Good, but Nothing Special

Rating: 7/10 (14 October 2002)

I was part of the very first audience in the world to see the final cut of 8 Mile. Universal Pictures and MTV held a special screening over here at Michigan State University last week, and the events of the night will be aired on MTV's Jammed, mostly because of the post-screening concert that Eminem held. But I digress...
The film itself is decent, but nothing special. The storyline is good, but it can get to be slow at times. The writing was good, but nothing really spectacular comes out of any of the characters mouths except for when they are freestyling. The acting was good, but it certainly won't win any awards. Eminem himself had relatively few lines, making it difficult to judge, which makes me curious if the producers were still worried about his acting ability. Kim Basinger for some reason tried to somewhat glamourize her role. The real insanity of his mom didn't come across as well it should have. Britney Murphy and Mekhi Phifer probably delivered the best performances, although neither actor is used to the best of their ability.
Growing up in the metro-Detroit area myself, it was nice to see that they actually filmed the movie in the city and surrounding areas, unlike last year's Exit Wounds which obviously wasn't shot anywhere near the city. Eminem's trailer park was in Warren for example, not Detroit. For people who don't know the Detroit area though, there is going to be some confusion while watching the movie. Especially when the characters make references to Cranbrook, and the various area codes in the region.
Like I said earlier, the movie is good, and there are no serious flaws with it, but it simply lacks that something special. Go see it if you're an Eminem fan. Go see it if you're from Detroit, if only to see Detroit on the big screen. It might be your only chance, even though it paints a bad picture of the city. If you don't fall into one of those two categories, I'd wait until it comes to video if you really want to see it, because the film really doesn't have a whole lot to offer to you.