User Reviews

Barbershop 2: Back in Business is a decent sequel with some enjoyable moments. Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer and the rest of the guys at the downtown Chicago barbershop return for another round, but the usual sense of community and their outrageous discussions is threatened by urban developers who hope to replace the small barbershops with big national chains. Like its predecessor, Barbershop 2 is pretty much plot less as the characters are what people want to see. I thought the first one was decent but nothing special and that's exactly what I think of this one. Ice Cube, Eve, Sean Patrick Thomas, Troy Garity and Michael Ealy are all back and they are enjoyable this time around as well. The one person I couldn't stand was Cedric the Entertainer, he had some funny lines but most of the time he was really annoying also those flashback scenes he was in were really stupid. There's a couple of new additions including Queen Latifah. I thought she was very funny and I might check out Beauty Shop sometime in the future. The other addition is Kenan Thompson, he isn't very interesting in the film but also doesn't have a lot of scenes so that's nice. Kevin Rodney Sullivan directs this time around and he does a good job replacing Tim Story, who was apparently busy with Taxi and The Fantastic Four. Absent from the sequel is Anthony Anderson who isn't missed, in fact you probably won't notice. The film talks about a lot of different things like R Kelly, The Washington Sniper and others, you may not agree with what their saying all the time though. The sequel is a bit more warm hearted this time around but the dialog is still sharp and funny. Rating 6/10, In the end, if you liked the first one then you will probably like this one but if you didn't then its best if you avoid the sequel.

"Barbershop 2: Back in Business" is a logical and somewhat more expansive continuation of the original "Barbershop" film. However, it suffers from sqeuelness; a lack of appreciation because it can't be as fresh at the first. "Barbershop 2" also spends more time outside the shop with some backstory history, competition from a Nappy Cutz franchise across the street, Queen Latifah's salon for a heartbeat, etc. and less time with what made the original film special and charming; the good natured repartee between barbers, Eddie's (Cedric) racial worldview philosophy, barber/customer interaction, zingers, etc. Bottom line is simple. Watch "Barbershop" first. If you like it, give this film a try. If not, not. (C+)

I wasn't as 'up' for watching Barbershop 2 as I was with the original. Just the idea of a sequel existing didn't really excite me....although anyone with sense had to know the makers were going to cash in on another movie, seeing how much of a sleeper hit the original was. Seeing the trailer for this months ago, it just didn't seem to have the same spark the original had. After watching this last night, that feeling hasn't really changed. I enjoyed Barbershop 2, but it's miles behind the original, especially in the comedy area. The original was a 'cute' movie, it tapped into everyone's childhood neighborhood memories of the local barbershop that was a mainstay in the community....all while having a nice story behind it (Ice Cube not seeing the importance of the shop and threatening to sell it). The sequel just seems to go with the motions; you can tell that its trying its best not to rock the boat, particularly with the jokes. The story in BS2 is arguably more relevant than the one in the original: a bigger, more attractive, industrialized barbershop chain comes into the neighborhood, threatening the 'mom & pop' stores on the block who have to fight to survive. As far as comedy, the movie on a whole isn't as funny as the original, as it takes a more serious tone. Its obvious that the makers tried their very best not to step on anyone's toes or, if they did, not step on them too hard. The success and exposure of the original, in this case, worked against them, as I felt the makers held back a little too much as far as the comedy goes. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Barbershop 2, but I just hope the franchise doesn't get too bland, with the seemingly inevitable spin-off coming (Beauty Shop).

*** out of **** stars.

The same crew is back in a sequel to the hilarious comedy about a group of barbers who cut hair and discuss life inside their little barbershop community. Calvin (Ice Cube) is the owner of the barbershop with Cedric The Entertainer as his oldest barber. Queen Latifah has been added to the cast with a beauty shop next door. The south side of Chicago is changing with developers buying up everything and moving everybody out of the old neighborhood. Calvin is about to have new competition from a chain barbershop opening across the street. To fight the new barbershop, Calvin tries to upscale his barbershop with paintings and glass sculptures. Calvin also orders his barbers to be quiet and just cut hair, and stop the tradition of being able to say anything you want inside the barbershop. If you liked the first movie, you will like this one. Some of the discussions are outrageous, especially, the ones with Cedric. I laughed through the entire movie. (MGM, Run Time 1:38, Rated PG-13) (7/10)

Although I thought this movie was really funny the first was still better. It was wrapped around more controversy. Also this movie was made for Cedric. He is the central point of the movie. Not that I mind b/c he is a great comedian. Queen Latifah was very underused but it seems that she has her own barber/beauty movie coming out so that will make up for it. I also like the fact that the Barbershop movies talk about real problems with the way society thinks about things. This movie is good and needs to be watched. I own the first and will own the second.

