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Back In Business

Barber Shop 2: Back In Business
Rated: PG-13
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife Lisa and I made a quick trip to Los Angeles. The purpose? To talk with the stars of "Barbershop 2" the sequel to the surprise hit of a year ago. And what a nice bunch of folks they were. MGM put us up at the beautiful St. Regis hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills and we had lunch at Lisa's favorite restaurant and current hot spot, "The Ivy" on Robertson Blvd. The Ivy is located between 3rd and Beverly. That's also the area where the high-end designer stores are located. Luckily for me they were all closed on Saturday. Right.

Never having seen the original "Barbershop" I didn't know what to expect. Oh! I made an attempt to see it. The night before we left I rented the DVD, but when I got home and popped it in the machine, it was some cop movie. It took me ten minutes to figure out that somebody had switched the boxes and the DVD I was watching was "SWAT."

But back to "Barbershop 2". I found it not only funny, with a likable bunch of characters, but to have a nice message about changing neighborhoods. Here is what the stars have to say about their new film:

Ice Cube returns to the role of Calvin, the barbershops owner who is trying to keep everything together in spite of what’s happening in their neighborhood. Cube also once again is the film's executive producer. Even with that title he wanted to make sure of a few things before committing to the sequel. Click the pic to find out what:

A big part of the original cast of course was loud mouth Eddie, the shop's wise but politically incorrect elder statesman. Once again Cedric The Entertainer dons Eddie's Afro. When I asked about the controvery surronding Eddie's character in the first film, here's what Cedric had to say. Click the pic:

James Brown’s hit song; “It's A Man’s World” certainly describes the scene in Calvin’s Barbershop. The only female to wield a pair of clippers in this testosterone filled atmosphere is music star turned actress, Eve. But Eve says that's fine with her:

Look out Calvin there’s another female nipping at your heels. Queen Latifah joins the cast as Gina, the beautician next door who takes no guff from anybody. Together, this is a cast filled with great chemistry, so don’t be surprised if the next edition is already in the works.

By the way, Cedric The Entertainer has the right Idea. Just change your name to reflect what you do. Just think, you could be Dave the Truck Driver, Bob the Doctor, Ed the Undertaker. It just goes on.

Short Takes

• John Travolta is back in front of the camera reprising his role of Chili Palmer, the wise guy turned filmmaker in 1995's "Get Shorty." This time out, Chili tackles the music industry. By the way, do you remember a then unknown James Gandolfini as a bodyguard who gets punched by Chili and does a header down the steps? Yep.

• I knew I wasn't imagining that the "Shawshank Redemption" seemed to be on constantly. This week’s TV guide reports the film ran 62 times on TNN-and-TBS since 1999. Then went on to AMC where it was played 16 more times. It is a great film, no argument there, but see if you can answer this: When Tim Robbin’s character finally breaks out through the tunnel he dug in his cell. The poster covering the hole is back in place. How did he reattach it to the wall, mind you, with all four corners taped down?

• Hey are you as sick of the Super bowl Halftime Boob-Bo as much as me? Just wondering.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday Christy! I can't believe she's 50. The beautiful Christy Brinkley hit the half-century mark on February 2nd. Christy worked at CNN doing a program called "Living In The Nineties." That was in 1992 and I would appear with her once a week and do some shtick. The best fun we had was when we were the anchor team for CNN's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My buddy Scott Leon took the above photo.

And a belated Happy Birthday to the great Paul Newman. He's 79, if you can believe it. We met several times over the years, but the time I remember best was at the annual luncheon honoring the best recipes using "Newman's Own" products. Mr. Newman did his magic act for the crowd and told jokes. He's not only a great guy, but has a great sense of humor.