Movies like \Barbershop"" don't usually lead to sequels. We never saw ""Diner 2"" or ""Car Wash: With a Vengeance."" Slice-of-life movies are self-contained by nature. Sequels either become too story-driven or knockoffs of the original. In ""Barbershop 2: Back in Business,"" we see many of the original's strengths, but also see Ice Cube and the gang fall prey to many of these dangers.
The movie returns us to Calvin's barbershop in Chicago, where Calvin (Ice Cube) is now a father and is faced with bickering among his employees. Terri (Eve) is sorting out her love life and Isaac (Troy Garity) has become a prima donna with his success as a barber. The shop runs into trouble as a rival opens a flashy franchise barbershop across the street and developers attempt to buy out local businesses.
""Barbershop 2"" may be noticeably flawed to a greater degree than the first, but it still maintains many strengths of the original. Ice Cube is not given much to work with as an actor in this outing, especially compared to the first one. But he once again works well as the anchor to an impressive ensemble piece.
But the movie pays too much attention to a rather thin plotline. The strength of the original was that it focused on the characters and their interactions. The sequel spends too much time watching them react to overblown situations. The story strives for grandeur by tying in 40 years of black history, but that subverts the humor and intimacy of the original.
At the same time, ""Barbershop 2"" tries to hard to duplicate its predecessor. The original created a stir with frank conversations about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. This one tries the same trick with the D.C. sniper and Luther Vandross. The result is often very funny, but at other times, the effort involved is nakedly visible-something that did not occur in Barbershop.
There are also other little problems. Director Kevin Rodney Sullivan (""How Stella Got Her Groove Back"") uses too many cutesy devices, like the occasional use of handheld cameras. The movie also paves the way for the forthcoming Queen Latifah spinoff ""Beauty Shop"" by awkwardly including her character. Meanwhile, the movie features the hammy Kenan Thompson of ""Good Burger."" Thompson is a hack who should not be allowed within 150 yards of a camera. Seeing him here is tragic.
But in spite of all those problems, ""Barbershop 2"" still manages to be a lot of fun. Cedric the Entertainer once again offers a rare comic transformation. Combining him again with Ice Cube, Eve, Garity and Michael Ealy creates a cast that can rescue the movie even in its script's weakest moments. And even if it goes too far in pursuit of relevance and sentiment, its heart is still in the right place in a way that ultimately resonates with the audience. ""Barbershop 2"" falls short of the mark set by its predecessor, but it still makes for a worthwhile experience.
