Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)

Chicago's stronghold of black rant and rave opens its doors once again in this fun comedy from How Stella Got Her Groove Back director Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Calvin (Ice Cube) fights back when his business is threatened by super-hairdressing salon Nappy Cutz, which opens across the street. Just like a TV soap-opera pub, Calvin's barbershop acts as a neighbourhood meeting place where stories are shared and social therapy can be administered. So, with tradition and community values at stake, Calvin and his crew decide to take a stand. This sequel is more character-driven than the original, with the ever-opinionated Cedric the Entertainer's backstory benefiting from the flashback treatment, while Queen Latifah joins the ranks of eccentrics and oddballs as the proprietress of the beauty shop next door. Director Sullivan has perhaps tried too hard to make it likeable, but in these cynical days that's not at all unwelcome.