Notorious

Synopsis

Notorious is a biographical film about the life of slain hip-hop rapper The Notorious B.I.G/Biggie Smalls. This man rose from the streets of Brooklyn through determination and skills to become one of the greatest rappers of all time.

Review

Oh the reminiscing. It’s amazing how a song you hear can take you right back in time. Hearing one of Biggie Smalls old jams just had me thinking about summers going up to the Toronto Caribana Festival or dancing for 2 and 3 hours at a time at a party—you know—just being young. Notorious really pulled me back to the nineties. Time truly goes very fast.

I was excited to see this film, but it wasn’t offered at many theaters where I live. We had a shooting when the 50 Cent movie was in town, so any "rap movie" gets a limited release here in Pittsburgh. So my husband and I traveled to the cut to get our movie on. We got us a good seat and everything was fine until… KIDS came running in. What I’m trying to figure out is how did a group of 5 kids – age ranges looked between 8 through 13 -- get in this Rated R movie? They were giggling like crazy during the nude sex scenes. Their laughter kind of made me snicker too. I know I wouldn’t have been giggling if they all sat next to me. They almost did until they realized there were only 4 seats and they needed 5. WHEW!!!! No need for loud, obnoxious kids. But I digress.

For some who aren’t familiar with the Notorious B.I.G. story, he’s a famous rapper named Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard, rapper named ‘Gravy’) aka, Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. that was gunned down in California in I believe 1997. This movie details his rise to fame as a hardcore storyteller about his hustling life in Brooklyn, transforming rap and setting the tone for lyricism in the nineties up until his unfortunate death.

How the story plays out on screen was very interesting. You figure this would just be another "drugs to rap riches" movie, but it’s not. Considering this man's life was squooshed into a 2-hour movie, I felt that everything was intertwined and key things were touched upon that helped you understand why this guy was so beloved. And that’s an important part of Biggie’s story—he was beloved by people all over the world because he wasn’t a pretty face, or a great dancer—just a phenomenal lyricist who painted pictures with his words. I enjoyed every scene in this movie evvn though it had so much going on. It really felt like it was 3 hours long.

The casting for the most part was on point. I truly pictured the real Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton, ex member of 3LW) and Faith Evans (Antonique Smith, broadway Rent) everytime these ladies had their scenes. That was some good casting. Angela Basset (Meet the Browns) as Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s Mom wasn’t bad. I’ll always think Angela is wonderful even though she messed up Voletta’s Jamaican accent at times. It wasn’t strong enough.

Puffy was portrayed in a positive light through out the ENTIRE movie. Hmmm. It might be because he is the Executive Producer. I guess I can’t much blame him. He’s not going to have himself looking trifling like Lil’ Kim. I know home girl wasn’t too happy with her portrayal. This flick had her looking kind of ho-ish and like a major jump-off.

I was thoroughly impressed with the acting in Notorious. I tried to pretend like everyone was the true-life people. Anthony Mackie (Eagle Eye) didn’t look like Tupac however, but he did a good job portraying him -- just smiling from ear to ear like Pac. Derek Luke (Miracle at St. Anna) played Puffy and had me cracking up as he was dancing and doing Puff’s usual jig on stage. It’s funny to watch. That's an entirely different story for another day.

I was very proud of Jamal Woodard. That man can act, rap and depict Biggie Smalls like nobody’s business. His performance was very impressive especially the way he cocked his head to the side like Biggie. Home dude truly embodied the rapper. I can tell he did his research and put in his time becoming one with his character. There’s no denying that.

There were a lot of negative things that went on in the story, but there were some very powerful positive messages, and believe it or not some profound statements dealing with dreaming and working hard to achieve those dreams. You have to be “HUNGRY”. Puffy’s words – “I’m hongry.” Yep, he said it just like that with the ONG in hongry. I’m not mad at him. You have to be hungry about your passions or about being successful, or making that money.

This movie does not try to glorify the drug game, violence or anything negative. You’re not going to see a lot of shootings and blood in this movie, which probably made things feel more realistic. You see the negative sides of dealing crack in Brooklyn in the early 90s, but you’ll also see how Biggie realizes that the world can change only if he and the people around him change themselves.

Notorious made me choke up a bit with nostalgia and Christopher Wallace’s death. His death seemed so senseless and the East Coast and West Coast feud was very sad. I do believe the movie tried to present his life the best that it could in a two-hour timeframe. If you like biopic movies, rap, hip-hop, and or the late Notorious B.I.G, then check out this movie in theaters—if you can find one that’s showing it.

My Rating ~ 4 Reels

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