MICHAEL LOMAX: Barbershop movies are about family

To say the original “Barbershop” was about the lives of black barbers would be a disservice to the film. A critical darling and commercial success, “Barbershop” was, for most people, a look into a different world, and it was this originality that endeared the film to so many.

But what really makes this movie so good is not so much its colorful portrait of South Side Chicago characters as much as its tremendous amounts of heart. “Barbershop” is about family and persevering for good causes, and the latest installment in the franchise, “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” follows the same mold.

Set 12 years after the original, “Next Cut” welcomes back barbershop owner Calvin Palmer Jr. (Ice Cube) and Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) as they try to manage the shop in an increasingly violent Chicago. As the neighborhood around them continues to worsen, the barbershop crew bands together to bring about peaceful change to the area. Meanwhile, Calvin struggles between staying true to his South Side roots and moving to give his family a chance at a better life.

Despite a few other returnees (namely Eve), most of the cast has been updated. Highlighted by not-bad performances from Common and Nicki Minaj, the crew at Calvin’s Barbershop is a wonderful ensemble mix of actors, comedians and musicians. The eclectic mix, as it did with the 2002 original, is what makes this film so enjoyable to watch. The conversations are hilarious and the situations are ridiculous, but as a spruced-up and slightly exaggerated take on real life, “Next Cut” succeeds for sure.

But even if this film is funny, that doesn’t make the story tick.

The first “Barbershop” was really about learning to enjoy the simple things more than the money — those daily interactions with friends and the love of family that make it wonderful to be alive. While not quite as good, “Barbershop 2” was really about staying true to the community despite greedy corporate interests. And so, what’s “Next Cut” really about?

Simple: The answer to all of our social issues can be solved if we come together as a community and tackle the problem head-on.

Of course, it’s easy to be a little skeptical of such an easy-sounding and, honestly, slightly naïve viewpoint. After all, isn’t it impossible to reason with thugs and killers and gangbangers? If you really think that, I understand, but I am sorry for you.

Because what “Next Cut” reinforces, if nothing else, is that even if you have a criminal record a mile long, we are all human beings, and we all have the same capacity for family and friendship and love. If we stop thinking about each other as potential statistics and start seeing the good or at least understanding the bad, then everything will be all right.

Michael Lomax is a writer-filmmaker currently at work on a film script to be set and shot in Albany.