THIS WEEKEND - Periodically a movie comes along that looks perfectly forgettable, if not downright bad, yet the critics surprise you by raving about it. Case in point: Barbershop, a comedy that takes place over one day in a South Side Chicago barbershop. Ice Cube leads a cast that includes Cedric the Entertainer and rapper Eve, making her acting debut. An astounding 46 out of 55 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are positive. A.O. Scott of the New York Times writes: "The movie's quiet affirmation of neighborhood values gives it an honest, lived-in glow." (Barbershop is rated PG-13.) Salon's usually cantankerous Charles Taylor admits the movie has "a sentimental, preachy side," but goes on to say: "What makes "Barbershop" so likable, with all its flaws, is that it has none of the pushiness and decibel volume of most contemporary comedies (it's nothing like the frenetic bash the trailers make it appear to be). Sitting in a barbershop listening to the neighborhood characters try to out-B.S. one another should be relaxing, a chance to put your feet up and give vent to your gripes, and that's what the movie is." It sounds roughly comparable to Smoke, the Paul Auster-penned movie starring Harvey Keitel and William Hurt -- only with more humor and less philosophical heaviness. I wasn't planning on seeing Barbershop, but the positive critical reaction has me intrigued. On the opposite end of the quality spectrum is Stealing Harvard, starring Jason Lee and Tom Green. Apparently the plot involves Lee and Green trying to steal the money to pay tuition to Harvard for Lee's niece. Why a comedic talent like Lee, best known for his saracastic wit in Kevin Smith's films, would want to co-star with Green is a mystery. 35 out of 38 reviews dismiss the film -- with extreme prejudice. I've seen the previews for this movie multiple times and haven't laughed once. Opening in wider release -- or at least wide enough to finally play in Iowa City/Cedar Rapids -- is One Hour Photo, which features Robin Williams as a psycho photo shop employee who becomes a little too enamored with one of the families whose photos he processes. Williams playing his third nutjob in a row, after Death to Smoochy and Insomnia, is a little troublesome. But the reviews have been mostly positive, and at least he's exploring his dark side a bit, rather than trying to make the world a better place. Does anybody really want to see Patch Adams again?

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