8 Mile

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2006)

From director Curtis Hanson (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, L.A. Confedential), this acting debut from on of the greatest (white) rappers in history is a fantastic drama. Basically Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith, Jr. (Eminem) is a wannabe rapper living in Detroit's 8 Mile, known as the city limit, and he is having problems. He broke up with his girlfriend when she said she was pregnant, he is living with his alcoholic mother Stephanie (Kim Basinger) and he has a dead-end job making car parts. His first attempt at showing his rapping talent doesn't happen, but things improve for Rabbit when he meets aspiring model Alex (Brittany Murphy). But new setbacks when Rabbit's mother rejects him, Alex isn't faithful, friendship rifts, and mugged by a rival gang. Finally, Rabbit gets another chance to show his talent at the rap battles, and he performs like a pro, but in the end, he decides not to go further with it, and just have a normal life with the job he has now. Also starring Mekhi Phifer as David 'Future' Porter, Evan Jones as Cheddar Bob, Omar Benson Miller as Sol George, Eugene Byrd as Wink, De'Angelo Wilson as DJ Iz. It won the Oscar for Best Song for "Lose Yourself", also nominated a Golden Globe, and number 93 on 100 Years, 100 Songs. Eminem was number 37 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, and the film was number 40 on The 100 Greatest Musicals. Very good!