Barbershop

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Combines big laughs, a big heart and thoroughly winning characters to become the first big surprise of the fall season.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It's funny as hell, and I am proud to say that as a card-carrying white guy, I got three, or possibly even four, of the 239 jokes.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

As warm as it is wise, deftly setting off uproarious humor with an underlying seriousness that sneaks up on the viewer, providing an experience that is richer than anticipated.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Why, in our drum-thumping, ritually trumpeting time, did so little fanfare precede the opening of a movie with so much to recommend it? This is grand entertainment.

Variety Ronnie Schieb

A rousing celebration of the family-run small business, this Ice Cube-topped ensemble comedy, without offering anything especially new or exciting, provides a springboard for high-voltage comic exchanges that double as wisecrack-coated lessons in community relations.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A cogent, optimistic and mostly entertaining slice of ghetto life.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

There is a kind of music to their conversations, now a lullaby, now a march, now a requiem, now hip-hop, and they play with one another like members of an orchestra. The movie's so good to listen to, it would even work as an audio book.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Best of all, and worth the price of admission, is Cedric the Entertainer.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Here, as in the "Friday" movies, the jokes are big and rude and vulgar and very funny.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

A broad, very funny, unexpectedly graceful comedy of character and community.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Entertaining, surprisingly well-written and often rowdily amusing picture. It is predictable in many ways but also full of heart, humor and personality.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Not everyone is going to appreciate the politics of Barbershop, but you've got to admire it for having a political view at all.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Ray Conlogue

Comes as a pleasure. It's a comic drama set in a Chicago hair salon where the characters are engaging and the story has a bustling richness.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Despite the fact that you can see every plot twist a mile off, director Tim Story keeps the script by Mark Brown, Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd rollicking with a jazzy spontaneity.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Ice Cube serves as the film's solid moral center, with a dizzying variety of supporting characters in his orbit. A refreshingly class-conscious comedy-drama that refuses to talk down to its audience, Barbershop tackles serious issues.

Chicago Reader Ted Shen

Some of the verbal jousts are hot, and a Laurel and Hardy routine involving a stolen ATM is fitfully hilarious, but this reminds me of a pilot for a cable sitcom.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

I've seen better movies recently, but it's been a long time since I've left one feeling the easy, full-bellied happiness this one evoked.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

Much like how its employees and patrons don't want to see the barbershop close, once one has become acquainted with these people and this place, one may not want Barbershop to end.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The mixed-up rhythms of the story rescue Barbershop from bland goodness.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Towers head and hairpiece above much of what passes for urban comedy these days.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

The film's heart lies in what goes on at Calvin's shop, that haven from the cold, cruel world. Where else can you get philosophy, humor, friendship and a little off the top?

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A stage-y but likable ensemble piece.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Genial but largely predictable ensemble comedy.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Inlike many directors with music video backgrounds, Tim Story keeps the flashy cutting to a minimum and lets the story unfold at its own unhurried pace.

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

Isn't as funny as it should be. Cedric's speech impediment only goes so far -- he's actually funnier in Serving Sara, without having to rely on a big wig to do his acting for him.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

So often loose and funny that you'd have to be pretty stingy not to get some pleasure from it.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

Doesn't always cut it -- and, somewhat embarrassingly, boom mikes hover on screen so frequently they deserve co-billing -- but it's a likable venture that just misses being a lovable one.

Village Voice Ed Park

As hackneyed as they come, but the overall mood is less cynical than affectionate.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Good-natured fun when it isn't stale, which is most of the time, this talky comedy set in a Chicago barber shop is a sitcom pilot disguised as a movie.