subject: Two Rap Films Worthy Of Notice - "hustle And Flow" And "8 Mile" [print this page] 8 Mile - 2002 8 Mile - 2002
The title of the movie is derived from the name of a street and district where a rap artist by the name of Rabbit grew up. It's a seedy district home to mostly African Americans. Rabbit, of course is a white man and could have been an outsider but for his way with rap. 8 Mile is quite probably a biography of Eminem who plays Rabbit. Plays is a misnomer as Eminem IS Rabbit. In any case, Eminem does a fine job of portraying Rabbit.
Rabbit is a young, pale misfit whose total lack of cheer befits his unfortunate life. He got his girlfriend pregnant, and did the honorable deed of sticking by her. She dumped him. His mother, who is something of a harridan, lives in a trailer with her latest boyfriend who hates Rabbit and makes every effort to show him so. Rabbit hangs around with his homies, dragging his belongings along in a leaf bag, and is basically homeless and living on the streets.
Rabbit lives as a white man in a black world with black friends. This is not a movie about racial relations, however. It is about rap music and Rabbit himself. Rabbit finds that he is not good at anything, has little self-esteem, is melancholy and labors as a lowly peon in a machine shop. The only thing that keep him from doing himself in is music. It also belies the fact that he is not good at anything. He is very good with his music.
The best scenes of 8 Mile are the rap contests which take place in a dilapidated city building with several black artists and Rabbit taking part in the contests where the winner gets bragging rights and nothing else, but that's enough for these talented musical artists. The verbal exchanges that take place in the contests are as riveting as the rap artists and their music. Again, these are not racial barbs but talk taking place between highly competitive performers, all who want very much to win.
The soundtrack of 8 Mile alone is enough to make this a standout movie, but the plot that pits the usual black rappers against the lone white one is refreshing also. Amid some great rap exchanges, Rabbit finally comes out on top. You would think his face would light up in delight, but no. He went from being miserable in his life to being somewhat less miserable. And, given his life, you understand this. Rabbit is actually a likable character for all his dourness.
Hustle and Flow - 2005
The story takes place in Memphis and tells the tale of a man eking out his living as a pimp and drug dealer, neither of which he is very good at. He lives surrounded by his whores, one pregnant. The girls aren't so hot at their work either.
Understandably, Djay, the not-so-hot pimp and drug dealer, is dissatisfied with his life as it is. He picks up a keyboard one day and his old love of music takes over. He gets together with some former musical buddies and the two main prostitutes in his life to make a demo tape of some rap music he has written for the occasion.
He works at getting an invitation to a party in which a record producer is an honored guest and tries his best to encourage him to review the demo tape and possibly pass it by radio stations for airing. The record producer does take the tape from Djay, but then destroys it in a besotted rant. This news gets to Djay who shoots him in the arm.
He is arrested for the shooting and goes to jail. In a wonderful twist of fate, some music minded prison guards beseech Djay to listen to their demo tape. He does so, accepts it to produce when his sentence is up and tells the eager musicians that you are nothing without a dream. Strange how life is, isn't it?
The soundtrack to Hustle and Flow is as good as its writing, direction and acting and includes the Grammy winner It's Hard Out There for a Pimp among other fine tunes.
