Cutting Edge

2006

This one-hour verité documentary shows a day in the life of a successful barbershop on Harlem's 125th Street. The film shows the vital role community barbershops play as a forum for black men to discuss any topic, whether controversial or banal, sacred or profane, political or personal, in an environment of heated debate and/or male fellowship. Topics discussed in the film include HIV/AIDS, infidelity, gay marriage, greedy preachers, Bill Clinton, the world's sexiest actresses, and more. Though in some ways this is a quintessential black barbershop, where macho attitudes often prevail, women do play a role in the shop's conversations, and with the increasing gentrification of the area, a number of diverse clients (including a white gay man) occasionally enter the mix.