Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Beauty Shop Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 2, 2018

Do beauty parlors provide the same community aspect for African American women that they seem to for African American men in both Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business? The answer would seem to be both yes and no based on Beauty Shop, a kinda sorta spinoff that features Queen Latifah reprising what amounted to a glorified cameo as hairstylist Gina in the second Barbershop film. Perhaps because the emphasis this time around involves Gina being a concerned single mother along with what is the underlying staple of the first three Barbershop films, namely a threat to the hero or heroine’s business, there’s at least as much of a focus on an individual as there is on any kind of “pop up” community that may accrue at a business establishment. Kind of interestingly, and refreshingly non provocatively, the villain this time around is a Caucasian, a guy supposedly named Jorge Christophe (an almost unrecognizable Kevin Bacon), but Beauty Shop perhaps is as guilty of suffering from what I termed “The Perils of Pauline Syndrome” in our Barbershop 2: Back in Business Blu-ray review with a cartoonish threat that is arguably even less believable than the contrived obstacles in the two earlier Barbershop films.

There’s a definite shift southward with regard to urban setting in Beauty Shop, with the first two films’ Chicago giving way to Atlanta, where Gina Norris (Queen Latifah) is a relatively recent transplant. She’s ensconced in a high end salon run by Jorge Christophe (Kevin Bacon), a kind of fey poseur who is all about image. When the two clash, Gina takes off on her own, even though she’s responsible for bringing home the bacon not just for her, but for her piano prodigy daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd). In just one of several less than believable but still kind of oddly sweet plot conceits, Gina is able to pull of a loan to buy a run down shop, a loan that she’s probably not “officially” qualified for, when she gives the loan officer a little “do” advice.

Gina’s shop has its own characters providing little vignettes, but an external threat keeps intruding when Jorge becomes angry that his clientele is leaving his place for Gina’s, resorting to (of course) nefarious schemes to bring down his nemesis. Playing out simultaneously with this is another kind of contrived subplot involving Joe (Djimon Hounsou), who oh so conveniently has not one but two distinctly different skill sets which can help not just Gina, but Vanessa as well. Of course romantic sparks ultimately arise between Gina and Joe, all while another subplot of a “magic formula” for hair that Gina has concocted starts to gain traction, in a sidebar that plays a little weirdly like an African American beauty parlor version of Joy. It’s frankly largely predictable, but the cast, which also includes Alicia Silverstone and Alfre Woodard as other stylists and Keisha Knight Pulliam as the trouble prone sister-in-law of Gina, help to elevate what is at times rather tired, even cliché ridden, material.

While the overall trajectory of Beauty Shop never provides any real surprises, there’s real heart in this enterprise, and Queen Latifah is an effortlessly charismatic lead who adds both spunk and a certain amount of emotional gravitas to the proceedings. Things may never be all that believable in Beauty Shop, but as a sort of grown up fairy tale, the film delivers some decent laughs and a couple of moments of catharsis. The “community” aspect may almost seem like a tangent in this story, but there’s still a feeling of sometimes downtrodden people working together to achieve a common goal.

Beauty Shop Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beauty Shop is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Marquee Collection imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This transfer is generally bright and decently detailed, with an overall accurate looking accounting of what is at times a surprisingly burnished looking palette. There are a number of sequences that feature deep browns in settings like recital halls, and commendably shadow detail is above average during most of these scenes. The more candy colored moments pop with some vividness, and close-ups offer some excellent fine detail on everything from outfit fabrics to actual wisps of hair. While this was shot on film, the grain field is a bit variable in this presentation, sometimes seeming to come and go, though never completely disappearing. The grain field perhaps understandably tends to be most visible against brighter backgrounds, but even here can be a bit "iffy" at times. The entire transfer tends to be just a tad soft looking at times, something that tends to add a kind of artificial patina to a story that already struggles with feeling "real" all of the time.

Beauty Shop Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beauty Shop's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track takes advantage of the fact that his film, like its two predecessors, is stuffed to its virtual gills with a ton of source cues, many of which offer boisterous low ends that are reproduced faithfully and which also allow for a nice spread of instruments and vocals to the surround channels. Again as with some of the prior Barbershop outings, the crowded confines of Gina's shop allow for a nice spacious if sometimes kind of noisy accounting of things with various characters speaking over each other simultaneously. Quieter dialogue moments sound fine as well, and the entire track offers appealing fidelity and no problems with regard to damage or distortion.

Beauty Shop Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Beauty Shop: Inside the Style" Featurette (480i; 15:00) is standard issue (in this case archival) EPK fare, with interviews and scenes from the film.


• Beauty Shop: Sneak Peek (480i; 5:46) is another archival promotional piece, hosted by Queen Latifah.


• Gag Reel (480i; 5:21)


• Trailers includes Beauty Shop (480i; 00:57) along with trailers for several other MVD releases (including both of the prior Barbershop films).


• Selected Scenes Audio Commentary by Director Bille Woodruff can be found under the Setup Menu.

Beauty Shop Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In some ways Beauty Shop is even more contrived than either Barbershop or Barbershop 2: Back in Business, especially with regard to the threat posed by arch villain (?) Jorge. But kind of interestingly that doesn't tend to really materially affect either the comedy or (especially) the heart of this story, which is at least as much about Gina's trials and tribulations as a hard working single mother as it about kind of preposterous plots to bring her down. The film is filled with a lot of very enjoyable turns by a large and colorful supporting cast, but it's Queen Latifah's rather formidable charisma that really carries this effort. Technical merits are generally solid (especially audio) for those considering a purchase. Recommended.