Ballerific Review: Barbershop 3: The Next Cut (Film Review) – blogged by: @onetakestace

Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer and Eve are all back — and they’ve brought some new friends along for the ride. Nicki Minaj, Common, and Regina Hall all added new flare as first timers of the Barbershop family.

Barbershop returns to the big screen, tackling social issues and addressing injustice, all while sprinkling some comedic humor into almost every scene.

The third installment continued with the “save the day” theme from Barbershop 1 & 2, but also related this theme to the tragedies that have been so evident in America over the past few years. As we know, Barbershop is based in Chicago, but this film heavily highlighted the violence in the city, as well as the responsibility of older generations to protect and teach the youth coming up. 

Eve, Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer hold the movie down as per usual, and yes, I did miss Michael Ealy’s presence, but truthfully, I’m still blown away by the incredible and surprising performances from Common and Nicki Minaj. We all know Common knows his way around a movie set, and I’m sure he’s gotten memorizing lines down pat, but there was something about his performance in this film that really made me internalize what a talented guy he is. From his subtle humor to the more passionate and serious scenes, I genuinely believe he was an excellent addition to the trilogy. 

Now, I can’t lie, I was skeptical of the Nicki Minaj addition. But the Pink Barbie really surprised me. There were a few cheesy scenes where I felt myself heading towards an eye roll, but I rolled them back when I realized that Nicki was just playing Nicki with a different name and having fun. Her character got on my nerves halfway through the movie, but I think that was intentional so hats off to her.

I don’t want to forget to give love to Lamorne Morris, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Deon Cole, the hilarious additions to the sequel’s cast. Lamonrne is known for his comedic timing in New Girl, I first became fond of Utkarsh Ambudkar in Pitch Perfect, and Deon Cole caused a ruckus in Black-ish, but together these three led almost every scene into a comedic finish and still knew when to keep the serious stuff serious. Speaking of Black-ish, Anthony Anderson, playing J.D., came back as well. We haven’t seen his character since Barbershop one, but it’s like he never left.

I honestly didn’t get to see as much of Regina Hall as I wanted to, but I was definitely feeling the blue hair, mostly because she worked in a hair shop and hairdressers can get away with everything. 

Overall, The moral of the story was very well-received. I loved the modern day vibe that accompanied the movie as a whole, and I think addressing issues and situations that have been belittled to the point of social media hashtags was very important, especially with these actors who are prominent in Black Hollywood. A special salute to Michael Rainey Jr. and Diallo Thompson, who played sons in the film. Each of their characters was a testament to young black males everywhere and how important it is to protect them and teach them so they can do the same in their future.

I felt the Malcolm D. Lee effect throughout the film, and I have to say his direction, along with the performances of these seasoned actors, turned out to be a really good Friday night,buy it when it comes out on DVD and host a movie night with your favorite people kind of film. Congrats to the whole cast and crew for a successful sequel. I rate the film a solid 8/10.