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8 Mile Movie Review
8 Mile Review
RAW, REAL RAP & RHYME
Eminem keeps it real as a Detroit battle-rapper in authentic, moody, heavy-duty hip-hop film '8 Mile'
"8 Mile" Overview
111 minutes | Rated: R
Opened: Friday, November 8, 2002
Cast and Crew
Directed by Curtis HansonStarring Eminem; Kim Basinger; Brittany Murphy; Mekhi Phifer; Taryn Manning; Eugene Byrd
OK, yes -- Eminem can act. In fact, he can carry a movie. The charismatically angry white hip-hop star is in every scene of "8 Mile" -- a film inspired in part by his own days as a hungry young rapper, scrapping his way through smack-down rhyme battles in mid-1990s Detroit. And while some may say he's not doing much more than playing himself, Eminem shows enough resourceful nuance and emotional intuition that he cannot be summarily dismissed.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's directed by Curtis Hanson, who has proven his acumen and passion for producing movies as inspired and extraordinary as "L.A. Confidential" and the off-kilter, tragically overlooked intellectual comedy "Wonder Boys."
The story here is not a rise-to-glory cliché with a lucrative recording contract waiting for the hero at the closing credits. It's a realistic, struggling-class drama about a tough kid from the white side of the Motor City ghetto who wants to prove himself as a rapper and "get out of the D."
Jimmy "B. Rabbit" Smith, Jr. works in a steel stamping shop where body panels are made for cars. He lives in a trailer park with his bipolar, hard-drinking mom (Kim Basinger in a rugged, resilient performance) and spends his free time with his big-talking buddies who are always sure they'll be "getting a big deal soon" from some phantom record company that will discover them.
What they do that deserves discovering is a big question mark, but Rabbit has an emerging talent for the rhymes and they believe in him, especially Future (Mekhi Phifer), a friend with his head screwed on straight who hosts rap battles at an underground club called "The Shelter."
The movie is bookended by two of these battles, in which contestants have 45 seconds to slur each other in ad-libbed hardcore rhymes set to a DJ-spun hip-hop backdrop while the audience cheers them on. The winner is decided by applause, and in the movie's first scene, Rabbit is booed off the stage when he flat-out chokes after being smacked down by a gangbanging street rapper called Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie).
"They don't laugh 'cause you're white/They laugh 'cause your white with a mic," Papa Doc improvs poetically. "This is hip-hop. You don't belong/You're a tourist."
Over the course of the next week, Rabbit's trust in himself waxes and wanes as he climbs the steepest part of a big hump in his life. If he can get over it, he'll probably be OK. But it's pretty clear that nothing ever comes easily to anyone living near 8 Mile Road, the dividing line between poor black and white neighborhoods in a bad part of Detroit that gives the film its title.
Screenwriter Scott Silver ("johns," "The Mod Squad") covers some obvious territory -- gang troubles, mom's abusive boyfriend, Rabbit's tender devotion to his baby sister, an encouraging love interest (sexy, trashy Brittany Murphy) with a hidden agenda -- but always with fresh and unexpected twists on formula. "8 Mile" is anything but a soundtrack-driven popcorn flick for a poseur musician to cash in on his popularity.
Hanson's direction is moody and exquisite, with cinematography that creates a sooty, gray ambiance and a polished narrative maturity that complements the music but never goes anywhere near MTV style. He also garners great performances across the board, especially from Basinger (whose work here is as good as in "L.A. Confidential"), Murphy (who sells even her cheesiest "I believe in you" lines with admirable credibility) and Phifer ("Paid in Full"), who lends depth and passion to his role as Rabbit's most faithful friend.
Throughout the film, Eminem proves his mettle right along with Rabbit, as the character's confidence in his skills on the mic builds palpably through impromptu rap battles that arise in club parking lots and even outside the roach-coach lunch truck at the steel plant. You can feel it when Rabbit is on his game, and you can tell how good it feels for him to have an inspired rap roll off his tongue.
But you can tell he's struggling right up until he really brings it on in a rematch with Papa Doc at The Shelter in the film's finale -- which also steers around the edges of hip-hop and underdog movie clichés.
The way this movie is made, the way this story is told, this is what is meant by the phrase "keepin' it real."
