8 Mile

8 MILE

Rating: B

Rap still sucks.

Supposedly loosely based on rapper Eminem's own upbringing, 8 Mile chronicles a few weeks in the life of a young stud growing up in Detroit with nothing to do. Sort of an Iggy Pop album come to life. For entertainment, the locals gather at the "shelter" on weekends, where they have contests where they badmouth and ridicule each other in rap stanzas improvised onstage. I'm really not kidding about this. Eminem's cluster of friends continually praise him for his natural talent at putting others down in rhyme, but at his last performance he became tongue-tied at the critical moment. Seems he really wants to be a rapper, but he has issues with stage fright. Yep, it's Coyote Ugly all over again, with a duet with LeAnn Rimes promising to materialize at any moment. It's impossible to enjoy a movie with this threat hanging over your head.

Critics frequently complain that filmmakers render familiar locations depressingly unrecognizable. (The manner in which Ridley Scott shot Osaka in Black Rain springs to mind, but there have been plenty of other instances as well.) Here, every Detroit setting is shittier than the last. Although I've never been to the "Motor City," I'm sure director Curtis Hanson could've found a tree or two if he'd looked hard enough. And maybe even a building with glass in the windows instead of plywood. Just to break up the monotony. I was reminded of Michael Moore's segment in Bowling for Columbine, where he contrasts the media's portrayal of South Central L.A. with the actual reality.

Eminem has received kudos for his acting in this film, but I'm at a loss to explain why. Acting grouchy, disenchanted, and perpetually annoyed in scene after scene is no great feat. Trust me, I do it all the time, and it's really not that difficult. If anyone should receive praise, it's Kim Basinger, who plays the thankless role of Em's mom. She looks old and haggard throughout, perhaps dealing a death knell once and for all to her former image as a beauty queen. Her last association with Hanson netted her an Oscar (although they came to her house and took it back after Bless the Child), so maybe she's trying for a second one here.

There's an age-old debate whether the plot or the characters are more important in a film (almost as old as the montage vs. long take debate, which is really an alternate form of the same question). Usually, I side with the plot people, but here the characters win out. I had several problems with the story. I couldn't understand Eminem's anger with his mother, or at least didn't sympathize with it. It seemed like he was blaming her for not being rich and successful, as if she owed him that or something. I didn't fully understand why he left his original girlfriend, although I give the filmmakers credit for not making her a jerk and for deliberately leaving some ambiguity in the situation. If you're wondering, his new girlfriend is played by Brittany Murphy, who keeps bumping into him in one credibility-straining coincidence after another, until the two decide what the heck, we might as well fuck. Speaking of Murphy, Meg Ryan should be able to sue her for identity theft or trademark infringement, or something. And dawg, I really wasn't all that taken with the whole "battling" concept (those weekend rap wars I told you about), although I'll concede Hanson does capture the energy and excitement of the events.

What does stand out are the characters who populate Eminem's life, and his experiences in Detroit. Many of his friends seem like real people, and they have some depth to their characters. Several of the scenes at Eminem's place of work were actually quite interesting, albeit brief. Perhaps best of all is a scene where he and a friend start improvising rap lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama," although I'm always a sucker for those types of scenes. Overall, the plot comes off as rather episodic, with bits and pieces you can relish here and there.