# Beauty Shop
**Beauty Shop** is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff, in which hairstylist Gina Norris, played by [Queen Latifah](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-latifah), leaves her overbearing salon boss and opens her own beauty shop in Atlanta. It is a spin-off of the Barbershop film franchise, and Gina had been introduced as a minor character in *Barbershop 2: Back in Business* (2005).[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/) • [2](https://www.nndb.com/films/941/000092665/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 30, 2005 (wide, United States); 105 minutes; PG-13[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63322) |
| Director / writers | Bille Woodruff; Kate Lanier, Norman Vance Jr., and Elizabeth Hunter[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63322) |
| Lead role | Queen Latifah as Gina Norris, a stylist who opens her own Atlanta salon after clashing with her boss Jorge (Kevin Bacon)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1139289-beauty_shop) |
| Franchise position | Third installment in the Barbershop film franchise and its first female-led spin-off[2](https://www.nndb.com/films/941/000092665/) |
| Box office | $36,351,350 domestic (97.6% of total), $894,103 international, $37,245,453 worldwide; domestic opening $12,801,465[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/) |
| Critical scores | 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (117 reviews) with a 62% audience Popcornmeter; Metascore 53 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1139289-beauty_shop) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/beauty-shop/critic-reviews/) |
| Distributor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Gina Norris has relocated from Chicago to Atlanta so that her daughter can attend a private music school, and she works as the top stylist in an upscale salon run by Jorge Christophe ([Kevin Bacon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-bacon)), a flamboyant self-promoter who takes credit for her work.[2](https://www.nndb.com/films/941/000092665/) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beauty-shop-2005) After repeated clashes, she quits and buys a run-down storefront, taking Jorge's shampoo girl Lynn ([Alicia Silverstone](https://www.edgepedia.org/alicia-silverstone)) with her and attracting several of his employees and clients, including Terri ([Andie MacDowell](https://www.edgepedia.org/andie-macdowell)). Threatened by her success, Jorge works to shut her down.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1139289-beauty_shop)
The shop's staff and patrons form the ensemble: [Alfre Woodard](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfre-woodard) plays Miss Josephine, Mena Suvari plays Joanne, and the supporting cast includes [Djimon Hounsou](https://www.edgepedia.org/djimon-hounsou) as Joe, a handyman and piano player who lives above the shop, along with [Della Reese](https://www.edgepedia.org/della-reese), Golden Brooks, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Sherri Shepherd, LisaRaye McCoy, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Sheryl Underwood.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/beauty-shop) • [8](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary)
## Production
MGM produced the film through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., with distribution by MGM Distribution Co. The producers were David Hoberman, Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr., Queen Latifah, and Shakim Compere; Theo van de Sande was the cinematographer, Michael Jablow the editor, and Christopher Young composed the score.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63322) Queen Latifah also served as one of the film's producers and said in a 2005 interview that the intent was to build out a character who had not been established in *Barbershop 2*: "We kind of just wanted to create something new."[8](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary)
## Reception
**Critical response.** The film received mixed reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus reads, "Despite a strong performance by Queen Latifah, Beauty Shop is in need of some style pointers," with a 38% Tomatometer against a 62% audience score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1139289-beauty_shop) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 53, categorized as mixed or average, from 28 critic reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/beauty-shop/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers repeatedly credited Latifah's performance even when criticizing the script. Roger Ebert, longtime film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, wrote that the film was "more of a human comedy than stand-up or slapstick" and that Latifah presides over it "like a den mother and emcee," making it feel warmer than the Barbershop films.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beauty-shop-2005) The *Los Angeles Times* review said the film "rightly belongs to Latifah, who comes into her own as a star and an actress," while the *Dallas Observer* called it a spin-off that "doesn't even try to be different."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/beauty-shop/critic-reviews/) Time Out judged that it "fails nearly as often as it succeeds, but it does so with enough cheerful charm to win over fans of the genre."[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/beauty-shop)
**Box office.** The film opened domestically at $12,801,465 and finished with $36,351,350 in the United States, about 97.6% of its $37,245,453 worldwide total.[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/)
## Cultural themes and legacy
The film depicts beauty shop culture as a community space for Black women. Its recurring motifs include stylists reading tarot cards, a woman selling food such as greens, fish dinners, and [monkey bread](https://www.edgepedia.org/monkey-bread) inside the shop, and a man selling purses on the street outside. The shop functions as a refuge where women, away from children and spouses, talk openly about their problems; Queen Latifah described the hairdresser as becoming "your therapist in a way" because of the intimacy of weekly appointments.[8](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary)
[Maya Angelou](https://www.edgepedia.org/maya-angelou)'s poetry runs through the film: Miss Josephine recites "Phenomenal Woman," and the women in the shop join her in quoting "Still I Rise."[8](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary) A retrospective in *Nylon* argued that the film offered depictions of Black love, Black female entrepreneurship, and Black sisterhood, and noted that while the Barbershop franchise produced three films, Beauty Shop received only one.[8](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary) Scholarly work has also read the film as a female-centered counterpart to the Barbershop series, examining how it portrays Black women's bodies and entrepreneurship.[10](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/wgs-640-screen-women-body-narratives-in-popular-american-film-spring-2014/3d02e2eb1f5e6e507af959c6fb8f0aa6_MITWGS_640S14_FnlPapr_HS.pdf)
## Availability
As of October 2026, the film streams in the United States on fuboTV, the MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, and MGM Plus, and free with ads on [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel) and YouTube; it can be rented or bought on Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, and Plex, and purchased on DVD.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/beauty-shop)
## References
1. [Beauty Shop (2005), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0388500/credits/)
2. [Beauty Shop, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/films/941/000092665/)
3. [Beauty Shop (2005), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63322)
4. [Beauty Shop, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1139289-beauty_shop)
5. [Beauty Shop Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/beauty-shop/critic-reviews/)
6. [Beauty Shop review, RogerEbert.com (March 31, 2005)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beauty-shop-2005)
7. [Beauty Shop streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/beauty-shop)
8. [15 Years Later, 'Beauty Shop' Holds Up As A Symbol Of Black Sisterhood, Nylon (March 30, 2020)](https://www.nylon.com/beauty-shop-film-anniversary)
9. [Beauty Shop review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/beauty-shop)
10. [The Phenomenal Woman: How Beauty Shop Redefines Postfeminism to Make Space for Black Bodies, MIT WGS 640](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/wgs-640-screen-women-body-narratives-in-popular-american-film-spring-2014/3d02e2eb1f5e6e507af959c6fb8f0aa6_MITWGS_640S14_FnlPapr_HS.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license