Line #63 Film/Barbershop


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barbershop_2002_movie_poster.jpg]]
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3	->''"Wait, hold on here. Is this a barbershop? Is this a barbershop? If we can't talk straight in a barbershop, then where can we talk straight? We can't talk straight nowhere else. You know, this ain't nothin' but healthy conversation, that's all."''
4	-->-- '''Eddie'''
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6	A 2002 American comedy film directed by Creator/TimStory and released by [[Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]]. Starring Music/IceCube, Creator/CedricTheEntertainer, Creator/SeanPatrickThomas, and Creator/AnthonyAnderson, ''Barbershop'' revolves around social life in a barbershop on the South Side of Chicago. The movie also proved to be a star-making vehicle for acting newcomers Eve and Michael Ealy, and was followed by two sequels, a spinoff, and a TV adaptation.
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8	Calvin (Music/IceCube) has plans to launch a record label… which is yet another of the many plans he's had. Right now, though, he owns a pretty-much insolvent barbershop in [[UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} south Chicago]]. His father and grandfather [[FamilyBusiness owned it before him]], and he has a retinue of (mostly) black barbers working for him. Calvin has other plans, though, and sells the shop to [[SmugSnake Lester Wallace]]. However, Lester wants to take the shop in a direction that Calvin doesn't approve of, and Lester demands double what Calvin paid him to buy it back. Add to this that two guys steal an [=ATM=] from the convenience store near the shop, hoping to get rich from the money inside. Later on in the day, the police storm the shop and arrest one of the barbers. Said barber is an ex-con with two strikes on his record, and the robbers (one of them is the barber's cousin) used his truck in the crime. Even worse, they're willing to let him take the rap for the burglary. Can Calvin save his friend and the shop?
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10	In 2004, MGM released the sequel, ''Barbershop 2: Back in Business''. All of the original cast returned, but director Tim Story did not. This film was directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. In the same year, Billie Woodruff directed a spin-off film entitled ''Beauty Shop'', with Music/QueenLatifah as the lead (Latifah's character made her debut in ''Barbershop 2''). The film was pushed back from a late summer 2004 release, and finally reached theaters in February 2005.
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12	During the fall of 2005, production company State Street and Ice Cube debuted ''Barbershop: The Series'' on the Creator/{{Showtime}} cable network, with Creator/OmarGooding taking over [[Music/IceCube Cube]]'s role of Calvin. The character "Dinka" is renamed "Yinka" on Barbershop: The Series, as "Dinka" is not a typical Nigerian name (although a certain tribe in the Nigerian middle belt bears the name "Dimka"). In addition, Isaac's last name is changed from "Rosenberg" to "Brice", and the character Ricky has been replaced by a more hardened ex-con, Romadal.
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14	In 2016, the third film in the series, ''Barbershop: The Next Cut'', was released. Directed by Creator/MalcolmDLee and distributed by MGM and Creator/NewLineCinema, this film brought back Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Creator/SeanPatrickThomas, and Creator/AnthonyAnderson and added Music/NickiMinaj, Music/{{Common}}, Creator/ReginaHall, and Creator/JBSmoove among other new cast members.
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18	!!''Barbershop'' contains examples of the following tropes:
19	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: During the riots following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin Calvin's father sadly comments that they should be honoring his memory. Eddie prepares to leave, musing that (due to the looting going on) he'll pick up a TV, washer and dryer and asking Calvin's father if he needs anything. Calvin Sr. can't help but chuckle at that.
20	* AmicableExes: Calvin and Gina are on good terms. They trade jabs occasionally but it's never mean-spirited.
21	* AskAStupidQuestion:
22	** Calvin tries to break up a fight over [[SeriousBusiness who drank Terri's apple juice]], and Checkers Fred chimes in saying that Calvin's dad wouldn't let something like this happen in the shop. Calvin asks, "[[IAmNotMyFather Do I look like my father]]?" It seems the entire shop thinks so.
23	** Billy tries to get his sister to stay quiet about the [=ATM=], at one point appealing to her situation, asking who would take care of her if something were to happen to him, like jail. She immediately says, "My mama".
24	-->'''J.D.:''' [[LampshadeHanging She got you on that one, dog]].
25	* BerserkButton: "Who drank my goddamn apple juice?!"