The plot involves a new, hipper franchise barbershop that is moving across the street from Calvin's barbershop. So, he feels like he has to change and improve his shop by getting newer stuff and such. Sounds real exciting huh. As for the rest of the film, a lot of it involves the same material from the first film. The people that work at Calvin's stand around, talk loud, and mouth off to each other and the customers. Once again Cedric the Entertainer was mildly funny, but it is more like he's doing a stand-up routine than anything to do with the movie. And Calvin is faced with another moral issue involving taking a large sum of money. He's already shown that he will do the right thing in the end.

FINAL VERDICT: Nothing new. I don't recommend it unless you thought the first Barbershop was the best thing since sliced bread.

Cedric and the gang are back for a second go around in this sequel to Barbershop. I saw and review the original a while back and was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed it for the most part. The sequel give or take is more of the same. Ice Cube's Calven is still a hair breath away from losing the shop again. Cedric's Eddie is still the best part of the movie, again. Both films ran out of steam whenever Cedric wasn't on it. This film added Eve and Kenan Thompson into the mix. The former being VERY nice to look at, the latter this being the ONLY film he's likely to ever do that I actually watch. But he IS good in this film. I know Queen Latifa's spin-off film "Beauty Shop" is opening pretty soon.. THAT'S one that I'll take a miss on. Nothing against her Quennness, but all her movies suck hardcore, well except for "House Party 2". But I digress, If you liked the first one, you'll like this.

My Grade: C+

The first movie of this series was well written and original. This show drags on, poorly written gags, boring flashbacks, not the comedy that I expected. Even the young folks found it boring. There are certainly bright moments, historical elements and some good acting, but overall I can only recommend this for DVD/tape at home.

After being evicted and not having the time to see the first movie, I approached the sequel with a fresh, normal not overly demanding view. Barbershop 2 is a surprisingly good movie. Not dull and not full of one-dimensional characters which I feared at first thought (there are plenty of people to get to know in this movie), it's Seinfeld with attitude and it works.

The most famous barbershop in south Chicago gets competition across the street from a hair cutting corporate franchise.

The story really doesn't show up until much later in the movie. There are other things Cube et al want you to enjoy. Some of the better moments are carried with gusto by Cedric the Entertainer as he puts more honesty in his character than any other I've seen in recent movie history. It may feel long but Barbershop 2 stands on its own.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business wasn't as good as it's original but was just as funny. The movie itself lacked little things which the original held which made it much more enjoyable. Back in Business seemed to be just another worthless sequel made to bring in money with a very thin plot. Cedric the Entertainer's terrible excuses for flashbacks ruined the movie and seemed to be a bad way to try and get the audience to adapt more with the character. Overall Barbershop 2: Back in Business was a sequel not needed, without the originals charm, soul & spark.

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Starring: Ice Cube, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Sean Patrick Thomas and Queen Latifah

Genre: Comedy

Rated: PG-13

We continue the adventures with the barbers and Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) on the South Side of Chicago. In this sequel to the 2002 hit Barbershop, Calvin's shop is threatened again but this time by a greedy developer who is opening a mega-franchise barbershop right across the street from Calvin's shop. The whole gang from the first movie is back including Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), Terri (Eve), Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), Ricky (Michael Ealy) and Isacc (Troy Garity). Also in this movie we have a new character named Gina (Queen Latifah) who is a stylist at a beauty shop next door. As Calvin does what he can to counter this threat, life goes on in the barbershop, with more of the same tart dialog and life complications in various hilarious ways as in the original. I missed Anthony Anderson and Lahmard Tate in this sequel because I thought they were hilarious in the first one but this sequel was still funny and besides at this time when this movie was filming, Anthony Anderson was busy doing Agent Cody Banks 2, Scary Movie 3, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and his TV-series, All About the Andersons. Just another day on the South Side of Chicago.

This is the kind of movie that can offend the easily offended. It is full of jokes, and jokes can be taken either the way they are intended or the wrong way. Hidden inside this movie is a basic look at a lot of reality. It may not be pretty or the way we think it is or should be, but it is reality.I have personally seen city and county government working pretty much the way this one did. One thing I have noticed about many of the roles Ice Cube plays is that they are honest people fighting against the system and even though temptation always seems to rear its ugly head, his character eventually does what needs to be done. Still, at the root it is a very funny movie with a lot of joking that can provide a recommended minimum daily allowance of laughing.

