DVD 8 Mile (Widescreen Edition with Censored Bonus Features)
Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can't pull himself together to take the next step with his career--or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists--until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. --Bret Fetzer |
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Review(s): DVD 8 Mile (Widescreen Edition with Censored Bonus Features) | |
| 8 M!LE !$ @ GHETT0L!C!0U$ |  |
I was talking last week to a female friend who had also seen `8 Mile.' She described it in a rather odd fashion as `ghettolicious' which kinda took me aback, but after musing on it over the time span of several classes, I realized that ghettolicious is the best way to sum up the film. It can be used to describe storyline, plot and characters, which would give me an easy one-word method for writing this review, but read on for the other words, please.In the slums of northern Detroit, a young dreamer, Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem) a.k.a. Rabbit, is stuck in a vicious circle of working in a metal-stamping plant and living at home with his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger), his innocent younger sister, and his mother's live-in boyfriend (who happens to be basically Smith's age). Rabbit's only hope of salvation is in his innate talent to rap. Rabbit does have one thing going for him-a solid core of friends including the influential Future (Mekhi Phifer), the good-hearted (yet argumentative) brothers, DJ Iz (De'Angelo Wilson) and Sol George (Omar Benson Miller) and the dimwitted follower Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones). Also (sorta) on Rabbit's side is his muse and lover Alex (Brittany Murphy). In the span of a week starting when Smith chokes in a rap insult battle, the viewer sees his fall to the bottom of his miserable existence to the inevitable rising from the ashes and trailer parks of the grittiest part of Detroit, the 8 Mile district. Firstly, I need to admit that I am not a very big fan of rap-in fact my CD collection mainly consists of artists who have been around long enough to have `Greatest Hits' albums out. Nonetheless, `8 Mile' drew me into the entertaining and diverse field of rap, which was excellently articulated in Eminem's rap-parody of `Sweet Home Alabama,' which was one of the highlights of the film. But despite the whole entertainment quality of the ghettolicious soundtrack, I doubt I will be heading out to supplement my music with rap, but that's no knock against the film. In his screen debut, I was expecting Eminem to fall flat on his face and turn in a train wreck of a performance. Instead, he was excellent, or in other words, ghettolicious, here, displaying multiple facets of a considerable talent for characterization. It was not quite an Oscar-worthy performance, but it does stick out at me as one of the top ten that I have seen this year. Also noteworthy was Kim Basinger's ghettolicious showing as a stereotypical white trailer-trash single woman with a drinking problem. Through her man problems to her bingo addictions to her hard-boozing habits, she walks the narrow line of being a character to be both pitied and despised for her weaknesses. Plotwise, well there really was not all that much worth mentioning-basically, it is a musical adaptation of `Rocky' with all the suspense of the ending of `Rocky IV' (along with some ghettolicious additions that make it more pathetic in setting and up-to-date in timing)(thanks to a fellow IMDb user for pointing that out!). Look at `Rocky' vs. `8 Mile'-young white protagonist with authority problems fights his way to an improbable victory while along the way meeting a woman that changes his life. It's been done before, but `8 Mile' adds ghettolicious scenes, quite a few F-bombs and a richer (yet grittier) coating that makes the whole package seem nearly new. Despite my lacking of a background in the world of rap (who said movie reviewers were perfect?), I was genuinely pleased by director Curtis Hanson's final product, and with maybe a bit more suspense added to the unavoidable ending, `8 Mile' would have been the best film I have seen this year. Regardless, `8 Mile' is an excellent and ghettolicious film deserving of a 9 out of 10.
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Eminem`s first experience as an actor is a surprising one, developing an interesting character in a good urban drama. Curtis Hanson is the man behind the camera here, and his past work in acclaimed movies like "Wonder Boys" or "L.A. Confidential" gave him enough knowledge and recognition to get his hands on this project. The story isn`t too original, but is well told and acted. Eminem plays Rabbit, a youngster from a Detroit neighbourhood with a messed life who`s trying to find his role in the world. His main passion is hip hop, so he looks to find his future in music, getting away from a life with low perspectives and choices. Hanson captures well Rabbit`s story and the atmosphere of the community he lives in, showing the conflicts he must face to achieve his goal. The realistic direction and the gritty, dark photography add a natural, credible tone to the movie, showing how`s life in those convulted suburbs. The plot is deep enough and never gets too melodramatic or politically correct, despite the somewhat preachy and predictable ending. Not a masterpiece, but given that most films with or about musicians are generally weak, "8 Mile" stands above average and succeeds delivering a tension-filled and well-written story, with characters worth caring about. It`s also one of the few mainstream movies that focuses on how`s life within the hip hop (sub)cultures that continue developing nowadays.
Recommended.
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| Screw You Carl Lentner and Kosmo | |
Kosmo, you're a racist who can't stand to see a white guy succeed in black entertainment. STFU! And Carl, you're a stuck up a$$hole, who prolly gets ur a$$ kicked at ur school, punk. 8 Mile is a classic HipHop film. All the stars from Eminem to Mekhi to Basinger to Xzibit's cameo to great. This is a modern day rise to the top film. I'm just pissed that you haters can't see the greatness of this film. By the way, Belly was tight but it wasn't as good(as far as acting) as 8 Mile. Was this review helpful to you?
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