26	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Dinka punches Terri's cheating ex-boyfriend in the face when he won't take a hint, and also for insulting him moments before.
27	* BigBeautifulWoman: Gina, which she herself lampshades.
28	* BigFun: Dinka. In [[FunnyForeigner West Africa]], "girth is a sign of opulence".
29	* BlatantLies: J.D. claims that the [=ATM=] is something it isn't.
30	** "This is my grandmother's oxygen machine!"
31	** "This ain't nothin' but a big video game!"
32	* BrickJoke:
33	** Midway through the film, Calvin asks Samir if he can get some free Now & Laters. At the end of the film, when Calvin is giving out candy to kids (likely for good grades), one of them wants Now & Laters.
34	** Someone keeps drinking Terri's apple juice.
35	** [[spoiler:The reward for the [=ATM=]]].
36	** Lamar paying for his haircut.
37	* CassandraTruth: Lamar tells Calvin he will have a job interview later, though Calvin disbelieves him. He comes in anyway to get a haircut but cuts and runs. Later on in the film he returns with money, but Calvin tells him to keep it.
38	* CatFight: Offscreen, but Terri beats up the girl her ex-boyfriend was just screwing with.
39	** In the third movie, Draya nearly gets into one with Bree.
40	* CelebrityCameo: Jalen Rose gets a haircut at the shop.
41	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Eddie sits around not doing very much and talking about various things. This is not to say he doesn't have moments of wisdom, though.
42	-->'''Eddie:''' [''in a discussion about Jesse Jackson''] Jesse, [[Music/MichaelJackson Randy, Tito, Freddie]], ''[[Film/ActionJackson Action]]''!
43	* ComicallySmallBribe: Billy pays his sister $10 to keep her from telling his mother that he and J.D. stole an [=ATM=] and brought it to their house.
44	* CoughSnarkCough: "cough Bullshit! cough"
45	* DemotedToExtra: In the third movie, Jimmy is only on-screen for about five minutes, and Isaac only appears for a single scene.
46	* DutchAngle: Used during the argument between Jimmy and Ricky, and the subsequent discussion about ribs.
47	* EarnYourHappyEnding: By the finale of the first film Calvin has gotten his family's barbershop back, has settled comfortably into his role as the owner of a cherished local institution, and has presumably used the [=ATM=] money reward to pay off the barbershop's debts.
48	* ExactEavesdropping: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Dinka tries, but fails:
49	-->'''Dinka:''' Something about a monkey coming back… but his ass has too much pressure.
50	* EpicFail: Billy tries to break the [=ATM=] open with an axe. One of his first swings destroys a lamp in the hotel room. A subsequent swing causes the head of the axe to fly off the handle. Even the axe handle gets destroyed over the course of his efforts. To top it all off, [[spoiler:the [=ATM=] had just been installed and had no money in it]].
51	* ExactWords: Lester plans to turn the barbershop into a strip club. Calvin protests, saying that Lester said the sign out front would always say "barbershop". Lester says he'll keep it—he'll call it "the Barbershop".
52	* FamilyBusiness: Calvin's grandfather owned the barbershop, and his dad ran it for forty years. Calvin himself took it over two years prior to the start of the movie.
53	* FatAndSkinny: J.D. and Billy. This is one of the rare moments in which the fat person is the StraightMan of the two.
54	* FreezeFrameBonus: In the scene where J.D. is wheeling the ATM, you can catch a quick glimpse of Calvin walking from behind.
55	* FriendOnTheForce: Detective Williams seems to be on good terms with Calvin, even covering for him at one point when the latter is snooping around Nappy Cutz.
56	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Apparently some customers don't like Eddie.
57	-->'''Calvin:''' Just go sit at Eddie's!\
58	'''Eddie:''' I'm busy.\
59	'''Customer:''' I don't wanna sit at Eddie's!
60	** A few of the workers seem to get fed up with Jimmy.
61	** In ''Back In Business'' nobody seems to like Kenard.
62	* FunnyForeigner: Dinka, the West African immigrant barber.
63	* GetOut: Terri says this to her cheating ex-boyfriend, while hitting him on the head.
64	* [[GossipyHens Gossipy Hen]]: Janelle has this reputation.
