The Sunday Mail
IT seems Ster-Kinekor has finally found its niche.
After weeks of playing hide and seek with the guys from the company, I finally decided to give one of their themed nights a visit and what I saw was a thing of beauty.
The theme in question was “Date Night”, and to mark the event they premiered Ice Cube’s latest installment in the “Barbershop” franchise, “Barbershop – Next Cut”.
Despite a few stolen glances from happy couples and being bombarded by my hosts with questions as to why I decided not to bring a date, I had a pretty good time.
Romance was in the air as couples, both young and old, cozied up as the fast-rising Tytan entertained revellers.
The decorations were in sync with the night’s theme, there was even a photo booth, which I thought was a brilliant.
And the star attraction, “Barbershop – Next Cut”, did not disappoint.
This is not to say everything was perfect, for I did notice a thing or two that the organisers can improve on. Firstly, I get that Tytan is hot right now and the country is going all “gaga” about his hit song, “Mukoko” featuring Ammara Brown, but does he really have to perform four versions of the same track?
He sang an acoustic version, made it into a sing along, did a video-like take with back-up dancers and then brought members of the audience onto the stage to sing with him.
I went from liking the guy and singing along, to fighting the urge to boo him off the stage or throw popcorn at him. Let this be a lesson to all organisers out there — if you are hosting a function, it is probably not a good idea to bring an artiste with only one or two songs to his name.
Another issue was on the marketing side of things — to make money one needs to pour in money. The event could have done with a little more aggressive marketing and publicity.
Back to “Barbershop – Next Cut”.
After my utter disappointment with last year’s “Straight Outta Compton”, which I thought was an unfair and one-sided depiction of the rise and fall of NWA, I was really dreading to see yet another Ice Cube-inspired movie so soon.
Luckily “Barbershop – Next Cut”, did not disappoint.
Set roughly nine years after we last saw them, Calvin Palmer Jr (Cube) returns with his merry band of barbers as they sit, work and talk about anything and everything.
This time, however, the man-cave that was once a barbershop has been transformed after Calvin enlists the help of Angie (Regina Hall) and One-Stop (JB Smoove) as business partners.
With their arrival the barbershop now has more people, more diverse opinions and more character clashes.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, you are probably wondering why I keep trying to hammer the word “opinions” down your throats.
Well, to cut a long story short, the Barbershop movie franchise is a unique concept in the world of movie making. It is a film essentially meant to convey important issues that impact the black community in the United States.
While a one plot-line is created to tie everything into a nice bow, the movie’s strength lies more in contemporary social messages it tries to convey through dialogue.
Here the main issue is crime.
Chicago is burdened by an increase in gang-related crime and nowhere is that better conveyed than by Ice Cube’s opening voiceover where he speaks of his relationship with the city he calls home as he is faced with the possibility of his teenage son Jalen (Michael Rainey Jnr) joining an underworld posse.
Comedy runs deep throughout the movie, often diluting the social issues discussed to try not to sound too preachy.
The likes of JB Smoove, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson and Hall all deserve special mention for keeping the movie flowing with their impeccable timing and grasp of their craft. The guys are really good.
Ice Cube and, more importantly, rapper Common are the group’s conscience; dramatising some of the film’s more serious themes and social messages. These range from crime, racism, violence and infidelity.
And did I mention Nicki Minaj is in it?
The film is an early contender for one of my favourite films of the year and it has done a decent job on the box office, opening at US$30 million last week on the back of US$20 million budget.
