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Gangsta Rap: The Glockumentary
The hardest group you've never heard of is back. Gangsta Rap is a mockumentary based on a group of over the hill gangster rappers (circa NWA), trying to make a comeback. Its a hilarious look at the soft underbelly of hard core hip hop.
Release : | 2007 |
Rating : | 4.5 |
Studio : | thinkfilm, |
Crew : | Director, Writer, |
Cast : | Dian Bachar Malik Barnhardt Gerald 'Slink' Johnson Too $hort |
Genre : | Comedy |
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Reviews
Absolutely Fantastic
A different way of telling a story
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
I thought this was an excellent mock documentary. Yes, it borrows liberally from Spinal Tap (some scenes are identical) but the music, script, direction, and acting were quite good. I ended up watching it several times and quite enjoyed it. The music is extremely well done. A lot of parts are funny, but esp. the part with "Momma Rag." I hope the filmmaker does a sequel to this.What else? (this site wants me to write 10 lines for some reason). The love story was extremely well done (good acting), showing the tension between musicians and romance (a la John Lennon and Yoko Ono). The parody of the 'hardcore' gangsta persona was funny (Murder Mike flinching). I guess Durag is my favourite character. The failed aging musician theme is unfortunately all too real for most musicians in our culture, so it needed to be shown. Reminds me of the real life Spinal Tap, "Anvil" (a great documentary if you have the chance to see it).
Every review of this movie seems like it has to compare this movie to CB4, and it seems like everyone is polarized--they love one and hate the other. For me, this was the one I enjoyed.Another IMDb comment claims that the movie was written by an insider to the culture and lifestyle that the movie portrays. Some viewers might think that it reinforces negative stereotypes, and the characters are a bit over the top. But I thought it also had a gritty, realistic feel that added to my enjoyment.If language bothers you, you should know that every sentence in this movie has the N word in it. But the slang is part of what I liked, in the same way that the dialog in Trainspotting was an exaggerated example of how people talk in Edinburgh.The story is about some over-the-hill rappers who try to make a comeback. They seems to be patterned off of NWA, but in the universe this movie exists in, they acknowledge NWA, so they supposedly came up around the same time. Like I said, their lives are so exaggerated, the movie ends up being campy, but for me, it had just the right tone. Imagine a hardcore rap version of Spinal Tap, which this movies seems to have gotten its plot from (even recreating most of the situations and story arc). This is one that I will watch over again, and I really liked the original songs as well. I'm glad I found this.
I must admit, when it first saw this I thought it was gonna be crap, and a CB4 rip-off. Well i was wrong as it is funny, and although both films are about "gangster rap", the two films are different. In CB4, the characters were actually well to do and not from the ghetto at all. In this film, they are definitely from Compton and act the part. Definitely worth a look or two, especially at 420. In my opinion, Howie bell as "Du-Rag" steals the show. The music in the film is crazy, over the top funny. I just found out that "Gangsta Rap's" album is actually out on Delicious Vinyl and I plan to pick that up. Although it's meant to be a joke, I can play a lot of those songs up against any rap that's played on the radio right now!
This movie is what CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat wanted to be. Those films were obviously written by someone who was neither from or understood the "Gangsta" mentality, or the music industry. Although Gangsta Rap is not as prevalent as it was in the 90's, it's still here. 90% of rappers rap about guns and dope....i.e "Gangsta sh..", and 89% of them are as fake as the characters in this movie. This movie was written by two guys who are from that environment, one of them used to be a rapper himself so they know these characters intimately and it shows in the film.Being from Los Angeles, I know and see these characters everyday where as in those other films there was no authenticity whatsoever. Most people from the streets who saw those other movie's thought they were both terrible, and were probably offended by them. You cannot as a filmmaker provide a commentary on something you know nothing about other than playing on stale stereotypes. Gangsta Rap goes beyond that. Murder Mike is my neighbor, Du-Rag is my cousin, Mama Rag is my ex-girlfriend's mother, these characters ring true.In my opinion this film is both funny, and a relevant commentary on the state of Rap music today. Additionally, the group has an album of original music that's hilarious, but more importantly playable, where as the other two films I've heard it compared to sorely lacked in that department. Don't believe me, check out their video for "My Houseshoes" on youtube.I enjoyed both the comedy and commentary. After renting this movie, I bought it online and also bought the album!