65	-->'''Calvin:''' First get the shop open, ''then'' start the rumors.
66	* HeelRealization: Of a sort. Calvin decides he doesn't want to sell the barbershop to Lester after all.
67	* HiddenDepths:
68	** Dinka has a great appreciation for poetry.
69	** Ricky is actually pretty smart. He not only stuns Jimmy with presenting an argument, he also corrects him on the fact that scallops are shellfish.
70	** Eddie comes across as a bumbling old man who can be TheLoad but he's a skilled barber who treats it as a craft, and the barbershop as a pillar of the community.
71	* HonorBeforeReason: J.D. calls Billy out for chasing a guy who owes him $5 when they have an ATM loaded with tons of money (or so they think). Billy tells him it was a principle and J.D. would have done the same thing.
72	-->'''J.D.:''' Yeah, but I would have whooped his ass days ago!
73	* HotBlooded: Oh god, '''Terri.''' One of her customers actually decides to come back later fearing that she can't cut his hair while as angry as she was! Significantly toned down in the sequel when she gets her anger under control, but she still shows shades of it from time to time.
74	* HypocriticalHumor:
75	** A woman hears about the ATM theft on the radio, she says that "some people are bad at parenting". Then when her daughter drives her scooter past her, she tells her to be careful. Then the daughter enters her brother Billy's room with the ATM.
76	** When Terri is throwing her tantrum over someone drinking her apple juice, Calvin tells her to stop cussing, but seconds later, compares Hennessy to her "funky '''ass''' apple juice".
77	* InspectorJavert: Detective Williams automatically assumes Ricky stole the ATM, due to his criminal history and already having two strikes. He came to the barbershop to get a trim (which Ricky deliberately gave him a bad cut), only to tell Ricky if he finds out he's the culprit he'll personally have him arrested. When officers found the truck used to steal the ATM and belonged to Ricky, he immediately barged into the barbershop to place him under arrest.
78	* InsufferableGenius: Jimmy comes across like this. He isn't as smart as he tries to come off; he claims that scallops aren't shellfish, only to be corrected by Ricky later in the film, and that Samir is Pakistani, but he's from the Indian state of Punjab.
79	* {{Irony}}: The stolen ATM is brand new and didn't even have any money. Not that J.D. and Billy ever found out.
80	* {{Jerkass}}: Kevin, Terry's boyfriend, who cheats on her. He also antagonizes Dinka and insults Terri.
81	** In the second film, Ricky is this to Isaac, going so far as to diss him on television.
82	* KickTheDog: J.D. laughs at Ricky for getting arrested for the theft of the ATM because J.D. used his car (which was proof enough for Detective William).
83	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: College kid Jimmy likes to correct people but he's frequently wrong.
84	* {{Leitmotif}}: Whenever J.D. and Billy are shown in camera with the ATM, a low violin loop is heard playing in the background.
85	* LetsGetDangerous: In a way, when Dinka and Terri's cheating ex-boyfriend start fighting, Eddie gets off his seat and readily pulls out a knife in case things get ugly. After the ex-boyfriend leaves, Eddie puts the knife away and "fixes" his fro.
86	* LivingRelic: Eddie, at least in his own mind if not in reality. He seems to make a distinction between the barbers of his day and the newer barbers at the shop.
87	* TheLoad: Eddie plays this straight with some caveats. He mostly sits in his chair all day doing no work and doesn't pay rent on it. That said Calvin's father told Eddie that he would never have to pay for his chair after Eddie saved the barbershop from being burnt down following the riots after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. Plus when the occasion calls for it he does dispense some insightful wisdom to the younger barbers.
88	** Billy is a straighter example of this in the first movie. Every time he and J.D. have to find someplace new to stash the ATM, it's almost as though he goes out of his way to hinder the process, from dropping the machine on J.D.'s foot, to setting the room they're holed up in ON FIRE.
89	* LoanShark: Lester Williams is described as one. Calvin tells his wife otherwise but he may be trying to rationalize.
90	* {{Malaproper}}: Eddie. His age may contribute to this.
91	* MsFanservice: TERRI. Expected, as she's played by the beautiful Eve.
