Review: Get Rich or Die Tryin' (*)

GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes



RATING (0 TO ****): *



Rambling, boring and full of bad messages for our youth, GET RICH OR DIE
TRYIN' tells the story of a hard-working, gun-toting crack dealer named
Marcus (Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson). To be fair, Marcus wasn't always a crack
dealer. Back when he was grade-school age, he had what he claimed was less
than a minimum wage job as a coke dealer. He did, however, earn enough to
get what he really wanted -- just the right label of designer sneakers and a
big shiny gun.



His life of crime, however, proves to be just the right background for a
career as a gangsta rapper, teaching kids that the best way to make it in
the world of rap is through a solid criminal background. Great.



But, even if -- and that's a big "if" -- you can ignore the movie's
messages, the story plods along covering ground that you've seen a hundred
times before and usually better. All of the guys wear the same sort of
clothes, the only difference is in the gaudiness of their gold chains.



"Everyone was in love with my mom, so anyone could have been my dad," Marcus
explains to us in the beginning in voice-over. Katrina (Serena Reeder), his
mother, had her corner to deal drugs, and, after she was murdered by another
dealer, he decided that "it was time to join the family business." When he
grows up -- as in getting larger, but not as in maturing -- he gets his own
crew so that he can be a bigger time dealer, with his own S500 Mercedes paid
for with cash.



Along the way, Marcus and his co-workers do talk about values. One of them
is "respect," which they take to mean that dealers should respect each
other's territories (read corners). They also have snappy phrases, such as,
"Crack means money; money means war." In no time, the blacks and the
Colombians are gunning each other down in the street.



But, not to fear, in the last part of the last act, Marcus finally gets to
go on stage to a live audience in order to rap. To show them that he has
left the world of crime behind -- or to show them how foolishly brave he
is -- he takes off his bulletproof jacket while on stage.



The good news is that the actors' enunciation is of the low, mumble type
with little life or emotion in their words. This means that much of their
drivel will be unintelligible. I suspect the audiences will not be missing
much. I suggest that, unless you are a gangsta rapper wannabe or are a big
fan of 50 Cent, who actually sings very little in the movie, you are going
to want to miss this entire film. HUSTLE & FLOW, which was released a few
months ago, is an infinitely better movie covering the rap world.



GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' runs a long 2:00. It is rated R for "strong
violence, pervasive language, drug content, sexuality and nudity" and would
be acceptable for older teenagers.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Wednesday, November 9,
2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the
Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.



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