When we met Ice Cube for the Barbershop: The Next Cut press day, we marveled at how timely the latest film in the successful series was with its spotlight on gun violence in Chicago. Don’t get us wrong, the film is still a solid comedy, but manages to make its audience think with right-from-the-headlines reality that has the film triumphing on so many levels.
Yet, according to Cube (who has had one hell of a year between producing Straight Outta Compton and appearing in Ride Along 2), it depends on how you look at the situation.
“If I were saying that we were super smart, then yes,” he stated as to the motivation behind the timing of current affairs to the latest Barbershop movie. “But they just wanted to do another Barbershop movie and I didn’t want to do another one. I was like, ‘Why? Why should we just do a movie and talk about celebrities and that’s it?’ It’s cool, but it’s not a reason to do a movie.”
Cube and his fellow producers wanted to give his audience a good time, but use their platform to inform them as well as to what’s going on with a lost generation on the streets of Chicago with daily murders and crime that is off the charts.
“I wanted to have a reason to do this. I saw an article where a guy was doing the same thing we are doing in his barbershop. He was like, ‘Stop the violence and get free cuts at our shop’ and that was to me the reason to do this movie,” Cube said.
“The barbershop is really more than just a place to talk mess, talk gossip or trash. It’s a place where people walk in with real problems. And they are looking for answers, especially in our community where we aren’t really into therapy or showing any kind of weakness. The barbershop is a place where people just let it go and let it hang out. They know someone there will understand what they are going through.”
Between the time that Straight Outta Compton took place and today, it may seem like little has changed. African-Americans in the inner city are still hurting, plagued by crime and a systematic lack of opportunities. When the NWA biopic hit screens, it was hailed as timely, even though it took place decades ago. With Barbershop: The Next Cut, Cube is once again trying to shine a spotlight on how much needs to be done in the community.
“With Straight Outta Compton, we knew people had the same anxiety and issues and it was the same kind of climate going on. And that’s the reason the movie worked but that’s also a shame that things don’t progress. Same with [Barbershop], we could have done it two years ago and hopefully two years from now if we did it — it wouldn’t be the same results. But it probably will be,” Cube said. “The communities are not changing as fast as we want them to, that’s why these movies make us seem super smart, but we’re just highlighting what is a constant in the community.”
Cube is not immune to seeing how he personally has progressed. When he started NWA, he was one of the rebels on the street trying to make it in a world that seemed to swat him and others like him aside. Now, he is older, wiser and like his character Calvin in Barbershop: The Next Cut, he is the one with the sage insight, trying to bring sense to younger folks who are screaming to be heard.
“It’s cool when you realize that you been in the game a long time and people respect what you’ve achieved. You do feel like you have a bigger responsibility to say what you know. And to give people the game as long as they want it and as long as they can accept it and are open to it. You feel like you want to give, give at this point. So yeah, it’s a great parallel between what Calvin goes through and what I went through in my career,” Cube said.
Barbershop: The Next Cut is a touching, hilarious and insightful film that features Cube, Common, Cedric the Entertainer, DB Smoove, Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall, Nikki Minaj, Sean Patrick Harris, Eve and Lamorne Morris working Calvin’s Barbershop on the South Side of Chicago. Calvin has come to terms and accepted his destiny at this point of taking charge of his father’s shop and making it succeed in an economically depressed community. It is, in many ways, the heart of the neighborhood, especially now that it is co-ed. When violence in their part of town hits home, they decide to try to do something about it. To say the least, the film is inspiring (check out our review on April 15).
One of the things the film makes clear is that change has to come from within, a message Ice Cube truly feels has to resonate before any kind of significant change can occur. “Especially my generation, we have to step up and reach back and guide some of this youth. I mean, we feel young, so that’s the problem. But at some point, you’ve got to take responsibility, and understand what you are and that you can make a difference. You have to turn on yourself before you take that first step to help somebody else. It’s a situation where a lot of people want to change the evil in the world but don’t want to change the evil inside. That’s where you start first,” Cube said.
First and foremost, the film is a comedy. With all those comedic heavy-hitters, it has to be and Cube marveled at how the film’s screenwriters managed to balance the hilarity with heart. “Kenya Barris (who created Black-ish) and Tracy Oliver, that’s the common denominator,” he admitted.
This is also a film that breaks down cultural barriers and should appeal to all kinds of movie audiences. If certain jokes or references go over some heads, Cube feels it’s a learning opportunity. “You stay true to the movie, but you discovering what you missed is just as important as you getting every joke. [If you ask] Why are they laughing and I’m not? You’re learning more about the culture,” Cube said.
“You’re learning more about the people. And what makes us tick. Just like we see ‘white’ movies, and things go over our head. We’re like, ‘Yo, we gotta figure that out. What are they doin’? What does this mean?’ You discover that way. I think we do what we can to welcome and invite everybody. I think we have smart comedy. It’s not going for the cheap seats. We have an intelligent comedy that we want everybody to feel like if they don’t understand everything, it’s cool to be a fly on the wall in this world, and you might learn something.”