Beauty Shop (2005)

So So Shop

Queen Latifah is always consistent and enjoyable to watch. However, she doesn't stretch herself much with this movie. This is strictly feel good but maybe too feel good - there just isn't enough oomph or bite in this hairdo to make it a killer comedy. It just glides along. Could've been much better but as the review above states, the characters are thin and there isn't much of a plot. December 27, 2008

The Queen has tooken over

Beauty shop is a spin off of barbershop 2. this movie stars Quenn Latifah one of the best Female comedians i've seen and kevin bacon. this is a very good movie. last time you saw queen latifah's character in barbershop 2 now you see her in her own baber...i mean "Beauty Shop" movie. this movie is so funny it'll make you laugh alot. it's a must see June 23, 2008

Mild disappointment

Could have been great, but it's just not, and not even a guilty pleasure like Barbershop. I found Q Latifah quite charming in Last Holiday, and her charisma holds up well in this and all other works. But the writing . . . my god, it's awful. A respectable actor like Djimon is reduced to the most ridiculous type of beefcake, while Andie M and Alicia S are consistently caught in embarassingly shallow moments. The stereotypes rage in abundance, while transcendent observations are almost nonexistent. Kevin Bacon's over-the-top performance is actually the most welcome performance and sets the proper comic tone, but unfortunately he is the exception, not the rule. The style is sharp, everybody's looking real good, it's not devoid of humor and has its moments, but the content is often horrible and so many degrees removed from a Spike Lee joint. Too bad. June 6, 2008

Cute and funny but nothing new or original...

I absolutely love Queen Latifah. She makes any movie worth watching in my humble opinion. It's a shame that Latifah aside `Beauty Shop' is rather dull. It's not that it doesn't bring the funny; it's just that it's all funny we've seen many times before. I understand that it's harder and harder these days to find an original concept for anything, but really, watching `Beauty Shop' is like major deja vu. I've seen this done almost word for word before, I swear it.

The story revolves around Gina, a hairstylist who's fed up with working for the man (that man being the snobbish Jorge). Gina decides it's time to take her talent to the next level and open her own salon. Jorge of course doesn't like this much and begins working to shut her down. Things are difficult, being a single mother and all but she has the support of her friends and this gives her strength to push through. In the meantime Gina is given a huge opportunity when her own conditioner recipe (would it be called that?) is brought to a big wig corporation by a wealthy client. Things look to be going up for Gina, but will they stay up?

Latifah is funny as Gina. I just love her to death and she always creates the most likable characters. Even if her movies are all B-Grade at best (`Chicago' and 'Set it Off' aside) she always makes the experience worth it. The real standout here though is Kevin Bacon who is obviously overjoyed to be hamming it up as Jorge. His blonde locks and wispy attitude is just such a huge departure for him it's hilarious to see. I don't normally like Bacon but he had me in stitches. Alicia Silverstone also makes her return to the screen here, but her impression is less than impressive. Her accent is obnoxious and I found myself wishing she would get off the screen.

The cast is huge here with names like Andie MacDowell, Mena Suvari, Alfre Woodard and Djimon Hounsou showing up every now and then. Everyone does a decent job with what they are given and they all seem to work well with one another, feeding off the others energy.

As far as comedies go this one is funny, it's just very unoriginal. It doesn't mean that you can't find enjoyment out of this one since the laughs are there, just know that you'll have laughed at these gags before. If you're a fan of Latifah or anyone else in the cast then by all means check this one out. I have yet to see either of the `Barbershop' movies but I really need too since I hear they are a laugh riot. I'm sure they are better than this film as far as plot goes. February 13, 2008

Six degrees?

The raison d'etre for this movie must have been to give fans of the Kevin Bacon game an easy way to connect actors. Why else would so many name actors appear in this formulaic fluff? It is not as bad as Barbershop but not much better.

Watchable if you have absolutely nothing else to do. Or for the very amusing performance of KB as Jorge. January 20, 2008

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