This is a virtually all-black version of Friends inside a small community barbershop in Chicago: a sitcom with snappy exchanges between clients and customers.
Ice Cube (who's certainly not melting as he puts on the years) is the owner, dickering about the sale of the place to the local loan shark (Keith David), who wants to turn it into a different kind of clip joint, but finally discovering the worth of follically-rooted friendships.
There's a running gag about two of the boys stealing a mobile cash dispenser from the single Indian shopkeeper in the 'hood and trying to make it divulge its easy fortune.
The emphasis on fingerlickin, fried chicken suggests an African-American past not often seen in black urban movies, and, for once, the four- and 12-letter words don't pass anyone's lips.
It all feels like Spike Lee Lite.
Barbershop
Cert: cert12A
