MOVIE REVIEW

The 'Barbershop' knockoff is full of old stereotypes, awkward and unchallenged social commentary and a predictable story line.

By Michael Ordoña, Special to The Times

"The Salon" is "Barbershop" through a fun-house mirror, the kind that makes things smaller. And much worse.

The new release is adapted from Shelly Garrett's play, "Beauty Shop," by director Mark Brown, who co-wrote "Barbershop" and "Barbershop 2," but it is not directly related to either of those two films, nor the Queen Latifah vehicle "Beauty Shop." Got that? No word on the rumor that Brown's next film will be "Place Where You Get Pedicures and Waxing."

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There must be a story behind how Brown ended up with this project, which is remarkably similar to, but much less sharp than, "Barbershop." Both films feature a struggling entrepreneur about to lose a business to sinister forces, a woman trying to leave her no-good boyfriend, the salon-as-town-hall and white-person-in-a-black-world racial tension.

Switch "Barbershop's" genders, Baltimore for Chicago and eminent domain for a loan shark, and you've got a flat, faded imitation of that earlier hit. There's even a dance break.

In "Salon," though, the characters are a wan array of stereotypes. Here's the jewelry-worshiping gold digger, the overweight woman who orders dozens of doughnuts, the streetwalkers with the pimp named Silk, and the super-flouncy gay guy whose every gesture verges on "two snaps up." Even more troublesome are the unspeakably awkward spasms of social commentary. These attempts seem earnest, but the importance of being earnest is wildly overwhelmed by stagy, repetitious dialogue. Oscar material it's not.

Where "Barbershop" had the provocative Rosa Parks riff, "The Salon" camps on black men with white women, calling white women "docile and subservient," among less flattering descriptions. That the characters' racism goes essentially unchallenged in the film's voice makes the movie unintentionally timely: Somewhere, Don Imus is groaning in his crypt.

There are some amusing lines, including a bit about President Clinton's charms. The cast improbably includes Vivica A. Fox (who also produced) and Terrence Howard.

Fox is just fine as the level-headed protagonist but doesn't have much to work with. Even in a tiny, throwaway role, Howard manages to be effectively menacing. But Darrin Henson stumbles over his hyper-articulate dialogue as the good guy/bad guy lawyer.

Like "Stomp the Yard," the film stammers to make its subject seem important: "You have an opportunity with this shop to make a difference," says the voice-of-reason character. Similarly to that dance-athon, this movie abruptly becomes a too-convenient black history lesson, complete with a truly egregious deus ex machina. "The Salon" is a cut below.

"The Salon." MPAA rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language and some thematic material. Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes. In selected theaters.