Rating:
3 Bowls of Popcorn (and some collared greens)
Can I just say that Kevin Bacon in Beauty Shop takes the cake. He is ridiculous and it’s delightful.
But this movie is far more than the fabulous Mr. Bacon. This movie is about the brotherhood of the ghetto. Gina (Queen Latifah) moves from Chicago to Atlanta and then quits her job at an upscale salon to start her own salon downtown. It nearly kicks her ass. What saves her is the community she finds in the hood. White middle- and upper-class America tends to stereotype the hood. It’s depicted as a hard, cold, scary place, and it can be. But it can also be a community. It can also be a place where people look after one another, where family – in all its dysfunction – comes together for the greater good.
Whenever I watch Beauty Shop, I’m reminded of the potential goodness of people. Creed, color, religion, language, style, genre, … none of it matters when someone’s in trouble. Isn’t that how it should be? Shouldn’t we care about helping others out. And since we should, why don’t we? I think we don’t because we are scared. Remember how the hood is supposed to be scary and cold? Well, I think over years of human evolution (think “change” evolution not “Big Bang” evolution), we have bought into the lie and made it true. Maybe this whole movie begs the question: Are humans inherently good or bad?
Josh’s review of this movie needs a bit of explanation. I asked him what he thought about Beauty Shop and he responded with a movie quote (“Oh Shit! Forgive me Lord, we need Jesus”) and I told him I couldn’t really use that because it’s a quote, not a review. So he responded again with “Fine, it’s an estrogen thrill-ride of power, independence, and struggle… happy? :-)”
37 down (I think that’s the number…)
The Movie Marathon 
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