Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Plot synopsis:
Since the events of the previous film, Calvin Palmer, Jr. has finally settled comfortably into his role as the owner of the inner city barbershop founded by his grandfather and father. The shop's latest threat comes from overzealous developer Quentin Leroux who opens a rival barbershop chain across the street, called "Nappy Cutz".
While Calvin attempts to figure out how to deal with the coming threat of direct competition from Quentin's flashy establishment, his barbers have issues of their own. Isaac, the lone white barber, is now the star of the shop, and begins to feel that he deserves star treatment, feeling neglected by Calvin and the other barbers. Terri is finding success in managing her anger, but has trouble dealing with the growing mutual attraction between Ricky and her. Dinka is still interested in Terri, but is distraught when he finds out that she loves Ricky, instead. Jimmy has quit the shop to work for the local alderman Lalowe Brown; his replacement, Calvin's cousin Kenard, is fresh out of barber school and horribly inept at cutting hair. Meanwhile, the barbershop and other businesses like it are under threat from gentrification, and Calvin is offered a substantial bribe from Brown and Leroux in exchange for his support of the city council's gentrification legislation.
A subplot involves Eddie recalling his time as a young man in the late 1960s, when he first started working at the shop with Calvin's father, including the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Also, Eddie remembers his long-lost love, Loretta. This subplot causes Eddie and Calvin to begin bonding. The film also introduces Calvin's good friend and ex-lover, Gina, who works at the beauty shop next door. The girls at the beauty shop have similar conversations and experiences as the barbers and Gina has a bitter rivalry with Eddie.
After attempting to change his own barbershop's style and decor to match those of his rival, Calvin decides to refuse the bribe money and speak out against the neighborhood's gentrification at the local city council meeting. Though Calvin gives a passionate speech about the legislation helping the region to earn money at the cost of its soul and the community, the council still unanimously votes to approve the legislation and move forward with the project. Despite a mutual attraction, Terri and Ricky agree to remain friends (but not before sharing one last kiss). Dinka still loses out on Terri, but finds love with a stylist at Gina's beauty shop. Though the gentrification project is approved, the community remains loyal to Calvin's barbershop.

Tags: blaxploitation, flashback

Review:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
"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.
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.
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.
Barbershop 2: Back in BusinessStarring: Ice Cube, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Sean Patrick Thomas and Queen Latifah Genre: ComedyRated: PG-13We 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.
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.
"Barbershop 2: Back in Business" is a better-made, if not necessarily better film than the original.
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.
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.
I also like the fact that the Barbershop movies talk about real problems with the way society thinks about things.
I know Queen Latifa's spin-off film "Beauty Shop" is opening pretty soon..
i think this movie is the best movie for ice cub be cause it make you fell good and make you like you in the hood live that great life so as a fan for this movie i can say its the best movie i have see in my life i love this movie a lot and i tell to any one did not watch it yet to get up and watch it he is really great movie.
An exception is the return of Cedric the Entertainer as the old man barber, Eddie, who never cuts hair, but will tell you every last thing that's on his mind.
Eventually, he finds out that the whole community is getting a facelift, which forces out all of the businesses who have worked hard establishing themselves as mainstays for the neighborhood.The pacing is about the same, but feels much slower--mostly due to the reduction of sub- stories and B-plots.
This opens with Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer)'s origins in 1967 when he runs into the barbershop to hide from the cops for stealing a steak.
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.
Most of the acting is done well, although Eve sometimes draws a blank along with Queen Latifah.The plot of the movie is very simple, competing businesses and family values are sometimes easy to predict.As with a lot of of sequels, them movie is lacking just a little bit of laughter and depth rather than outdoing its predecessor.
Some "extra" characters in the original made me laugh, but with lack of them in the second I was a little let down.I really enjoyed Barbershop 2, it combines some smart lines with great acting (with some exceptions) and was pretty fun to watch.I don't highly recommend this movie, but if you have seen the first installment than I guess that it is a must see..
This one takes a similar but great plot and makes another 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.
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.
I thoroughly enjoyed the original Barber Shop but the sequel left me wondering why I had spent the time watching it.
The fact that Iced Tea's character was trying to keep from losing the business --- which was the basic premise of the FIRST movie.I guess what made these two movies so charming was mainly the barbershop talk and the way the characters interacted with each other on a personal level..
I guess you could say that Barbershop 2 was a good movie.
The plot is simple- a barbershop on the south side of Chicago that has been there for years might get put out if business when a new, snazzy, modern barbershop opens right across the street.
Cedric the Entertainer and Queen Latifah definately cracked me up and Ice Cube' s acting is getting a lil bit better.
The big speech by Calvin (Ice Cube) at the city council meeting didn't move me one way or the other (what, he wants no new business in the area?).
The true star in this film (and the original), and you can tell by his expanded role, is Cedric The Entertainer as Eddie.
Barbershop 2 Back in Business gave me this good feeling of how the first one was and it was great.
Cedric and Ice Cube were great they had the funniest jokes in this movie.
Barbershop was a great film about community and family that really stuck a chore for me, but the sequel did not live up to those values.
Ceric The Entertainer is good, as well as Queen Latifah but the story lacks the heart and humor of the first movie, and falls to gutter talk other than honest views about people and society that the first one did so well.
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.
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.
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.
The second installment, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, wisely avoids such controversy and better yet, manages to deliver laughs at a more consistent pace than its predecessor.As with the previous film, Barbershop 2 is replete with conversations and ideas that tend to polarize people.
