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Who else to send to review a rap film than a church organist/poet? Therefore, I came to this film as a babe in the woods. No, the language wasn't offensive, though be forewarned, but the world of the rap artist-in-the-making was an eye-opener and ultimately pleasant experience. 8 Mile is Eminem's first movie role. Put him in a story centered in tough Detroit---the other side of the tracks---and he does a competent job. Each generation produces a film about a person aiming for super-music stardom. From Judy Garland to Barbra Streisand and their try at A Star Is Born to Mariah Carey's downfall, Glitter, you either make it on the big screen or you don't. Here, the supporting cast certainly helps; in fact, their acting makes the star look good.

The premise of 8 Mile is that of a young Detroit tough living by 8 Mile Road, which is the dividing line between black and white Detroit. The guy's name is Jimmy Smith, but his nickname is "Rabbit." Kim Basinger is his alcoholic mother, Michael Shannon her young boyfriend and Chloe Greenfield her daughter, who Rabbit tries to protect from the violence in the family. Rabbit's goal is to make a demo tape and get a recording contract. To do this, he has to become known in the rap community by participating-and winning-challenge contests with black artists. We are to believe that he already has the respect of the underground rap community as he comes and goes there with ease. Mekhi Phifer is the MC who is pushing Rabbit to perform out of respect for his talent. Rabbit's entourage, including Evan Jones and De'Angelo Wilson, do likewise, but the first time Rabbit gets in front of a mike, he freezes. Comedians would call this "flop sweat," and it is deadly for the beginner. On the home front, Rabbit leaves girlfriend Manning and takes up with new girl, Murphy, so if you are looking for love scenes, yup, you got 'em. Life along 8 Mile is never dull.

Artists create and each chooses their own environment to do this. Some can write in the noise of a factory while others need the absolute silence of a mountaintop. In 8 Mile, Rabbit dons ear phones to listen to a steady rap beat and then writes left-handed phrases in a small notebook. Whether riding a bus or sitting at home, he is at work. If you thought rap was instantaneous, part of it is, but it is also carefully constructed memorize phrases put together in a moment. The improvisational comic or jazz musician does this, even a church organist, and then the creative part of the brain takes over and runs with it. What aren't clear in 8 Mile are many of the lyrics, so the cleverness of the rhymes is lost.

Eminem's music is displayed here without many of its ubiquitous objectionable lyrics so his regular fans may not recognize him. I found a pleasant sounding voice that especially shows in one scene where he is telling a story to his little sister. He does well as an actor in this film but the wardrobe budget must have been practically nothing. A pulled down hat, old sweats, old jeans and away you go. Basinger's trailer makes the term "trailer trash" sound good. When Brittany Murphy enters the scene, you notice her right away. She is actually wearing good clothes. The best parts of the film are when the camera sits on Eminem, alone. His wide-eyed, frightened look makes "Rabbit" a fine nickname and his body language is adequate for his role as a factory worker. Oh, yes, it wouldn't be a contemporary film without the obligatory vomit scene. There is a great deal of humor in this film, not only from the jibes guys toss at each other, but their antics in the community when bored

8 Mile is a better film than I expected. One doesn't know what lies down the acting road for Eminem, but he does well within the confines of this story. The rest of the cast need not worry, their ensemble work sparkles.

Copyright 2002 Marie Asner
Submitted 11/10/02

After years of being defined by the black sounds of Motown and gospel, Detroit's music scene is now known as the birthplace of white shockers Kid Rock and Eminem. Kid Rock has made his mark with an unholy fusion of hard rock, rap, and Southern attitude, while Eminem has paired with rap impresario Dr. Dre to become one of the dominant faces in hip hop today. So it makes sense that Eminem would make his film debut in 8 Mile--a movie about a young, white rapper on the streets of Detroit trying to make his mark in the largely African-American world of rap. Indeed, for many viewers, teasing out the difference between fiction and history, if there is any, is part of 8 Mile's appeal.

But 8 Mile is not just a story about Eminem. It's also a movie about Detroit and the frustrated dreams of those that live there. It's about how your hometown, indeed your home, can both define and entrap you. In that sense, it's a movie about a place as much as it is about a person.

The movie opens with Jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem), better known as Rabbit, trying to psyche himself up in a run-down bathroom. He's about to go on-stage in a dingy club and battle it out, rap style. There he'll have 45 seconds to freestyle about his opponent, after which his opponent does the same. But at the moment of truth, Rabbit freezes up and walks off the stage humiliated.

The long bus ride home doesn't help. He's broken up with his girlfriend, so he has the indignity of showing up at his mom's trailer in a run-down trailer park on 8 Mile Road. It gets worse when he finds his mom (Kim Basinger) sleeping with a guy he went to high school with. Wait, there's more. For his birthday, his mom gives him a car that doesn't work.

Clearly, Rabbit's life is a far cry from Eminem's nationwide celebrity, but Eminem does an admirable job of conveying the frustration and embarrassment of being poor. When he tries to bum a ride to his job at the Detroit Stamping Plant, it feels like the struggle of someone just trying to get by. When he comes home to find his new girlfriend Alex (played by Brittany Murphy) talking with his mom, that sense of humiliation (I don't want her to know I still live at home) is palpable. And the scenes of Rabbit aimlessly driving around with his friends perfectly capture that feeling of nothing to do, nowhere to go.

But being poor doesn't mean you don't have dreams. Indeed life revolves around your dreams and pretending they're about to happen. Alex dreams that she's going to go to New York and become a model. The dream of Rabbit's mom is that her young boyfriend is about to get a big settlement check. And
Rabbit's dream is to make a rap demo that will propel him to stardom. Fanning that flame are two friends with evocative names: Future (Mekhi Phifer) and Wink (Eugene Byrd). The two don't care much for each other, but they both see potential in Rabbit's rhymes. But the potential and the fulfillment are separated by a large barrier of reality.

Barriers and boundaries are significant themes in 8 Mile. The very title refers to the road that separates Detroit proper from the suburbs, and it also symbolizes the barrier between blacks and whites, between those who listen to hip hop and those who perform it. Which side of 8 Mile you live on determines your credibility and even your future.

The interesting thing about Rabbit is that he's proud of his hometown (as is the movie, which proclaims at the end that it was filmed entirely in the 313, which happens to be Detroit's area code) but he's deeply embarrassed about his home. That dichotomy fuels his dreams but also the lies he and his friends tell to get through the day. After one night of clubbing, they boast to their girls they're heading to an "after-hours" club. That club turns out to be someone's house. And when a friend boasts, "You're the franchise," Rabbit retorts, "How can I be the franchise when I take the bus to work?"

Director Curtis Hanson (who's best known for the fantastic L.A.Confidential) and screenwriter Scott Silver deserve a tremendous amount of credit for shaping what could've been a vanity project into a film that thoughtfully explores what it means to be young and poor. The movie has the aimless pace of its protagonist and the grimy appearance of its setting. I'm not sure what Eminem's legions of young fans will think of 8 Mile, but I found it profound and thought-provoking. Those with a strong aversion to swearing might want to avoid it (you know there's a lot of swearing when the middle finger becomes a sign of respect and even affection), but those interested in a different view of life will do well to check it out. We may all want to be celebrities, but most of are just taking the bus to work.This is a movie about us and the places we live.   

J. Robert Parks 11/13/2002