WHAT YOU SEE – on the poster, in the trailer, and in the two Barbershop flicks that preceded it – is what you get in Beauty Shop, an engaging comedy from Honey director Bille Woodruff that delivers nearly enough laughs to make up for its predictable plot. Gifted Atlanta hairstylist Gina (Queen Latifah) quits her posh salon job after one too many tiffs with her snooty boss, Jorge (an overly tanned and frosted, yet well short of hilarious, Kevin Bacon). After dazzling a mousy loan officer with her makeover skills, Gina scrapes together enough cash to buy her own shop, a ramshackle fixer-upper that comes complete with stylists (including Alfre Woodard as the world's biggest Maya Angelou fan), quirky neighborhood characters (the candy-peddling kid, the soul food-peddling loudmouth, the purse-peddling gay guy), and plenty of maintenance problems (enter hunky electrician Djimon Hounsou, who also finds time to help Gina get her groove back). Queen Latifah is immensely likable – she's the rare star who actually seems like a real person – but Beauty Shop's best humor comes courtesy of its supporting cast, who have great fun with the film's many Barbershop-style scenes of sassy, stinging opinion-slinging between stylists and clients. (Cheryl Eddy)