In the Barbershop films, a collection of stereotypes gathered together each day for racist humor, slapstick antics and rudimentary discussions of philosophy—and sometimes a haircut or two. The depth of their ponderings could be likened to conversations Ross and Joey had at the Central Perk on Friends. The humor was decidedly sitcom as well, and only existed A.) when Cedric the Entertainer was on screen, and B.) when you understood what he was saying through his gravelly, curmudgeon accent. Beauty Shop promised to be the feminine version of all this.
But appropriately, Bille Woodruff gives the Barbershop premise a makeover, and though it is left slightly more vapid and superficial than its masculine counterpart, it also becomes a lot more pleasing to look at. Woodruff takes the stereotypes of Barbershop and pushes them into the realm of caricature. Queen Latifah is Gina, the proud black woman. Kevin Bacon is her rival, Jorge, a Eurotrash stylist who ends every statement with "Yah?" And Alicia Silverstone has the burden of carrying not one, but three clichés. As Lynn, she's the token white girl, the country bumpkin, and the white girl who must act black all rolled into one.
After quitting her job at Jorge's, Gina starts her own beauty salon in the inner city. She employs her old co-worker, Lynn, and a bunch of black-woman stereotypes, and the philosophizing begins. But rather than contemplating the race riots of the '60s, the topics are more along the line of what you might hear in a girl's locker room (or so I've heard). And amidst all the brazen but shallow sex talk, every character eventually manages to utter a funny one-liner. Even Silverstone has her moments, despite being three stereotypes and Alicia Silverstone. Unlike Barbershop, which thinks it's smart enough to take itself seriously, Beauty Shop realizes that it's empty on the inside and goes for superficial laughs. As a result, it's a lot funnier than Barbershop ever tried to be.
There's a main plot in Beauty Shop having to do with Jorge's desire to thwart Gina's success, but it disappears for long stretches to make room for the many subplots. After all, Gina must raise her piano- protégé daughter, romance the local electrician and pawn her miracle conditioner. These moments give the film just enough heart to make us care about Gina, and leave plenty of room for humor to make us care about the movie.