Release Date: February 6, 2004

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual material and brief drug references

Written and Directed by: Kevin Sullivan

Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Troy Garity, Sean Patrick Thomas, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Queen Latifah, Kenan Thompson

Plot:
Calvin, Eddie, Terri, Jimmy, Isaac, Ricky, and Dinka are open for business again at Calvin's Barbershop. Gina, a stylist at the beauty shop next door, is now trying to cut in on his business. Calvin is again struggling to keep his father's shop and traditions alive--this time against urban developers looking to replace "mom & pop" establishments with name-brand chains. The world changes, but some things never go out of style--from current events and politics to relationships and love, you can still say anything you want at the barbershop.

Review:
The sequel to Barbershop hit theatres and it has plenty of more characters to enjoy...or not to enjoy. From start to finish Barbershop 2 is constantly making jokes whether they are laughable or not, they don't stop for anything. That is the main purpose of these films, they place the comedy ahead of the story.

That is a problem in my book that leads this sequel to becoming just a plain bad, unfunny and unmemorable film. There is no doubt that you can see the attempts and the hard work the cast and crew put on to make this an enjoyable film, but it just wasn't an enjoyable film.

The genre of comedy is always a hard one to succeed in. There is pressure on making it extremely laughable and unforgettable, but I'm afraid that Barbershop 2 failed in both places. It almost seems like this sequel goes by quickly with the fast pace it took. You can clearly see that if it would have taken its time to setup a decent story besides always drifting away with fights or name calling then the sequel might have been enjoyable.

Director Tim Story who directed the first Barbershop didn't come back for the sequel and I don't blame him. Instead, Kevin Sullivan, who directed How Stella Got Her Groove Back took on the project. He had somewhat of an interesting Direction, it wasn't necessarily great, but it was somewhat interesting. He never avoided doing flashbacks to the first film either.

Who dat baby is, it surely ain't mine.

I'll make a transition from the Director to the cast and quite a few new members have been added that were not present in the first part. Queen Latifah, Harry Lenix and Robert Wisdom all made their entrance in this sequel. Most of the other actors returned for this one as well and although you can see their intentions and pretty good acting at times, this cast is nothing special.

If you enjoyed the first Barbershop then you just might enjoy this one as well. You just definitely won't find filmmaking at its highest here, it will simply be at an all time low. The negative that I am reflecting towards this film is because of the obvious lacking it had in characters, comedy and story. There was no stopping the bad route this sequel took and like most sequels, Barbershop 2 fell in and fell in deep.

It wouldn't be wise to go for a third part in these series of films. Judging by the box office though, it sure seems like another sequel is not far behind. Perhaps with a new director and a whole entirely new vision, but with the same exact boring jokes and plain story.

Unless you find a film as such funny and entertaining, then avoid this film. I'll be bound to say its worth a rental, that would be pushing it though. There is just nothing more to see here and it feels the same as the original, nothing to offer and nothing to continue watching it. No purpose in doing so.

Barbershop 2: Back In Business

Rating: