He could have been Walt Kowalski’s brother. But instead of driving a Gran Torino, he drives a classic Mustang. Cliff Clavin (AKA John Ratzenberger) stars as Art Leroldi in The Village Barbershop (my latest attempt to find that hidden gem, to discover the great, but overlooked indie film). He’s every bit as curmudgeonly as Walt, and every bit as uncommunicative.
Art runs a barbershop in Reno. When his long-time partner dies, he finds himself in financial straits, threatened with eviction by the shop’s landlord. The shop needs another barber to stay afloat. It seems that every bizarre, unqualified, out-of-work hair cutter in Reno applies for the position. Art is ultimately forced to hire a young woman – Gloria, played by Shelly Cole – in spite of the fact that the Village Barbershop has been a “man’s man” kind of shop since its inception. Soon there are scented candles and fancy shampoos. Art, of course, resists all of this, as he resists any kind of change. But of course we sense that somehow the young Gloria will be good for the ornery Art, and vice-versa. As the film progresses we learn more about Art (his wife died of cancer eleven years ago and he hasn’t been with a woman since) and we learn more about Gloria (she’s pregnant by a boyfriend who has just left her, and is living in a trailer).
This little indie film, written and directed by newcomer Chris Ford, works best when it focuses on the inherent humor of the situation. It’s a sitcom premise, but for an hour or so it works extremely well. It is somewhat slow-paced, but enjoyable, and with a nice little musical score. But something becomes lost when Ratzenberger’s character opens up and becomes more vulnerable. The humor goes away and the film becomes predictable. This doesn’t make it a bad film by any means. It’s just that it seems to want to push “warmth” upon us and become “touching” in a way that seems forced. The beauty of the first half of the movie is that nothing seems forced. That might have been a good way to advance the whole thing. It’s still a nice evening’s entertainment, and Ratzenberger and Cole provide two pretty decent performances.
7/10