The Wombles:
Complete Collection
Just £9.48!

Alien/Predator:
Complete Collection
for just £44.99

Harry Potter
Complete Sp.Edn
for just £40.96

Why Donate? News & Views Discussion Forum News Archive Announcements All About Us Email Dom Write 4 DVDfever Competitions Music Charts Chart Archive Cinema: Whats on Cinema Reviews Press Releases TV Issues DVD List R1 DVD Reviews R2 DVD Reviews R3-6 DVD Reviews CD Reviews PS2 Reviews PSP Reviews Xbox Reviews Xbox 360 Reviews Gamecube Revs GBA Reviews PC Reviews Hardware Revs Concert Reviews Video Reviews Comedy Reviews Book Reviews Screenplay Reviews Movie Downloads Interviews TV Shows PSX Reviews N64 Reviews Dreamcast Revs Laserdisc Revs Short Stories DVDs In Brief Right To Reply Why Widescreen? DVD Links Music Links WS Video List WS PAL LD List Me and my Aortic Valve!

Travis Willock reviews

Distributed by
MGM Home Entertainment

Cert: PG-13

Cat.no: 1004104

Running time: 102 minutes

Year: 2002

Pressing: 2002

Region(s): 1, NTSC

Chapters: 32

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (Eng only)

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: No

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: $26.98

Extras: 4 Featurettes, Audio Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers/ Outtakes, Barber School Interactive Game, Music Video, Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailer

---

Director:

Tim Story

Screenplay:

Mark Brown, Don D. Scott, and Marshall Todd

Cast:

Calvin: Ice Cube
JD: Anthony Anderson
Eddie: Cedric the Entertainer
Jimmy: Sean Patrick Thomas
Terri: Eve
Isaac: Troy Garity
Ricky: Michael Ealy

It's good to say Ice Cube has rebounded from the garbage that was All About the Benjamins.

I guess that's really not a hard act to follow but this film is one of the best comedies I've seen in a while. The fact that it doesn't rely on gross out tactics makes it even better. Becoming a surprise hit last August (made $80 million), MGM has supplied a great DVD albeit a little early.

Barbershop tells the story of owner Calvin (Ice Cube) who wants to make something more of his life and his father's shop doesn't hold any opportunities. When he sells the shop to a loan shark he begins to have second thoughts about how much it means to him. He begins to realized that it's much more than a barbershop but a very important place to many. Now Calvin must find a way to get his barbershop back by the end of the day or lose it forever.

Despite the simple story this is pretty engaging. From monolouges at the barbershop to snippets of two men trying to break into an ATM machine (don't worry it all falls into place) this will surely produce some laughs. Every actor gives a great performance and the script is edgy enough to be engrossing.

Barbershop is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. Given that the film is only a few months old the print is in great shape with only a couple of knicks and scratches. The transfer is great as well with only some minor pixelization to spoil it. Colors are deep and very sharp.

Audio is presented in an average 5.1 track. The entire film is pretty much dialouge based but this is fine.

MGM has given this release quite a few extras and these are actually worth watching for once. Here's how it stacks up:

• Audio Commentary: A very good track featuring director Tim Story, producers Robert Tietel and George Tillman Jr., and writer Don D. Scott. This is worth a listen since the way Barbershop was made is actually quite interesting.
• The Hair Club: 4 featurettes, all are full frame with non-anamorphic clips. "The Final Cut" runs 18 minutes and focuses on the story and general shooting of the movie. "Set, Press, and Style" runs 5 minutes and focuses on the set design. "Finishing Touches" runs 6 minutes and focuses on costume design. "Hairdo's and Don'ts" runs 7 minutes and looks at the different hairstyles over the years. Each featurette is well produced and worth watching.
• Deleted Scenes: 6 minutes, 7 scenes, non-anamorphic. These scenes are decent but you can tell they really didn't mesh with the film. Most are quick cuts anyway. All can be viewed with optional commentary by director Tim Story.
• Outtakes: Little over 5 minutes, non-anamorphic. These are really funny, definitely worth watching for the bootleg DVD gag.
• Barber School Interactive Game: A basic trivia game featuring clips of the actors. Actually pretty tough to crack.
• "Trade it All" Music Video: Features Fabolous, P. Diddy, and Jagged Edge.
• Misc: Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery features what the name implies. The theatrical trailer is anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen.

Not jam packed in the extras department but each feature is worth watching and not just a bunch of promo fluff.

Packaging is amaray featuring the theatrical poster as the cover. The film is split into a good 32 chapters, menus are animated with clips from the film.

Overall, Barbershop is a suprise film that is definitely worth a watch. MGM has also made a great DVD to back the film up.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Travis Willock, 2003.

Email Travis Willock

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: