttons on my remote. Also, as I was checking the supplements, at one point the film started playing again even though I was in the Extras submenu.

Barbershop Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barbershop may frankly not reach the "meaningful" bullseye it seems to be aiming for, but it's consistently entertaining and often both wryly amusing and at least occasionally laugh out loud funny. Performances are fine if often on the cartoonish side (seemingly intentionally), and the film moves briskly toward an arguably too easily achieved happy ending. Technical merits are generally strong, and MVD has provided most of the supplements from some previous DVD releases. Recommended.