Barbershop: Critic Reviews

The comedy is less than razor sharp.

Some of the verbal jousts are hot, and a Laurel and Hardy routine involving a stolen ATM is fitfully hilarious, but this reminds me of a pilot for a cable sitcom.

The movie's heart is in the right place, which generates enough warmth to make one root for it.

Barbershop is a cozy place to hang out for a while, even if you don't need a little off the sides.

Charming urban comedy for teens.

[A] very smart, very clever, very well-written, and very funny piece of filmmaking...

A funny, warm, immensely likable, and all-ages-appealing film centering around the importance of heritage and family.

The problem with Barbershop is that it tries too hard to be too many things.

Rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube ably provides the emotional core in this story of a neighborhood barbershop and its assortment of colorful inhabitants, which is a cut above standard hip-hop cinematic fare.

Perhaps because it promotes traditional values - respect women, crime doesn't pay, family comes first - the film shines in those rare scenes when it plays with received wisdom.

...has the makings of a long-running franchise, but one that just doesn't cut it as a crossover hit.

[Ice] Cube proves that he can be incredibly charismatic performer when he's not glowering at people.

Beneath the jokes is a story about community - what it means to belong to a community and one's responsibility to that community.

One of the best entrants in the fast-growing urban comedy genre.

Clip off a little rehashed material here, trim a few unneeded characters there, and what you have left is sheer entertainment.

The script really should have been given a trim, as it tries to cram in so many characters that few are given the time and space to develop.

Beneath the profane banter, light-hearted intrigue and generous helping of larger-than-life characters, Barbershop makes a heartfelt case for African-Americans owning businesses in their own communities.

In the age of photo messaging and web chats, Barbershop is a warm-hearted reminder that there's nothing like conversation between real people.

Barbershop is for the most part a funny, thought-provoking, and well-performed film that deserves to be seen.

There's a gentle buzz to this comedy about a family-owned barbershop in innercity Chicago; the filmmakers mercifully avoid the more extreme ends of annoying slapstick, although they get dangerously close a few times.

This is what can happen when black actors and black filmmakers are permitted by a narrow industry to assemble a story of their own, a depiction of their own community.

Focuses too much on the tried and tired plot developments for the characters to completely grow on us.

Feels a little like Spike Lee lite - "Joe's Bed Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads" minus the street realism, or Do the Right Thing without the conflagrations.

Cedric the Entertainer damn near steals the show, with an award-caliber comic performance that's delightful in both the quality and timing of his biting satirical words.

...a charmer of a comedy, rich in the traditions of American camaraderie.