Barbershop franchise has lost it's charm

I know that this is the board for the original Barbershop. But there are some things about part 3 that really just killed the franchise that need to be looked at. I enjoyed Barbershop 3: The Next Cut. I don't think it is better than the 1st, but it's definitely better than the 2nd. However, the franchise just needs to stop.

Yes, Next Cut dealt with black issues and Chicago's gang issue, but the discussion of the topics felt ingenuine and forced. And I do feel like Calvin's barbershop merging with Angie's shop was an excuse to bring up the "$1,000 weave but no rent" discussion. Really, the merger probably would've made more sense (from a story standpoint) if we knew more about Angie and her salon. It was introduced in Barbershop 2, but spent more time catering to Latifah's character, who took the Beauty Shop into a totally different direction from the Barbershop universe. Barbershop 2 and Beauty Shop should've been the hint to not go there.

Also, the third movie threw in WAAAY too many new characters with most I didn't care about. Actually, I don't think I cared about anyone (not even angelic-faced Anthony, who I knew from the moment he was introduced he was going to get killed). Raja's "I don't like white people either..." what were you thinking? And whoever thought One-Stop was a cool idea..stop. I don't even think the One-Stop buffonery would've been allowed in the first two films. DeRay's character from the first two films was way more believable.

Even veteran Terri wasn't recognizable; she lost the "edge" that made Terri who she was. I think Ricky said it best in the 2nd film "I liked the old Terri before all the changes...Real, all the time." What's ironic was that she was still the same Terri. In Next Cut, she wasn't.

And whoever thought it was a good idea to create a flashback of Calvin's wife with their baby when she didn't look the same as she did over a decade ago...lazy filmmaking at its finest.

Yeah, just stop with the franchise before it ends up going the way of Friday franchise. Why bother with a 3rd when the TV show failed is beyond me. And the TV show probably could've had a chance if it stuck with the formula that made the first film a classic. That's what Soul Food did.

"There is no reason to bring every cotton pickin book you own into this dadburn gym!"-Fall 1987