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Plot Summary
Things aren’t looking great
for Jimmy “Rabbit” Smith (Eminem).
He's moving from one dead-end job to another and now he has split
up with his girlfriend. With
no car and nowhere to stay he is going to have to move back in with his
mother (Kim Basinger) and her boyfriend.
That wouldn’t be too bad if his mother lived in a nice house in
the leafy suburbs instead of a grotty trailer park on the outskirts of
Detroit!
Jimmy has aspirations of
becoming a big time rap artist. His
friend “Future” (Mekhi Phifer) holds “rap battles” at a local
club. The battles consist of
rappers going head-to-head and using their rhymes to “slag off” their
opponents. The audience
decides who the winner is. Will
Jimmy have the nerve to compete in front of the hostile, predominantly
black audience…
Review
This movie sounds a bit
worrying – a semi-autobiographical tale with Eminem in his first movie
role and Kim Basinger playing the part of his mother!
The warning bells really started to ring with mention of a
“musical Rocky” and a rap version of Flashdance! Don't worry,
instead of a glossy, egocentric trip to a fairytale ending this
movie has a refreshing realism and authenticity to it.
At times, especially in the rap club, the filming almost takes on a
documentary style.
On the surface, the story is
simple enough. A talented,
self-doubting kid is looking for his big break.
In some ways it is just another “overcome adversity movie”.
But this movie, in a realistic way, captures perfectly the hope
that everyone has of making it big. Jimmy
and his friends constantly talk about making it big with their music. Even his mother is pinning her hopes on her boyfriend’s
accident compensation claim. She
even goes to Bingo hoping for a big win!
Jimmy’s friends recognize that he is talented and maybe if he can
make it, they too have made it in some small way.
Eminem is excellent as Jimmy
“Rabbit”, a self-doubting kid with little prospects. He knows what he
wants but will he have the courage to go for it?
Eminem creates a very credible character.
Kim Basinger is also excellent
as his somewhat desperate mother who manages to constantly embarrass him.
Mekhi Phifer plays Jimmy’s
friend “Future” and Brittany Murphy plays a girl, who like everyone
else wants to get out of the ghetto and “make-it-big”.
Both are convincing characters and perhaps their roles could have
been expanded a little.
The Bottom Line:
Rap music aside it is not an original story but it is very well
told. The movie is just the
right length and holds the interest from start to finish.
It avoids the clichés of the “trying to overcome adversity
movies” and maintains a sense of realism.
Lasting Thought:
What are you doing with your life that’s so great?
Reviewed by Niall Quinn,
Premier Movie Reviews 2003 |