Very interesting. Essentially a study of how a group of white city kids want to be part of the hip-hop/rap culture, and- more so- how they are both full of nasty characters. Neither whites nor blacks are demonized; it is simply a study of the interaction of these two groups. Stars Robert Downey, Jr., Brooke Shields, Bijou Phillips, Elijah Wood, Gaby Hoffman, Ben Stiller, most of the Wu-Tang Clan, Claudia Schiffer, Mike Tyson, Jared Leto and a way cute black guy I've never seen before. You may have to drive a while to see it, depending on where you live. I was suprised that I happened to find it in a theater so close to my home. I went with a guy friend. There was only 4 people in the audience. Us, and a couple- a black man and a white woman. Nice folks, and somehow fitting companions for us during this movie-watching experience.
The movie starts out with a threesome in the woods- Bijou, another girl, and Power from the Clan. This scene- edited differently- initially got the film slapped with an NC-17. They had to edit it 3 times to get an R- barely. In other words, don't bring the kiddies. Another guy is watching, and it's one of the more explicit sex scenes I've seen in a commerical movie, even with clothes on. There's also a lot of cussing and rap music, a murder, general nastiness and some drug use. These things don't bother me, but if you're disturbed by that sort of thing- beware. For those, like me, who are only disturbed by off-putting portrayals of a certain culture that almost inevitably come off as fake, there's no need to worry. One great thing about having many of the roles played by actual black musicians who know that whole situation is that it feels quite authentic. I didn't flinch once at a phony-sounding attempt at ebonics. There were not any, so far as I could tell. But then, I'm a white girl from New Jersey, so what do I know?
Brooke is a film-maker doing a documentary about white kids into black culture. Downey, Jr. plays her gay husband. Bijou, Elijah and Gaby are among the kids she's following with her digital camera. The Wu-Tang Clan members play guys who are musicians by day and gangstas by night. The cute black guy is their friend, a basketball player dating Claudia Shiffer's character- an anthropology student named Greta. She's also the ex of Ben Stiller's character, Mark, who is a detective. In a way, she's the one who sets off a rather tragic chain of events. Tyson is another friend of theirs, a guru for the others who dispenses advice while wryly noting that he has no business doing so.
Basically, the plot is this: Brooke and Robert are following the kids, who introduce them into their world. Mark bribes the cute black guy to throw a game for 50,000 dollars. He does it, but as I said Mark's a cop. He's not actually after the guy though- he wants his friend, the character Power plays, and the cute black guy is left with a choice- rat out his friend or go to prison. The cute black guy confesses all this to Greta, who tells Power's character about his friend's betrayal because she has the hots for him. Power's character arranges for a hit on the basketball player. He enlists a white kid, who is the older brother of Elijah's character and the son of a very prominent NY judge, to do it. Mark takes pictures of the kid running from the crime scene, which he then uses to try and bribe the kid's dad into dropping a case being brought before him which would get Mark into major trouble. Meanwhile, there is some nastiness going on because a group of white club-owners have moved onto Power's turf. Some wind up happy, and some do not. While this is the plot, it's not necessarily the point. It's a compelling look at the honor systems in two different cultures.
All the actors are great. Well, except for Ben. I like him, but he's basically doing his twitchy Ben Stiller routine and it seems to belong in a different film. Brooke and Robert handle their characters quite capably. They and their camera don't bear witness to the more serious events in the movie, BTW. Robert is always terrific. Brooke seems to be reinventing herself as an indie pic queen. Good for her- she's done well so far with it. Bijou is absolutely perfect, and Elijah and Gaby are also quite good. All the Wu-Tang members fulfill their roles, as does Tyson. Claudia does nothing wrong, it's just impossible to look at her and think of her as an actress. She could be standing in a homeless shelter, and you'd go "Wow, look at that German supermodel!" Actually, her character is perhaps the sickest of the bunch- a power-leech devoid of remorse and clinically cold about any human relations she has.
I'm still not sure if I really liked it or not. It certainly held my attention. I think you just sort of form your own opinion. Nothing is shoved down your throat or said outright- and considering how much is said subliminally, that's remarkable.
The movie starts out with a threesome in the woods- Bijou, another girl, and Power from the Clan. This scene- edited differently- initially got the film slapped with an NC-17. They had to edit it 3 times to get an R- barely. In other words, don't bring the kiddies. Another guy is watching, and it's one of the more explicit sex scenes I've seen in a commerical movie, even with clothes on. There's also a lot of cussing and rap music, a murder, general nastiness and some drug use. These things don't bother me, but if you're disturbed by that sort of thing- beware. For those, like me, who are only disturbed by off-putting portrayals of a certain culture that almost inevitably come off as fake, there's no need to worry. One great thing about having many of the roles played by actual black musicians who know that whole situation is that it feels quite authentic. I didn't flinch once at a phony-sounding attempt at ebonics. There were not any, so far as I could tell. But then, I'm a white girl from New Jersey, so what do I know?
Brooke is a film-maker doing a documentary about white kids into black culture. Downey, Jr. plays her gay husband. Bijou, Elijah and Gaby are among the kids she's following with her digital camera. The Wu-Tang Clan members play guys who are musicians by day and gangstas by night. The cute black guy is their friend, a basketball player dating Claudia Shiffer's character- an anthropology student named Greta. She's also the ex of Ben Stiller's character, Mark, who is a detective. In a way, she's the one who sets off a rather tragic chain of events. Tyson is another friend of theirs, a guru for the others who dispenses advice while wryly noting that he has no business doing so.
Basically, the plot is this: Brooke and Robert are following the kids, who introduce them into their world. Mark bribes the cute black guy to throw a game for 50,000 dollars. He does it, but as I said Mark's a cop. He's not actually after the guy though- he wants his friend, the character Power plays, and the cute black guy is left with a choice- rat out his friend or go to prison. The cute black guy confesses all this to Greta, who tells Power's character about his friend's betrayal because she has the hots for him. Power's character arranges for a hit on the basketball player. He enlists a white kid, who is the older brother of Elijah's character and the son of a very prominent NY judge, to do it. Mark takes pictures of the kid running from the crime scene, which he then uses to try and bribe the kid's dad into dropping a case being brought before him which would get Mark into major trouble. Meanwhile, there is some nastiness going on because a group of white club-owners have moved onto Power's turf. Some wind up happy, and some do not. While this is the plot, it's not necessarily the point. It's a compelling look at the honor systems in two different cultures.
All the actors are great. Well, except for Ben. I like him, but he's basically doing his twitchy Ben Stiller routine and it seems to belong in a different film. Brooke and Robert handle their characters quite capably. They and their camera don't bear witness to the more serious events in the movie, BTW. Robert is always terrific. Brooke seems to be reinventing herself as an indie pic queen. Good for her- she's done well so far with it. Bijou is absolutely perfect, and Elijah and Gaby are also quite good. All the Wu-Tang members fulfill their roles, as does Tyson. Claudia does nothing wrong, it's just impossible to look at her and think of her as an actress. She could be standing in a homeless shelter, and you'd go "Wow, look at that German supermodel!" Actually, her character is perhaps the sickest of the bunch- a power-leech devoid of remorse and clinically cold about any human relations she has.
I'm still not sure if I really liked it or not. It certainly held my attention. I think you just sort of form your own opinion. Nothing is shoved down your throat or said outright- and considering how much is said subliminally, that's remarkable.