Drive 8 Miles to Avoid This Film.

Rating: 1/10 (16 September 2015)

8 Mile (2002): Dir: Curtis Hanson / Cast: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Pfifer, Taryn Manning: Title regards a dividing line between the black and white turf but that barely represents the story. Eminem debuts as a white rapper who frequents a club that specializes in rap wars but he freezes and is jeered off stage. He works at a press factory and lives with his mother in a trailer. Plot is in the tradition of Saturday Night Fever with a Rocky conclusion where doors are closed instead of opened. Despite its repetitious structure director Curtis Hanson examines the world of rap. Hanson has made far better movies such as L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys, which are far more creative narrative wise than this. It celebrates the celebrity of Eminem who seems to be quoting the roles played within the earlier mentioned films. It isn't a bad performance but it just seems like he is treading where other stars have traveled. Mekhi Pfifer as Future runs the club and that pretty much sums it up for him. Kim Basinger as Eminem's drunken mother is predictable. She will argue with Eminem before he deals with his abusive lover, etc. Brittany Murphy is unnecessary girlfriend and although the role may be a quote from his life, she still comes off as a pointless outsider. Instead of analyzing rap and hip-hop music it plays off Eminem's rants against society. Score: 1 / 10