Poor Little Millionaire

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 2002)

They almost did it.with the tactically placed billboards all up and down the Base Line.with the theme song that reminisced 'Eye of the Tiger' played over a montage of clips that almost looked like a boxing movie.with all the internet ads on every pop up screen.thinking people began to wonder.'Could it be a good movie?'
A hard life.a troubled past.poverty.bad family.shady girlfriends.pasty-faced kid sisters.what else could explain his degrading, distasteful, yes even disgraceful decent into hip hop? The Man wants to know how he can prevent it from happening again.
The Plot- Eminem plays Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith a young man seemingly from the "right side of the tracks" which Detroiters know as neighborhoods north of Eight Mile Rd. However, all is not what it seems for the suburban hero of this film. He lives in a trailer park with a garden variety of "la garbage blanche" including his trampy mother and her out of work boyfriend. With only a dead end job in his life, he rests all of his hopes for success in a rap music career. This is the story of one week in Rabbit's life. The month starts out in humiliation and ends in triumph.
The Acting- No Kudos to Marshall Mathers for believably playing himself. No kudos to academy award winning actress and Georgia Peach Kim Bassinger for playing the hillbilly-esque trailer park dweller with hair that blew in directly from Beverly Hills. Mekhi Phifer is an exceptional actor who has yet to disappoint me. I even liked him in Clockers.
The Opinion-
I am very proud of the rap element that was introduced in the film. Detroit stepped up and delivered very good performances by members of the Mountain Climbaz, an up and coming Detroit rap group.
It is apparent that Eminem is seeking to prove to the urban culture that he has a right to sing the blues while also validating his decision to "act black" to the masses. Futile endeavors. You can't buy cultural acceptance with money but maybe with a few strategically placed sound bytes, (Tupac if you like the West, Notorious if you like the East).
This movie is neither heart wrenching nor powerful enough to change opinions of Eminem. The people that think Eminem is a loser will continue.the people that think that Eminem is a god will continue.the people that don't care will continue.
I had to resist the urge to take offense. First of all the name of the movie should have been called 'Gratiot Ave' because that's all it shows. With the exception of a bus with an Eight Mile sign there was no trace of the base in the film. It will be hard for Mayor Kilpatrick to speak about the growth and development with nothing but scene after scene of abandoned and dilapidated buildings being seen by the whole world. Brian Grazer made Detroit look like Lebanon. Not to mention that the significance of 8 Mile Rd. was not sufficiently explained for the sake of the rest of the country that does not know Detroit's geography.
It is an insult to all the forefathers of rap to make a big deal about the poverty and struggle of one just because he was the first of his kind. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, Common, they were also born poor with crosses to bear some bigger than Eminem's. I can't see too much sympathy coming from the African-American community just because of the impoverished past of a millionaire.
The great Rap Music door was closed to Eminem because he is white and he had to kick it in. That took a lot of courage and determination. Historically, the doors of every other industry and trade have been closed to African-Americans and we have had to kick them open time and time again, generation after generation. Some still kicking in doors even today. And we don't do it for a record deal and millions of dollars. We kicked doors in to feed families and to have a fair chance at a house with a white picket fence and to prove our equality. Cry me a river Marshall.