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Review by Rob Blackwelder 
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screen name:
janinebustin 
( 6)
posted on 11/12/2005 17:19
i have everything about you i even have 8mile too
screen name:
janinebustin ( 6)
posted on 11/12/2005 17:18
dear eminem i got got some rap lerics of my own can you please read
them at least ive got every picture of you on my wall ive got
all your cds ive got all your pictures on my computer my room
is eminem mania i even shaved my head like you and everything i
died my hair dark blond everybody i know said i look like you
without my nose ring in i even dressed like you 2 years in a row
for halloween ive even got your tukes and everything your cd cases
too all your song books from your cds too im a majior fan of
you yo if anybody knows me well enough im about raping and im
about music if you dont know me dont be like trying to say you know me
im about eminem music to my whole about me is about me of corse
i like eminem hes hot yo im 5'3 from etown dont be trying to diss
me yo i like jay-z ice cube dmx nelly i like rap cds im all about rap
oviously you can tell cause im raping about me i weigh 120lbs yo im
not hot or ugly im just a person ive been picked on all my life
by miranda parelle shes bullyed me since i was in elamentry threw
high school too my other bully was jennifer vandale and joathan her
brother you gotta understand i want the bullying to be stoped cause im
tried of being chased and bullyed and being picked on im tired of runing
and hideing im just a girl for heven sakes i rather be put threw my
life the way it was made but i rather not be bullyed and picked
on i liked my life after i meet a sweet guy named scott winer
he is such a sweetie i loved him for 11 years before i
wouldnt give up on my life cause ive worked so hard on it to
build up friends and friendship im not a bad person yo if you got to
know me im not that bad im a cool kind understanding person f**k all
those people out there who diss me they dont know what im all about im
a kind hearted person im a calm person dont listen to those people who
dont know me i will atmite im a stuborn person at times im a rude
person to people who get me mad cause they dont know me and they make fun
of me cause they dont understand or respect people they should look at
themselves in the mirrior cause their no better for making fun of someone
whos diffrent im 19 years old i was raped by a 28 year old when i was
11 years old i had love at one point in time but love gets lost after
awhile thats what happend to me im so glad though i still am who iam for
reasons yes iam a girl but im not lesbeian or bi im a tomboy thats why
people hate me is cause i like to dress like a guy but who cares if i do
i sure as hell dont i like trailer park boys south park wwe wresling my
favorite wresler is stone cold steve austin i quit grade 12 in high
school cause i got picked on for being smart in all my classes but math
who cares if your smart why pick on a smart kid when you shouldnt be
picking on anybody i try to stay away from the bad crowds but they manage
to follow me around i use to be a goody to shoes but now im not im bad to
the bone so if you dont like me dont bother with me im a bad kid im
sweet as pie but dont let that fool you i smoke weed and drink beer and
smoke cigarttes i like adam sandler 50 cent loyad banks i ran away from
home when i was 16 years old i was on the news in the paper i was gone for
5 days in those 5 days i started smoking weed i also like ryan phillippe
too listen up cause all this s**t you read about me is true its a
song about me thats so damn true im an emtionless person so thats all
i gotta say i also got picked on for being skinny too i still have a
love that is true and is deep im not going to mention his name cause
he asked me not too so i respect him for it you
tell me my lifes not wacked after you read this song you would
have to say my life is cause if you said it wasnt you would be lieing to
me about my very life heres the shout outs in my song AMANDA MY BEST
GIRL I LOVE YOU THERES SO MANY MEMORIES SCOTT THE ONE IVE
KNOWN FOR 11 YEARS MY FAMILY MY FRIENDS THAT HELPED ME THREW
THEESE SUCKY YEARS AND SHOUTS TOO ALL MY PEOPLE ON MY WINERS LIST
I LOVE YOU ONE AND ALL THAT WHOLE RAP SONG IS ALL TRUE ABOUT ME IVE LIVED
THREW IT ALL I CAN NOT SAY MY LIFE IS NOT WACKED CAUSE IT IS i like to
talk on msn and on here and my cell phone and my house phone too and
henging with my friends too so thats my boaring life for yaz peace
out ight peoples im kind hearted hard working and understanding
calm cool collected person so whatever to youz who diss me i wont
forget the people who make fun of me and bullyed me and picked on me and
s**t like that peace out ight peoples bye bye hit me back an
email just to chat your biggest fan janinebustin i know all your
lerics i have both your books too hit me back just to chat janine
by eminem
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