Most of the major characters return for this impressive sequel that nearly works as well as its very good predecessor. Barbershop owner Ice Cube and his fellow cutters (out-of-place female Eve, African immigrant Leonard Earl Howze, super white boy Troy Garity, ex-con Michael Ealy and loud-mouthed veteran Cedric the Entertainer) have a new problem on their hands. Business opportunist Harry Lennix wants to open a Nappy Cutz (a fictional Super Cuts-styled rip-off) shop across the street. Immediately the group is worried about the possibility of being run out of business by the upstarts. Former barber Sean Patrick Thomas (now working for Illinois state governor Robert Wisdom) realizes the situation and does what he can to help. Naturally though Wisdom is just as crooked and suspicious as Lennix so thus another dilemma occurs. Ice Cube is also constantly bothered by one of his wife's (Jazsmin Lewis) relatives (a priceless turn by Kenan Thompson). Thompson also has the itch to become a stylist and hangs around the shop in spite of the fact that no one trusts him with their hair. Also along for the ride is beauty shop owner Queen Latifah who doubles as Cube's old love interest and Cedric's acid-tongued equal. A little history into Cedric's background is hilarious, heart-breaking and thought-provoking all at the same time. He thinks about a lost love (Garcelle Beauvais) and also remembers Cube's kind and decent father (Javon Jackson). Flashbacks to a Civil Rights-torn landscape of 1960s Chicago becomes a strangely poignant part of a franchise that people do not think of as serious. All in all "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" is a noble work. Once again the screenplay and direction are adequate, but the amazing characters are still the series' primary calling card. Lennix and Wisdom are really not quite as good as antagonist Keith David was in the original. I also missed neighborhood trouble-makers Anthony Anderson and Lahmard Tate, but their absences do not shatter the overall effectiveness of the sequel. 4 stars out of 5.

The Barbershop is back and Ice Cube still can't act. I guess you can't blame him for trying... or is he trying? He had a decent enough supporting cast around him for his lack of acting skills to go partially unnoticed. I like Cedric the Entertainer so his parts were small boosts to help me through the rest of the movie.

It goes as no surprise that the first Barbershop was better. The story just wasn't as compelling this time around. A modern, state of the art, super barbershop opens across the street from Calvin's small, traditional, and welcoming barbershop; posing a threat to his business. This happens just after he got through saving his barbershop too. Of course there are the sub-plots as well, and they were equally uninteresting if not more. Overall, you are treated with a few laughs and a happy ending, so the movie wasn't all bad.

Another good time movie that leaves you feeling better than when you came in.

Ice Cube's cousin was definitely the funniest part of the movie.

Funny and good for a laugh.

After the 1st entertaining movie, this followed up as having little in it but diss sessions like the rap battles in 8 Mile but without the cleverness.

Most of the jokes were lame, and it quickly lost all of the charm that should have held together a very very thin story.

i own the first Barbershop on DVD. twenty minutes into this movie, i had to cut it off, and go watch the first Barbarshop again. usually when you watch a sequel, it's not really necessary to watch the first movie to understand. but unless you have an impeccable memory, you may lose a few of the story lines that are continued in the sequel. do not get me wrong, this movie was still very funny. and the plot was surprisingly good. the only reason why i did not give this movie a higher rating, is because of all the story lines! every character (which all of them have returned) is getting developed this time. we learn more about all of them in Barbershop 2. but on a personal note, i cared about some of the story lines more than others (like watching Michael Ealy's storyline, simply because he is fine!).

if you did not see the first Barbershop, or forgot, this movie may have be a bit hard to follow. the relationship between Jimmy and Isaac; the lust Dinka had for Terry; how Eddie spoke about a woman named Loretta; how Terry was hurt by her man; Ricky's lifestyle that brought him to the shop; how Isaac was the new lame, white boy and no one wanted to sit in his chair...all of these are story lines in Barbershop 1 that get developed in Barbarshop 2 (and even more story lines are added on!) but either way, it's obvious that the producers ran out of time, and simply had to cut out some things that would have developed some of the story lines better.

all in all, the movie is still hilarious. the acting is still above average. Cedric still makes you roll with his off the wall comments. and the storyline is up to par with what is going on in a lot of urban communities nowadays- how "big business" development is having an impact on traditional and/or historical "mom & pop" shops. in fact, all of the scenes surrounding that issue, are QUITE accurate.

Not bad. Just a little bit of fun from Ice Cube. Can't see me going back to it though.

Barbershop 2 is an entertaining film to watch. However, the plot is as thin as my mother's hair (sorry mom). The movie is a bit of a repeat of the first movie (the barbershop is threatened by closure, this time by competition). I also found Queen Latifah's glorified cameo more of a distraction than an addition. she will have her own movie with the beauty shop next door but here her character is completely extraneous. Like the first movie, the highlight of the Barbershop 2 is the politically incorrect talk going on in the barbershop. There is also a hilarious scene where the alderman tries to have a photo opportunity in the barbershop and everything goes wrong. New to Barbershop 2 is the backstory telling how Cedric The Entertainer's character came to be at the barbershop and the experiences of the barbershop back in the 50s and 60s. These scenes are well done and tells us whey Cedric The Entertainer's character is allowed to do virtually nothing at the barbershop. Good performances and watchability help this movie a lot. Not as good as the first movie but worth a look. 6/10

The original "Barbershop" was a movie that I liked more for its values and intentions than for its actual execution. It had a lot of heart and was extremely well-meaning, but it had a dumb plot that kept getting in the way of everything and ultimately made the movie just ok.

