Rating of
3/4
It's Good, and It's Bad
Soluus - wrote on 01/24/12
The movie looked like it had potential for black empowerment with a near-enough all-black cast. Obviously, since it was set in the ghetto it wasn't hard to assume what kind of stereotypes would appear, but I was hoping more than anything that this film would be both entertaining and have some redeeming social values. It really didn't, but that doesn't make it bad.
You have your stock of (black) characters: the main character, male, with financial and family problems who is searching for a solution to his woes; a hood rat with a ghetto attitude with a soft underbelly; an old man who's seen fifty years of life in that particular area; an warm-hearted African with a Lion King-/Disney-esque view of life; a vendor looking to sell off his goods by going from shop to shop; a conniving crook with a lust for power and money; and a sassy female with relationship problems. You also have the white-but-black-inside guy who on the outside is as sleazy as any lackadaisical ghetto white boy can be, and then an extra character from India whose only purpose is to further the protagonist's moral journey. It's an interesting cast when they all come together in the shop, some warm family moments, but ultimately there are issues that needed to be answered.
Now, perhaps I'm more disappointed than I should be considering I thought this movie was going to be empowering to black people and have real characters instead of stereotypes, and that's my own fault. One of the things that irked me, beyond the up-and-front relationship/money/crime themes, is the prejudice I saw these people hold towards other characters. One of the senior barbers, Eddie, made a comment about an Indian shop-owner whose store had been burgled: he said that it didn't matter where he came from, but that he was a foreigner and that was all. Now, it simply was the personal opinion of this character, but it astounded me that because this man was black, he could get away with this. Had it been a white man making the comment, all hell would've broken loose---which brings me to my next problem.
The one white character (Isaac) in this film is an employee at this barbershop. There are a line of black customers who refuse to receive a haircut from him purely because he is white. It's not openly said, but it's heavily implied that because he's white he is unskilled at his "black ghetto" job. Only towards the end of the film does he have a chance to prove his skills (and prove them he does), and meanwhile he receives more than a few snide comments about him being a "white boy", etcetera. While I understand that this film is primarily a black film about black issues in a black area, if it brings up white issues then it really should resolve those same white issues. Not once did Isaac mention that some of the others were being racist towards him, and as a person who thinks everyone should receive equal treatment, this greatly annoyed me. I know that if someone were saying racist things towards me based on the colour of my skin, I'd have an issue. Perhaps it's a part of Isaac's character that he didn't want or feel the need to speak up, but personally I can smell fear coming from the scriptwriters concerning the controversial nature of the black-on-white prejudice.
With that out of the way, let's talk about performances. All the actors in this film were great at their roles, and I enjoyed Eddie the most. Though he was undoubtedly a part of this black community, he was also separated because of his age and it was refreshing to see a view of apartheid at that time that isn't rose-tinted. He was absolutely justified in his opinion on Rosa Parks, and was very much to-the-point with his words. It's a shame he was something akin to ridiculed by his co-workers for his opinions, but perhaps that is something that will be resolved in Barbershop 2. I also hope his prejudice towards outsiders is addressed and explored, because I'd be interested in seeing how and why he thinks that way of others. I also liked Ricky (he is very beautiful) because of the fact that he does, despite first opinions, have a sound moral compass.
The themes in this film were moral values, community and kinship. I loved how all the characters had a connection with one another and could hit out at each other with honesty and integrity. I definitely feel that they could've shown Calvin interacting more extensively with each of these characters since he is the protagonist, but at the end you see some great heart-to-heart with Eddie, Ricky and Lamar (a cheapskate will-be who can't afford his haircuts) which makes up for the lack of screen time with other personalities.
The storyline is little more than guidance for the evolving of the characters, in particular Calvin who starts out as hardened and spiteful of his father, to loving and accepting of others based on what he sees throughout the day. Ricky, after him, has the most evolution, going from his pre-existing state as a felon to a young man whose life is starting to unfold in great ways. Then there's Eve's character, Terri, who finally stands up to her cheating boyfriend and finishes with him for good, though unfortunately her personality in the film doesn't exist much beyond that and her defensive ways. Dinka, the African, gains some confidence and he's a lovable character so it's smiles all around in that way.
This film is a good black one-off comedy; it's entertaining. It's about caricatures and it's flawed and has its issues but it's worth at least one watch before moving onto other films. It's a happy-go-lucky, ghetto version of Be Kind Rewind in that there's a shop and its community in peril, and at the end of the day things turn out great and everyone's happy. If you're in for some jokes, smiles, etcetera, this is for you; don't take it at more than face value because like me you will end up frustrated and disappointed.
A three out of four.
