50’s flick takes undue criticism

Shortly after watching the new 50 Cent movie, “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’,” I had mixed emotions…. Shortly after watching the new 50 Cent movie, “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’,” I had mixed emotions. I felt strongly about the many negative reviews and reactions to the movie and wondered what possibly motivated them.

I must admit it was to my great surprise that “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” was actually pretty good. However, the storyline was nothing more or nothing less than one would expect from a rags-to-riches film shot in the ‘hood. You had your perfect cocktail of drugs, violence, rap, jail scenes and even a little bit of a well-shot, thug-lovin’ sex.

I’ll confess that some scenes did put me at a slight bias. It’s hard to complain about 50 Cent, Terrence Howard and two extras in a fight scene, naked as the day they were born, for minutes upon minutes on end.

Then, 50 Cent and Terrence Howard, bloodied, bruised and handcuffed – handcuffed! – followed this scene, lying on their stomachs with one toned caramel ass and another muscled chocolate ass for all eyes to see. Ladies, do you know what I would do with a handcuffed – well, let’s just say it’s hard to complain. Real hard.

But getting to the point, I couldn’t help but notice those who arrived at the movie theater with some hate in their blood. Every time 50 took his shirt off, there were more guys giving the screen the “What does he have that I don’t have?” look than there were women giving 50 the “I want some of that” look.

I guess it can be debated whether this hatred is justifiable. As his autobiographical movie confirmed, 50 Cent has made a career of humiliating other people in his music. He’s constantly beefin’ with the next rapper to create a buzz in the hopes that mid-rap a photo-op will present itself. And while beef in the past was a useful way to keep the rap battle moving, the examples of Tupac and Biggie have shown us that some of 50’s jests are no laughing matter.

Then it doesn’t help that he’s cocky and strangely conceited. Let’s keep one thing focused about 50: He’s no Boris Kodjoe! When he’s not ripping on someone else, he’s spending his time bragging about the fact that he has no teeth on the right side of his mouth. And then there is that smile. I think Devin Faraci of CHUD said it best: “It’s the look that you imagine a caveman would have when confronted with a cell phone.”

But for all his faults he does have his assets, and too many times I’ve seen people blind to them because they have an unfounded stake in his beef with someone else. Ashamedly, I almost smirk at the thought that what intensifies people’s – especially men’s – hatred of him is the fact that ladies still love him.

I’ve seen a couple females resemble one of Pavlov’s dogs when that shirt comes off. He does have his charm; even I had to chuckle when he said, “I love you like a fat kid loves cake.” Although he’s not at the top, he is on many “to do” lists I’ve seen. He definitely has some hits underneath his belt, and no one can take that away from him.

Then there is something else that irks me. Haters are to be expected, justified or not, but some of the recent comparisons to “8 Mile” have thrown me for a loop. According to www.rottentomatoes.com, out of 92 reviews “Get Rich or Die Trying'” had 16 good and 76 bad. “8 Mile” however had 128 good reviews and 41 bad reviews out of 169.

The plot of “8 Mile” was just as slow moving. There was also a dearth of rapping, and it wasn’t that interesting. All the hype around “8 Mile” was around Eminem. People were more interested in the story of a white boy’s success in the rap game, more than the overall quality of the film. Maybe race is a factor, maybe it isn’t. But it’s also worth mentioning that even though, at the time, Eminem didn’t pick a battle with everyone, his lyrics and some things about his persona can be interpreted as just as offensive as 50 Cent’s.

At the end of the day, regardless of how you feel about an artist as an individual, give credit where credit is due. Don’t praise any movie because of an actor and his alleged background: Praise it because it’s overall a good film.

I’m not saying that “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” is Golden Globe material, but it’s well done, it’s interesting, it’s passionate and when he cried after he was shot nine times, I believed him. So this weekend, turn your hater-meter on low and head down to Waterworks for “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” then log on to www.rottentomatoes.com to give your honest opinion.

Forget what you read, Rose Afriyie is still on Vivica A Fox’s side. E-mail her at sba1@pitt.edu.