Beauty Shop

Last updated
Beauty shop
Beauty Shop.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bille Woodruff
Screenplay by
Story byElizabeth Hunter
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Theo van de Sande
Edited byMichael Jablow
Music by Christopher Young
Production
companies
Distributed byMGM Distribution Co. (United States)
20th Century Fox (International) [1]
Release date
  • March 30, 2005 (2005-03-30)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million [2]
Box office$37.2 million [3]

Beauty Shop is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a spin-off of the Barbershop film series, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character first introduced in the 2004 film Barbershop 2: Back in Business . This film also stars Alicia Silverstone, Andie MacDowell, Mena Suvari, Kevin Bacon and Djimon Hounsou.

Contents

Released theatrically in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on March 30, 2005, Beauty Shop received generally mixed reviews from critics. The film has grossed $37.2 million worldwide against a $25 million production budget. [4]

Plot

Widowed hairstylist Gina Norris has moved to Atlanta so her daughter Vanessa can attend a private music school. After a disagreement with her domineering Austrian boss, Jorge, she quits and sets up her own shop, purchasing a run-down salon with the help of a loan officer. At the shop, the staff often listen to their favorite radio talk-show host, DJ Hollerin' Helen.

Gina discovers that taking over the salon comes with complications: loudmouthed young stylists, demanding clients, and her own lack of an established reputation in Atlanta. Lynn, the only white stylist at the salon, has trouble fitting in, especially with Chanel, another stylist. A flirtatious teenager, Willie, hangs around filming things and chatting up the women at the salon, including Vanessa. When Gina's rebellious sister-in-law Darnelle gets into legal trouble with her lowlife boyfriend, Gina has to bail her out of jail. She has Darnelle work at the shop to pay her back, and gives Darnelle an ultimatum to clean up her act and pay back Gina's money or face eviction.

Gina's styling skills and customer handling win over the salon's clientele, and many customers from Jorge's salon begin going to hers instead. Jorge retaliates by bribing a corrupt inspector to try to shut down Gina's salon with spurious violations. When electrical issues arise, Gina finds that the upstairs renter, Joe, is a handsome electrician from Africa. He bonds with Vanessa over their love of piano, and he and Gina also become close.

Gina develops a homemade "miracle" hair conditioner. A satisfied client, Joanne, arranges for a meeting at cosmetics company CoverGirl so that Gina can sell them the formula. She hires a male stylist, James, after he comes into the shop and demonstrates his skill with braids. Darnelle's boyfriend confronts her at the salon, and Gina and James step in to protect her.

The salon staff go to a night club to party. James and Lynn fall for one another after dancing and kissing. Gina and Joe develop their relationship as well. At the salon, Joanne flirts with James and blows up when Lynn asks her not to. Chanel unexpectedly stands up for Lynn, and Joanne demands that Gina fire them. Gina refuses and Joanne cancels the meeting with CoverGirl. Lynn feels guilty, but Gina tells her that it isn't her fault.

The shop is trashed and vandalized the night before Vanessa's big piano recital, but the staff come together to clean up the mess, even bringing in their own supplies to make sure the salon can stay open. Darnelle decides it's time for her to grow up and enrolls in beauty school. Willie secretly tapes Jorge and Inspector Crawford discussing their scheme to ruin Gina.

A disheveled woman enters the shop and begs someone to fix her hair for a wedding that day. Willie shows Gina the videotape of Jorge and Inspector Crawford. That night, Gina confronts Jorge at his salon and threatens to expose his scheme, as well as the fact that he is actually from Nebraska, not Austria, and tells him she will never give up. Jorge continues to insult Gina as she leaves, and James and his friends humiliate him by giving him an extreme haircut.

Later, as Gina and the shop listen to Hollerin' Helen's show, she gives a shout-out to Gina's salon and her miracle conditioner, and they realize she was the desperate woman on the way to the wedding.

Cast

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 38%, based on reviews from 119 critics, with an average score of 5.35/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Despite a strong performance by Queen Latifah, Beauty Shop is in need of some style pointers." [4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 rating, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F. [6]

Claudia Puig of USA Today wrote "Overall, the parts don't come together and jell as well as they did in the Barbershop films". [7]

Jennifer Frey of The Washington Post praised lead actress, Queen Latifah, for being herself. [8]

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle said that "[actress] Alfre Woodard shows she's as adept at comedy as drama". [9]

Derek Armstrong of AllMovie gave the film three out of five stars, stating that while the film sticks to the same formula which made the Barbershop films so successful, it still "bursts with life, having attracted a spectrum of enthusiastic performers and a script that exceeds broad character types." [10]

Awards and nominations

2005 BET Comedy Awards

2005 Black Movie Awards

2005 Teen Choice Awards

2006 Black Reel Awards

2006 NAACP Image Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Redgrave</span> British actress (born 1937)

Dame Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress. Throughout her career spanning over six decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Olivier Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She has also received various honorary awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship Award, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, and an induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Latifah</span> American recording artist and actress (born 1970)

Dana Elaine Owens, better known by the stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2006, she became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Redgrave</span> British-American actress (1943–2010)

Lynn Rachel Redgrave was a British-American actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards during her career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Tautou</span> French actress and model

Audrey Justine Tautou is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in Venus Beauty Institute (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Award for Most Promising Actress.

