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.
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]
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]
