O.J. did it. Rodney King deserved the beating. Rosa Parks didn’t do anything but sit her tired ass down. All giving reparations would do is make Cadillac the number one dealership in the country. One more thing, f— Jesse Jackson.

Before you start dialing the Star, let me tell you that I didn’t say it. Eddie did.

Eddie is one of the off-the-wall eccentric characters from the new film “Barbershop” (MGM, PG-13).

The story revolves around the main character Calvin (Ice Cube) who owns a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Calvin dreams of making it big as a music producer. The problem is, Calvin doesn’t have the funds. He dreams of living it up in a lavish mansion with his pregnant girlfriend. He even carries around a picture of Oprah’s guesthouse for inspiration.

But he makes a huge mistake when he sells his barbershop to local loan shark Lester Wallace, expertly played by Keith David. Lester is charming, but his slimy, untrusting smile keeps the audience from liking him.

When Lester tells Calvin he plans to make the shop into a strip club, Calvin realizes he’s made a huge mistake, for the shop has been in Calvin’s family for generations. Now he has until 7 p.m. to get Lester the money and save the shop.

All of this takes place next to a subplot of two thieves stealing an ATM and the shenanigans they go through trying to break it open. Some of these scenes literally steal the show (no pun intended).

What really makes this film wonderful are all the diverse characters and the great actors who play them.

Terri Jones (Eve) is a proud woman who’s insecure about her boyfriend; we see early on it’s for a good reason.

Ricky (Michael Ealy) is a two-time felon constantly harassed by local cops. It’s through Ricky’s character the film makes a great statement about the rehabilitation process.

Isaac Rosenberg (Troy Garity) is the token white guy who thinks he’s black. This movie doesn’t use the black wannabe guy for a simple joke. Instead, they convey one of the film’s themes through his character.

Dinka (Leonard Howze) is the shop’s barber from West Africa who has a fondness for poetry.

Jimmy James (Sean Patrick Thomas) is a college-educated man who feels the need to constantly prove to the rest just how smart he is.

And finally, Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) is the lovable, reminiscing old man who has a different take on black history than the rest of the characters.

This is a good film that may surprise a lot of people. I mean, when was the last time you saw a character run from another character because he wanted to give him $20,000? Did you ever think you’d hear Ice Cube tell others to stop cussing? How about him telling them to stop more than one time? This movie is full of surprises.

“Barbershop” tells us that barbers are respectable craftsman and the craftsmen of this movie are director Tim Story and writer Mark Brown. More credit goes to cinematographer Tom Priestley Jr. His use of cocked camera angles during tense scenes and long tracking shots give “Barbershop” a unique look when compared to other films of this genre. He’s becoming quite keen to the overhead shot, something that can be noticed by those who saw the last film he directed photography for, “Undercover Brother.”

Overall, this is a hilarious film with a great message. You don’t need Oprah’s guesthouse to be happy, or even be wealthy for that matter. A broke man can be rich, especially if he invests in people.