The Salon (2007)

12% of critics liked it
(33 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(3,457 ratings)

The proprietor of a beauty salon that serves as the one remaining thread that ties her community together finds her last bastion of unity threatened by eminent domain in Barbershop director Mark Brown's adaptation of Shelly Garrett's hit stage play Beauty Shop. Jenny (Vivica A. Fox) owns a modest… More The proprietor of a beauty salon that serves as the one remaining thread that ties her community together finds her last bastion of unity threatened by eminent domain in Barbershop director Mark Brown's adaptation of Shelly Garrett's hit stage play Beauty Shop. Jenny (Vivica A. Fox) owns a modest neighborhood beauty parlor that is hugely popular with the folks who reside on her street, but mom-and-pop businesses are going belly-up all over the place and lately a corporate giant has been clamoring to set-up shop on the block. Despite formidable pressure from the Department of Water and Power, however, Jenny refuses to accept the offer made for her shop and decides to test her luck against the DWP in the local courthouse. Monica Calhoun, Kym Whitley, Darrin Henson, and Terrence Dashon Howard co-star in an underdog comedy that shows just how fierce some people are willing to fight in order to maintain their sense of community. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Mark Brown
Written By: Mark Brown
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: May 11, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Aug 7, 2007

Critic Reviews

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
After scripting both Barbershops, writer-director Mark Brown appears to have exhausted his ability to create new and interesting characters to inhabit The Salon.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Despite all the stock characters and scenarios, Fox and company manage to bring things to life. And cut some hair.
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger
The best scenes in Barbershop featured incisive discussions of current events. Here, the closest brush with topicality is a reference to Eddie Griffin.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
A feeble dramedy about a Baltimore beauty shop where someone should come in to sweep up the clichés.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Given that Brown wrote the significantly superior Barbershop, he should know that when you make a socially conscious comedy, you've got to weave in plenty of wit alongside the wisdom.
Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times
This movie abruptly becomes a too-convenient black history lesson, complete with a truly egregious deus ex machina. The Salon is a cut below.
Paul Chambers, CNNRadio
Gosh, what a terrible movie. Stereotypes galore, and the humor falls flat. Paul Chambers, CNN.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Rare indeed, for women to talk back and take over the screen, and these sisters aren't putting up with any of it, from bourgie sellouts and the white girl thing, to decking a local pimp. Way to go, babee!
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Like a third-rate Beauty Shop. Skip it.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Vivica A. Fox proves to be a warm and appealing anchor for sometimes sitcom-level silliness.
Kam Williams, EURWeb
The basic idea, here, is that like a barbershop, a salon is a place where sassy sisters feel free to refer to blacks by the N-word, to homosexuals by the f-word, and to make idiotic jokes about Asian accents.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
I've seen porn with better dialogue and SNL sketches with less amateur production values.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
The only extras included on the disc are a set of movie trailers.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Not funny enough, romantic enough, or serious enough to succeed as a comedy, romance or urban issues drama.
Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
The movie includes a few good one-liners, but that's really all it is -- a forum for putdowns and sassy dialogues.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
The movie was shot more than three years before its release, and it shows, as when the salon's resident golddigger says: "Anna Nicole Smith -- I aspire to be just like her."
Tasha Robinson, AV Club
At least Norbit tried to come up with fresh new awfulness instead of idling in these familiar old ruts.
Bruce Feld, Film Journal International
Talks its way to a tedious, predictable conclusion that offers more yawns than laughs.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film's feisty cast and generally sunny outlook make for warm and reassuring comfort viewing, the equivalent of a straight-from-the-box dish of mac and cheese.