Rent 8 Mile on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Scott Silver
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Shannon, Anthony Mackie
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An aspiring rapper dreams of escaping his life of crushing poverty in Detroit.
Verdict
Eminem does better than you might expect, but this never escapes the notion that it's a marketing vehicle for the rapper. The story is flat as he must overcome numerous hurdles to pursue his dream. There's a lot of noise, but not a lot of substance. It's set up like a sports movie where he fails initially and must come back at the end to succeed. The soundtrack is impressive, and I wish the rap battles were as impressive as the lead track, Lose Yourself.
Skip it.
Review
This movie relies on Eminem, both his status and background. The movie is a vehicle for Eminem, capitalizing on his success. While it's difficult to take this seriously when he's in the lead, he does a competent job.
Jimmy "B-Rabbit" (Eminem) is a hopeful rapper working a dead end job, having just moved into a trailer with his mom, and his first competition ends in failure due to stage fright. This movie really piles on as he's struggling completely. His dream is to rap and he spends his free time writing.
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| Eminem plays Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith |
Of course this starts with what seems like his first competition. He's handed the mic and says nothing, overwhelmed by the crowd. His best friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) runs rap competitions, so it's strange this is Jimmy's first. It does create a nice introduction. Jimmy is the only white rapper, and his first outing doesn't instill much confidence.
He moves back in with his mom and her live-in boyfriend who just happens to have been in Jimmy's class. This movie piles on, setting him up where he has to succeed as a rapper or remain trapped in Detroit. He meets a girl which helps his confidence but she's also just a way to introduce more drama.
His dream of rapping is precarious, especially with the stage fright. Future signs him up to another competition for no real reason other than Jimmy can get mad at him for trying to help. There's also a rival rap gang just to heighten the threat to his future and create an opponent, Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie).
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| Eminem plays Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith |
Jimmy does well in the initial rounds of the competition, but his last rap battle is against Papa Doc, the reigning champion. Jimmy goes on the offensive with a self deprecating rap about how screwed up his life is. You'd think Papa Doc could come up with something since he's the champ, but he's left speechless.
This movie is so shallow, compressing Jimmy's start and rise into a few weeks. How has someone that dreams of rapping never rapped before? I'd rather see him hustling, working a low level job to make money to sell tapes and competing to get his name out. With this he wins the competition and goes back to work. There's no indication of future plans as he's never done anything to further his goal. Future kept pushing him to rap. This movie has potential, but it's clear this is an Eminem marketing push and didn't need to do anything else. There are movies that do this story of a protagonist with nothing to lose better like Good Will Hunting and Rocky.
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