All hail the Queen!, Queen Latifah has the charm and the charisma to carry a movie. And Beauty Shop is definitely the Queen's movie.

It's a given that Hollywood loves a formula. They love a film that is easily produced and highly profitable. Thus, we are assaulted with sequels, prequels and remakes of just about every moneymaking movie. On one hand, I'm happy to see a profitable African-American franchise. On the other hand, like most franchises, black or white, this one suffers from a lack of originality.

The character of Gina Norris (Queen Latifah) was introduced in Barbershop 2. She owned the beauty shop next door and had a great scene (one of the best in the movie) where she traded insults with Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer). That scene set the stage for Beauty Shop. The widowed Gina has relocated to Atlanta so that her daughter (Paige Hurd) can attend a prestigious music school. They live with her mother-in-law (Miss Laura Hayes) and her hot sister-in-law Darnelle (Keisha Knight-Pulliam). Gina works in the upscale salon of Eurotrash wannabe Jorge Christophe. Unable to tolerate his massive ego, Gina strikes out on her own - buying a shop in dire need of a makeover. She also has sexy Djimon Hounsou as her sexy upstairs neighbor and electrician.

The stylists at Gina's are ready to dish out the girl talk. There's Alfre Woodard as the Maya Angelou quoting, Afro-centric Miss Josephine. Golden Brooks as Chanel, the stylist with an attitude. Sherri Sheppard as the always-pregnant Ida (who's children are all named after sports stars). Of course, there is the token white girl, Lynn (Alicia Silverstone) who moves with Gina from Jorge's but has a hard time bonding with the black women. Finally, the token man in the group is played by the very fine Bryce Wilson as a braider/stylist who is either very metrosexual or more than a little homosexual.

The conversation in the barbershop focused on politics. The girls at the beauty shop focus on politics of a sexual nature and relationships (the dialog is a little raunchier as well). Like Barbershop 2 though, Beauty Shop goes out of its way to avoid controversy. I've heard that several jokes about Condoleezza Rice didn't make it into the movie (politics and political correctness aside, if there is anyone in need of a stylist and a makeover, it's Condi!).

There are some truly funny bits in Beauty Shop, the funniest moments actually occur in the shop. It's when the comedy ventures outside of the salon that Beauty Shop loses some of its momentum. The scenes on the street, at the house, during the recital, even at Jorge's shop just don't compare to the activity at the salon. The exception being the interaction between Latifah and Djimon Hounsou, where the chemistry between the two is a steamy as the comedy in the salon is funny.

Instead of doing dinner and a movie, I'd do a movie (matinee) and then dinner. And next time you see your hair dresser, give her a little extra tip.