<i>Barbershop</i> (film) 2002 American film by Tim Story

Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy-drama film and the first installment in the Barbershop series directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Brown, Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd, from a story by Brown. It was produced by George Tillman Jr., Robert Teitel and Brown. The film stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Keith David and Cedric the Entertainer. Its plot revolves around the social life in a barbershop on the South Side of Chicago.

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently, Alfre Woodard holds the record for most wins in this category with six.

<i>Barbershop 2: Back in Business</i> 2004 American film

Barbershop 2: Back in Business 2004 is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan and released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer on February 6, 2004. A sequel to 2002's Barbershop and the second film in the Barbershop film series, also from State Street producing team Robert Teitel and George Tillman Jr., Barbershop 2 deals with the impact of gentrification on the reputation and livelihood of a long-standing south Chicago barbershop. Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, and several more actors reprise their roles from the first Barbershop film. However, a few of the original film's actors including Tom Wright and Jazsmin Lewis return with smaller roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keshia Knight Pulliam</span> American actress (born 1979)

Keshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress. She began her career as a child actor, and landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), which earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. She later starred as Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–present).

<i>Set It Off</i> (film) 1996 film directed by F. Gary Gray

Set It Off is a 1996 American heist crime action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. It follows four close friends in Los Angeles, California, who plan to execute a bank robbery—each doing so for different reasons—to achieve better for themselves and their families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaime King</span> American actress and model

Jaime King is an American actress and model. In her modeling career and early film roles, she used the names Jamie King and James King, which was a childhood nickname given to King by her parents, because her agency already represented another Jaime—the older, then-more famous model Jaime Rishar.

<i>Soul Food</i> (film) 1997 American comedy-drama film by George Tillman Jr

Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Tillman Jr. in his major studio debut. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera and Brandon Hammond. The story centers on the trials of an extended Black-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage.

Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music videos since 1994, and Toni Braxton, with whom he has worked 10 times since 1996. Woodruff directed the videos for some of Braxton's biggest singles, including "Un-Break My Heart", "You're Makin' Me High", and "He Wasn't Man Enough".

<i>Last Holiday</i> (2006 film) Movie by Wayne Wang with Queen Latifhah

Last Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Wayne Wang and written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. The film is loosely based on the 1950 British film of the same name by J. B. Priestley. The film stars Queen Latifah as Georgia, a humble department store assistant who is told that she has a rare brain condition and only has a few weeks to live. She promptly decides to spend her remaining funds on a luxury holiday in Europe before she dies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie</span>

The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in Miniseries or Television Movie.

<i>Hair Show</i> 2004 American film

Hair Show is a 2004 comedy film directed by Leslie Small starring Mo'Nique and Kellita Smith. It is the theatrical directorial debut of Leslie Small.

<i>The Secret Life of Bees</i> (film) 2008 American drama film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood

The Secret Life of Bees is a 2008 American drama film adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. Starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Paul Bettany, the film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Will Smith, with Jada Pinkett Smith as the executive producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Rodriguez</span> American actress

Elizabeth Rodriguez is an American actress. She began her career appearing in films Fresh (1994), Dead Presidents (1995), I Think I Do (1997) and Blow (2001). She played Detective Gina Calabrese in the 2006 film adaptation of Miami Vice.

<i>Steel Magnolias</i> (2012 film) 2012 American TV series or program

Steel Magnolias is an American comedy-drama television film directed by Kenny Leon that premiered at Lifetime Network on October 7, 2012. It is a contemporary retelling of the play Steel Magnolias and its 1989 film adaptation. The new film stars an all-black American cast, including Queen Latifah as M'Lynn, Jill Scott as Truvy, Condola Rashād as Shelby, Adepero Oduye as Annelle, with Phylicia Rashād as Clairee and Alfre Woodard as Ouiser.

"Knocks Me Off My Feet" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. It was not released as a single, though it was released as a B-side to "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" four years later, in 1980. The song has also been covered by numerous artists, including R&B singer Donell Jones, who released his version as a single in 1996. Other notable recordings include those by Tevin Campbell and Luther Vandross, both also released in 1996.

Barbershop is an American comedy media franchise that started in 2002 with Barbershop, directed by Tim Story. Barbershop 2 (2004) was directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan and released in 2004, while the third film, Barbershop 3 (2016) directed by Malcolm D. Lee, was released in April 2016. A spin-off starring Queen Latifah, Beauty Shop (2005), was released in 2005, along with a television series of the same name debuting in the same year.

References

  1. "Beauty Shop (35mm)". Australian Classification Board . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  2. "Beauty Shop (2004) - Financial Information". The Numbers . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  3. "Beauty Shop (2005)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Beauty Shop (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  5. "Beauty Shop". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  6. "Movie Title Search". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  7. Puig, Claudia (March 29, 2005). "Beauty Shop". USA Today . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  8. Frey, Jennifer (March 30, 2005). "Not the Sharpest Shears On the 'Barbershop' Block". The Washington Post . p. C01.
  9. Stein, Ruthe (March 30, 2005). "Looking good, feeling better after a session at the 'Beauty Shop'". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  10. Armstrong, Derek. "Beauty Shop (2005) – Bille Woodruff | Review". AllMovie . Retrieved August 14, 2021.