Barbershop 2's plot is just as generic as the original film.
To its credit, Barbershop 2 wisely centers its humor around the first film's riotous old-timer, Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer).
I think Barbershop was a bit funnier than Back in Business, but it was still very good.
I like the story much more in B.I.B. too and how they went back in time to show little clips of Ice Cubes father and how Cedric came to work for him.Very good movie....9/10.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business wasn't as good as it's original but was just as funny.
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..
Calvin (Ice Cube) deals with another issue concerning his legendary barbershop.
According to ones taste in film, the original 'Barbershop' maybe better by comparison to most audiences.
The first 'Barbershop' movie was so outrageous due to Eddie's (Cedric the Entertainer) riff on some of the country's most important black leaders like MLK, or Jesse Jackson.
I will recommend it because the shop scenes are just plain funny and sweet just like the first film.
I believe this sequel, which in my opinion supercedes the first movie, is filled with amazing local talent.Casting Director, Sharon King, certainly knows how to utilize her resources and pull great actors from venues such as the Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf, and Second City.
I highly recommend that you see this film and keep your eyes peeled for Barbershop 3, as well as Queen Latifah's upcoming spin-off "Beauty Shop.".
I actually think this film was way better than the first part of Barbershop.
Although they should have used Queen Latifah more in the film, Cedric helped the movie a lot.
However, sticking with Barbershop 2, Calvin and crew still deliver the days laughs and cuts, with a good amount of soul to set the movie on..
Cedric the Entertainer takes center stage in this film but does not do anything "over-the-top" but instead really lets you inside his character, Eddy, and proves that THE BARBERSHOP has literally saved his life.
In this version, Calvin (Ice Cube) and crew must fight against gentrification as Nappy Cuts and four dollar coffees threatens Calvin's shop and the other small business owners.
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..
It was a close one and I was biting my nails but the good guys at Calvin's are still open and awaiting their next feature film, "Beauty Salon".Overall, it was mildly entertaining.
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.
Goliath, with Calvin (Ice Cube) and his cohorts taking on the two-headed giant of corrupt politicians and corporate greed.The plot is always the least of the matters in the 'Barbershop' films; what counts is the playful interaction amongst the various characters, as well as the shrewd, sharp-eyed and often acerbic observations made by the resident jokester, Eddie, marvelously played by Cedric the Entertainer.
As Calvin, Ice Cube once again provides the solid center of sanity and rationality around which all the craziness can swirl.The material isn't as fresh the second time around, but 'Barbershop 2' provides a few good laughs, some decent sentiment and a chance to spend some additional time with a group of characters who know how to have a little fun with life even when life itself doesn't always make that so easy to do..
Barbershop 2 is an entertaining film to watch.
These scenes are well done and tells us whey Cedric The Entertainer's character is allowed to do virtually nothing at the barbershop.
Although it's not a bad movie and there are good parts to it, it just wasn't that funny.
The original "Barbershop" was a movie that I liked more for its values and intentions than for its actual execution.
Once again, all the materials are there for a truly great movie: excellent atmosphere, entertaining characters, funny (and topical) dialogue...
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.
Such good community atmosphere and so many good characters: Calvin, Eddie (Cedric The Entertainer), Isaac (Troy Garity), Terri (Eve), Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas)...
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.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004): Dir: Kevin Rodney Sullivan / Cast: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Queen Latifah, Eve: Here is a comedy that not just continues the story of the hit film but it also addresses being yourself and making others comfortable with your world.
That's because I really liked the first film--and so often sequels never come close to the quality of the originals.
In addition to this plot, the old characters are back and have changed in a variety of ways--mostly for the better.One big difference between this and the first film is the presence of many flashback scenes featuring Cederic the Entertainer's character back in the late 1960s.
While these flashbacks are all very interesting since the times were so explosive, I really wish they'd put this in a separate movie, as they seemed more like filler and distracted from the rest of the film.
It's a fine wire to tread and fortunately the people behind BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS have done and amazing job.After the success of the first film the odds of a follow up were pretty good.
Next door a new ladies beauty shop has even opened owned by his one-time girlfriend Gina (Queen Latifah).
In particular this time we get to know more about Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), his back story and a romance we never knew about.
It is through Eddie that we also learn more about the history of the barbershop itself as well as Calvin's father.Once again I was pleasantly surprised at how fun this movie was.
Sure the plot is just about the same as the first, but the movie still entertains and the cast is even better since we have a few new characters, such as Queen Latifah who plays Gina, the owner of another barbershop near Calvin's.
Ice Cube returns as Calvin Palmer, the owner of a very popular barbershop on the Chicago Southside.
I was reluctant to watch the series because 1) I thought it was a rip of Who's The Man, another comedy surrounding an urban barbershop and neighborhood protectionism; and 2) mainstream movies targeted for black audiences use way too much stereotyping of the races.
Jimmy in this one isn't working at the barbershop anymore, but he's still in the movie enough.
Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) is still trying to keep his barbershop going, but this isn't just against stylist Gina (Queen Latifah) with a beauty shop next door, but soon enough a big barbershop chain called Nappy Cutz opening across the street.
Calvin, along with co-workers and friends Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), Terri (Eve) and Isaac Rosenberg (Troy Garity), they are doing everything they can to keep regular customers coming, and ultimately their business running against the competition.