For about half an hour I thought "Barbershop 2: Back In Business" was going to be much better. Once again, all the materials are there for a truly great movie: excellent atmosphere, entertaining characters, funny (and topical) dialogue... But once again, the script takes everything down an irritating path and drags what could have been a real gem into mediocrity.

The plot in this one has to do with the competition from Nappy Cutz, a big hair-cutting franchise that's opening right across the street from the barbershop owned by Calvin Jr. (Ice Cube) and frequented by all the characters we know from the first film. This seems like a perfectly good plot for the film, one that will be considerably less annoying than the one in the last film. Well, that's not the case. To say that the bad guys here (Harry Lennix as a greedy developer and Robert Wisdom as a lecherous Alderman who, for some reason, speaks in Don King-isms) are one-dimensional stick figures would be kind. In fact, the way in which this potentially good plot is badly mishandled actually made me miss those bumbling ATM thieves (Anthony Anderson in particular) from the first film, believe it or not. That plot was annoying, but at least it was funny on occasion.

There are so many things I like about this movie, though. Such good community atmosphere and so many good characters: Calvin, Eddie (Cedric The Entertainer), Isaac (Troy Garity), Terri (Eve), Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas)... Too bad so many of the supporting characters rely on stereotypes. For instance, we know that the Alderman is corrupt and a pervert within seconds of seeing him, and that the ridiculously uptight-looking white man sitting next to Eddie on the train is going to say something stupid and ignorant.

About Eddie, the most popular character in the "Barbershop" films, this time we get several flashbacks to his earlier life, including one rather powerful one set during the Chicago riots that followed Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 assassination.

I like so many things about this movie, and I love the movie that it could have been (and should be), but it just doesn't get there.

"Barbershop 2: Back in Business" is a better-made, if not necessarily better film than the original. I loved the first "Barbershop" movie that came out in 2002. The sequel is a lot more in depth with its characters and we learn a little more about each one and how they have improved since the first film. If "Back in Business" has any flaws, it's that there is not enough action inside the barbershop, where most of the action took place in the first film. There is a little more drama with "Back in Business" that never slows the film down; a little drama never hurt anyone, did it? Either way, I did thoroughly enjoy myself watching "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" and I rated it a 9/10.

It seems that we didn't have enough "show me as much money as possible" sequels in 2003. It's only about 6 weeks into 2004 and the first cash-cow movie of the year has arrived---not that 'Barbershop 2' is as retched as 'Bad Boys II' or as unfunny as 'Scary Movie 3' or as moronic as 'Charlie Angels: Full Throttle'. I felt affection for this second edition of haircuttin' in the hood and chuckled several times. There's probably going to be yet another movie in this series---we already know there's a spin-off coming soon with Queen Latifah's 'Beauty Shop'---and another night at the movies with these characters is not a bad way to spend your time.

Still, the first 'Barbershop' was bust-a-gut hilarious over & over...which was going to be tough to imitate or surpass. And '2' doesn't live up to its predecessor. This one is often dead serious, sometimes focusing on some difficult issues. The cast is back (plus, Latifah makes an extended cameo) and they do pretty much the same thing again. Cedric The Entertainer has his slurred rants (not as screamingly funny the second time around), the supporting cast get their jibes in, and Ice Cube holds it all together with his likable cool-guy persona. You just can't hate these characters. The way they razz one another comes across as genuine love/hate affection.

Last time, we wondered if Ice Cube was sick of cutting hair and was going to sell the shop. Now the story is about the shop being overrun by a corporate competitor. Who will win the fight? Ooh, the suspense. The script isn't trying to blaze any new trails or win any awards. All the same, it would be nice if they could juice up the comedy while maybe giving this movie a better reason for existing (other than to fill studio pockets). In short, I wanted to like the movie, yet it's not as funny as a comedy with these actors should be.

See this movie with an audience. Half the fun of the first flick was watching it with an enthusiastic crowd. I can't see an audience reacting as uproariously to this movie as they did to the first film, but you might enjoy yourself more if you're surrounded by others. Fans of the first 'Barbershop' should get a moderate-size kick out of this.

I tried watching "Barbershop 2" today but could not finish it due to the sloppy and shaky camera work. There also didn't seem to be anything new here to make this sequel worthwhile. You can safely pass on this one in my opinion and I did like the original "Barbershop" rating it a 6/10. But this sequel is a 1/10 as I did not finish it.