Barbershop 2

By EWAN McDONALD

(Herald rating: * * * * )

Calvin and his snippy barbers — Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Queen Latifah, who's about to get her own franchise out of this — return for the second episode about the ghetto clip joint.

This time around, the Chicago South Side'hood is facing pressure from a giant corporation that's buying up local stores for the likes of Blockbuster, Starbucks and Subway — and a Nappy Cutz hairdresser that opens over the road from Calvin. Almost as good as the fast-talking original, which is saying something, it's funny because of the chemistry between the ensemble cast, and a nice satire on globalisation v. the community.

The DVD includes six deleted scenes, Cedric's freestyling comedy out-takes, directors' commentary and a behind (or between) the scenes feature in which the cast and crew debate whether men or women gossip more. The music videos include Sleepy Brown's I Can't Wait, featuring Outkast, and an extended version of Mary J Blige's Not Today intercut with scenes from the movie.

* DVD, video rental 28 October