Queen Latifah as Gina Norris
Alicia Silverstone as Lynn
Andie MacDowell as Terri
Alfre Woodard as Ms. Josephine
Mena Suvari as Joanne
Golden Brooks as Chanel
Lil JJ as Willie
Keshia Knight Pulliam as Darnelle
Sherri Shepherd as Ida
Kevin Bacon as Jorge
Djimon Hounsou as Joe
Bryce Wilson as James
Summary:
While Beauty Shop isnt as funny as the Barbershop films, it does have its hysterical moments and is worth checking out.
Story:
This film is a spin-off from the Barbershop movies, but its from a female perspective.
In Beauty Shop, Gina Norris leaves Chicago, where the Barbershop movies take place, and moves to Atlanta to put her daughter through an esteemed and prominent music school.
She works in a trendy upscale salon where the owner Jorge is a self-centered, eccentric jerk who disapproves and is critical of Gina. She walks out and buys a run down salon of her own.
Determined to make it, Gina encounters some difficulties and struggles. She has problems with the headstrong opinionated stylists in her shop and deals with her former boss trying to put her out of business.
Helping her out along the way is her former shampoo girl and a sexy piano-playing electrician.
Beauty Shop is rated PG-13 for sexual material, language and brief drug references.
What Worked:
If you liked the Barbershop films, you will probably enjoy Beauty Shop. While there is no mention of the original Barbershop, Queen Latifah does a great job of carrying this film on her own. She effortlessly steps into the lead role as Gina Norris, who was first introduced in Barbershop 2: Back in Business. Although there was a large supporting cast, the main story is based on her character and the trials and laughs of following your dream, which is having your own Beauty Shop in this story.
Although the movie is rather predictable, it does have its up moments. The writers focus some attention on the fierce existence of racial tensions which can be seen with Alicia Silverstones character Lynn. The overly confident and feisty stylists tangle with Lynn because shes white and doesnt have much edge.
Silverstone does a hilarious job of playing the upbeat ditzy shampoo girl who Gina takes with her after she opens the salon. Lynn proves she can hold her own and although its not difficult to see how it will play out, it is humorous to watch the outrageous exchanges between the girls.
What Didnt Work:
While the cast is loudly amusing and played well off each other, there wasnt a lot of character depth and it was hard to get involved in anyones character with the exception of Queen Latifahs and possibly Alicia Silverstones.
The hookup with Gina and Djimon Hounsous character Joe should have been more developed. It was difficult to tell what their chemistry onscreen was like because they were hardly alone in any scenes together. Audiences will be left with wanting to see more and disappointed with the lack of relationship.
Kevin Bacon was really funny playing Jorge, well for the first 5 minutes anyway. Its easy to see he was having a great time playing the character, but one can only handle so much of his obnoxious fake Austrian accent. Sorry Kevin!
Bottom Line:
Beauty Shop does deliver on laughs and has a noteworthy cast. Although it is fairly predictable, overall its entertaining and enjoyable.
