Barbershop Collector's Set

Every year around this time a large variety of DVD boxed sets hit stores. Sometimes, these boxed sets are extensive and innovative, worth your Christmas cash. More often, however, these sets are simply old DVDs repackaged with the words "Special Edition" on them, and with very little to prove why exactly the edition is so special. A recent example is the DVD Collector's Set of the Barbershop films. The set contains both the original Barbershop film and its sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, in the exact same packaging and with the exact same extras as they had when they first came out. What's new is simply that the DVDs are now together in one box, and this box also includes one of four different collectible postcards ('cause we all know we're buying not one but four of these boxed sets) and a "limited edition" headband. So, if you're into headbands, this is the gift for you. This is not to say that the films are bad. They centre on Calvin's (Ice Cube) Chicago barbershop and its many workers and customers (including Cedric the Entertainer, rapper Eve, and, in the second film, Queen Latifah). Though each film has its own distinct plot, both have the same admirable quality: the well-written, clever, politically-charged conversations that occur within the barbershop that make up good portions of the movies. Both films (and the second possibly more so) are well above and beyond the average African-American comedies on the marketplace. So it's not that you're not getting a quality box set, you're just not getting anything new. (MGM)