92	* NWordPrivileges: Given that most of those in the shop are black (many played by actual rappers), more than a few get tossed around. Notably, [[InsufferableGenius Jimmy]] and [[TokenWhite Isaac]] don't use the word.
93	* NeverMyFault: Calvin explains to his wife is because of his dad the Barbershop is in debt. But then his wife tells him their debt wasn't really that bad until Calvin made it worse with his get-rich-quick schemes. Calvin scoffed at the notion.
94	* NoodleIncident: Ricky has a criminal history, and it's mentioned that he has two strikes. If he gets a third strike, he'll go to prison for a very long time.
95	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the case of Checkers Fred. We know his name is Fred, but he is usually referred to as "Checker Fred", or "Checker".
96	* PluckyComicRelief:
97	** A lot of Eddie's scenes are oddball rants.
98	** Ray (known as "Hustle Guy" on Website/IMDb). He keeps coming back, despite Calvin keeping on telling him to go away, and his sales pitches can be RefugeInAudacity.
99	** And then there's J.D. and Billy with their bumbling antics at attempting to open the ATM they stole from a local convenience store.
100	* PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: Isaac, which causes some tension. He's also the only white guy in the shop's employ.
101	* RefugeInAudacity: J.D. is about to get caught wheeling around an [=ATM=] by the police. He sets it up next to a building and attempts to use it. If that wasn't enough, a line forms behind him. He then tells the other patrons that the [=ATM=] has broken.
102	* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: When Checkers Fred starts talking about how Calvin's father would have handled a situation, Calvin asks if he looks like his father. Pretty much everyone in the shop agrees that he does.
103	* RightUnderTheirNoses: When rolling the stolen [=ATM=], J.D. notices a nearby squad car. Thinking quickly, he sets up the [=ATM=] outside of a building and pretends to use it.
104	* ReformedCriminal: Ricky. He's got two felonies on his record and is intent on keeping his honest job at the barbershop. In the sequel Terri lampshades how getting his GED means he "gives a damn about his life."
105	* SarcasticConfession: When Terri storms into Kevin's apartment and searches for another woman in it because she believes he's cheating on him, Kevin tells her to try looking under his bed because that's where he'd hide another woman. Sure enough, there turns out to be a woman hiding underneath there.
106	* SassyBlackWoman:
107	** This can describe Terri.
108	** Gina plays this absolutely straight. It's Queen Latifah, after all.
109	** Billy's sister, despite her brief role.
110	* ScaryBlackMan:
111	** The fat guy who keeps taking the stairs when Billy and J.D. want to.
112	** Lester Williams displays shades of this, mixed with SmugSnake.
113	*** Monk, his righthand man, also displays this.
114	* SeriousBusiness:
115	** Terri doesn't want anybody drinking her apple juice.
116	** Jay owes Billy $5 from gambling. This leads to J.D. getting an ankle injury and both of the thieves attracting the attention of the police.
117	** The barbershop and cutting hair in general. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], given that it's a barbershop and that Calvin and his father gave a lot of people a break and a job when others might not have.
118	-->'''Eddie:''' This is the barbershop! The place where a black man means something! Cornerstone of the neighborhood! Our own country club! I mean, can't you see that?
119	* SlapSlapKiss: Ricky and Terri in the second film.
120	* SliceOfLife: A considerable portion of the film is this.
121	* SmugSnake:
122	** Lester Williams comes off as a very greasy, slippery character.
123	** Lalowe Brown shows signs of this.
124	** Quentin Leroux oozes this.
125	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: It's easier to count the scenes in the film that ''don't'' have this, especially ''Back in Business.''
126	* StupidCrooks: J.D. and Billy. Taken up to eleven when they are oblivious to the fact that the ATM they stole is empty.
127	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Terri, the only female in a mostly-male barbershop.
128	* TokenWhite: Isaac, the only white guy in a mostly-black barbershop.
129	* {{Troll}}: Eddie's EstablishingCharacterMoment is pretending to hold the barbershop at gunpoint. Going by everyone else's amused reaction this is not an uncommon occurrence.
130	* TwoFirstNames: Jimmy James. Funnily enough, Jimmy is often a nickname of James.
131	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Ricky and Dinka are completely absent in the third film with no explanation.
132	* WhereAreTheyNow: The end of the film shows the barbershop several months later.

Context Film / Barbershop