THIS is what "Chi-raq' should have been

This installment of the Barbershop series was by no means perfect. I thought it started really off, but found its footing mid-way and ended well, to the point you ended with the same feel-good feeling you had from the first two installments. More importantly, this movie seemed like an ode to Chicago. It managed to address the violence problem but did so in a way that was provocative but not offensive, light-hearted but not trite, honest but not self-righteous. I had not expected it to focus so much on the Chicago angle, but I was glad it did because it pulled it off so well.

Contrast that with Chi-raq: a filthy, foul-mouthed, X-rated, offensive offering whose satire trivialized the violence issue and thus losing the message. Where Barbershop seemed purposeful, Chi-raq came off pointless, like a sick joke or satire gone horribly wrong. Imagine how much more powerful Spike Lee's film could have been had he offered something like Barbershop, something with a plot, a clear message, a general audience tone.

Spike Lee was outdone by his little cousin. If he is ashamed, he should be...


"If it doesn't make sense, it's not true." -- Judge Judy