Eminem biopic flawed but endearing

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2003)

For those who claim to enjoy rap but know little about it, or are attracted to the raw and sexy image of hip hop, or who fancied a bit of that Eminem as he clowns around in his videos, then this film is not for you. This is no glossy, airbrushed Hollywood interpretation of life on the streets of Detroit. The characters are as gritty as picture is grainy. Whether this stands up as a testimony to Marshall Mather's early years is immaterial - it can certainly be viewed as such given what we know about the rapper's tough upbringing - but this is a movie and ultimately is about entertainment. Authenticity is irrelevant.
And entertaining it certainly is. If only for a glimpse into the hip hop scene in a deprived area of the Midwest from the comfort of your multiplex. The tired theme of a young man struggling to make his mark, overcoming all odds, from rags to riches, is typical of this kind of biopic and offers no surprises, but what is surprising is the relative lack of musical offerings from Eminem himself. I found myself willing the man to speak up from the beginning and itching to hear catchy tunes in the soundtrack throughout, but we only really get rewarded at the film's climactic last scene. It's worth the wait but the film could have packed in more music. Eminem fans will be disappointed.
The examination of the Detroit hip hop scene is fascinating and filmed to appear intimidating; the Shelter, the venue where the weekly duels between sparring rappers are performed to an alternately scornful and delighted audience is deliberately squalid and designed to shock. But the effect is immediate and the atmosphere electric. The contrast between these conditions and the tender affection the various characters display for each other seems designed that way, touching though it is, as if the director is asking you to believe that all these guys really have hearts of gold, they just look terrifying. Or you could say the intention is that despite the hardship, friendship has blossomed.
While the male characters in general are likeable enough, the characterisation is rather ham-fisted and cliched. 'Future', the Shelter's MC and all-round geezer has OB1 Kenobe written all over him, and it's hard not to think of C-3PO and R2D2 with regards to the other two 'homies' - a classic Greek chorus consisting of the grotesquely overweight, the brainbox with a social conscience and the in-bred trailer park boy who's picked on by everyone and inevitably protected by our hero. Next to this dysfunctional lot Eminem seems enviably well-balanced and normal, which may be intentional but it's not entirely believable, given his troubling domestic circumstances. Where is his alcohol/gambling problem, his violent outbursts, his criminal record? Saved by rap, it would seem. While vicious gangs are roaming the streets looking for his ass, he's tucked up at home writing songs - our very own Brian Wilson of the trailer park. A bit trite really.

The female characters however, are so beyond liking there's a strong case for accusing the director of sexism in this movie. There are only 3 women characters of any significance and all seem incapable of functioning without the approval and attention of our protagonist, which is irritating anyway, and they are all portrayed as complete slappers, every one of them - particularly Rabbit's mother(played by Kim Basinger)- using sex as a way of elevating themselves from their various pitiful circumstances. The only one who takes the men on at their own game appears briefly during a scene at Rabbit's workplace, rapping to an audience over a coffee break and generally 'dissing' a male workmate for a laugh. This is not an isolated incident however; it merely serves as a vehicle for Eminem's character, Rabbit, to get some practice in front of an audience, defend the woman who is being slated by her opponent verbally, and emerge triumphant, ready to take on the big boys at the Shelter that Friday night.
Ultimately this is a pretty formulaic piece of work with some very entertaining and funny moments. If this was set in a middle class suburban environment the film would divebomb and surely have nothing to offer the most forgiving of audiences; what saves it is its relatively original and occasionally disturbing setting. Oh and Eminem's pecs.