A good modern story reminiscent of the old school days

Rating: 7/10 (11 November 2002)

Let me start by saying, I had little knowledge about Eminem before going to see this movie. I am a fan of rap music up until the early 90s, but haven't been too interested in anything that I've heard recently. I can't name you an Eminem song and the few minutes of his music that I'd heard before this movie definitely weren't my style. When I saw a preview for this movie, it looked like it might be mildly interesting, but definitely wasn't on my must see list by any means. Yesterday I read my good friend Vince's review of the movie at Qwipster's Movie Reviews and decided to go see it. It was a good modern story reminiscent of the old school days where rappers would "battle" each other with freestyle raps. I love the scene where B. Rabbit dogs the guy in the lunch line who is making fun of other people. Back in the day, these battles were common. Rappers Kool Moe Dee and L.L. Cool J had an ongoing feud and each would come out with songs dissing (before dissing was a word) each other. But more commonly, it was just a way to trash your enemies in the street in a non-violent manner or a little good-natured ribbing among your friends. The overall story was a semi-autobiographical tale of a young man struggling against the odds to make it big. Not knowing Eminem's story, I can't say how close this movie is to his life, but it's a pretty good story. Though fairly typical and predictable, it's well acted especially by Eminem and Kim Basinger. I think it's safe to say that I won't become a big fan of Eminem's music, but he was good in this movie.

*** (Out of 4)