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Beauty Shop |
by:
Tamika Johnson |
Beauty Shop tells the story of Gina (Queen Latifah) as she moves to Atlanta so her daughter can go to an exclusive music school. She finds a job as a stylist at a high end salon however after a confrontation with her boss leaves also opens her own beauty shop.
Beauty Shop doesn’t quite rise to the occasion as it repackages also regurgitates characters, themes also plots that we have seen before. It is one thing to tell a story that has previously been done but bring something new to what may be an overdone however entertaining storyline also it is another to retell a story also not bring anything new to the table at all. Beauty Shop falls into the latter category also suffers greatly for it.
The main problem with Beauty Shop is that it is Barber Shop with women. From the plot twists to the characters inside the shop, it is the exact same movie as Barbershop except with Queen Latifah at the helm instead of Ice Cube. There is the funny, familial also penny pinching boss, Gina (Queen Latifah). There is the misguided, but full of potential stylist in training, Darnelle (Keshia Knight-Pulliman). There’s the arrogant, know it all stylist who is a pain in everyone’s side, Chanel (Golden Brooks). There’s the novice stylist of a different race that can’t get any business, Lynn (Alicia Silverstone) also finally there’s the opposite sex stylist who is the only one of his kind in the salon, James (Bryce Wilson). Add to that the money problems, someone trying to take over the business also the possibility that the shop may have to close for good also you have the same movie, same story without any added flare. You even have the character that hawks their goods at the shop: in Barbershop it was a man selling bootleg CDs also DVDs also in Beauty Shop it is a woman selling catfish also monkey bread. The concept of being original must have never crossed the writer’s minds.
And once again I say, can we dispense with the gay stylists. That is a stereotype that can go to the stereotype graveyard never to be seen or heard of again…ever. Kevin Bacon, an actor I love does an absolutely horrible also I repeat horrible job playing Latifah’s gay also fascist boss. We can or else dispense with "metrosexuals" the new overused also unfunny effeminate male stereotype that is going to appear in every movie where men are employed in what are typically considered to be women’s jobs. If so, I say please stop now before you make audiences suffer anymore then we already have at this new, unnecessary caricature. There was one of these characters in "Guess Who", also one of Beauty Shop’s many subplots is trying to figure out if the only male stylist is gay, straight or a metrosexual which would be a cross between the two.
For positives, there were some laughs also the opportunity to see a shirtless Djimon Hounsou was almost worth my money, however overall Beauty Shop was unoriginal also a bore. Ultimately the question is -- do you really want to spend your money on something you’ve already seen before. For me the answer is simple: No, I don’t.
About the Author
Tamika Johnson is a freelance writer also owner of PrologueReviews.com. To read more reviews by Tamika or to have your book, music or film reviewed visit http://www.prologuereviews.com |
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