Product Details

• Actors: Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Thandie Newton, Charles Fleischer, Howard Hesseman
• Directors: Vondie Curtis-Hall
• Writers: Vondie Curtis-Hall
• Producers: Damian Jones, Erica Huggins, Michael Bennett, Paul Webster, Preston L. Holmes
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: February 27, 2007
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007ELEN
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,123 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Gridlock'd" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

When their friend Cookie o.d.'s, best buddies and musicians Spoon (Tupac Shakur) and Stretch (Tim Roth) decide it's time to kick their drug habit by putting themselves into detox. But they soon discover that the road to rehab is paved with reams of social service red tape. Spoon and Stretch are just trying to stay alive until they can get treatment. But, between the angry drug dealers, the cops who have mistaken them for murderers, and the people with forms and clipboards, this turns into a task of epic proportions. Thus enfolds their comic adventure to sobriety- a hilarious, action-packed journey from A to Z and back again. Starring: Tim Roth, Tupac Shakur, Thandie Newton Directed by: Vondie Curtis-Hall

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sadly-overlooked urban art-house quality masterpiece, March 10, 2002

By 

Nathan "Cawntry-fried Calypso Beach Bum" (Charlotte, N.C. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gridlock'd (DVD)

There's definitely a lotta film buffs who watch this movie and jus' look at it as a poor cousin of 'Trainspotting' and thas' really a shame, 'cause this is a great piece of work that truly stands on its own. For one thing, the comparison to 'Trainspotting' is kinda unfair, 'cause while the two films are dealing with similar subject matters, they approach it in completely different manners, and, though I enjoy both movies, I prefer 'Gridlock'd' hands-down. The performances are all outstanding, particularly the late Tupac Shakur, who here (as in all his movies) steals the show from even a veteran an' respected actor like Tim Roth. This is a lost little gem of a film that, after five years, has sadly STILL yet to find a REAL audience outside'a die-hard Pac fanatics.

The movie plays like a black comedy. It centers around two heroin addicts, Spoon an' Stretch, both of them burgeoning musicians who have a jazz trio with their other friend Cookie, played by Thandie Newton. These three share an apartment together somewhere in the broken-down inner-city and spend most of their time playing nightclubs, havin' "philosophical" discussions about the Jerry Springer show, or shuffling around town, partying. But then, one fateful New Year's Eve, after playing a gig Cookie overdoses, an' Spoon and Stretch desperately rush her to a hospital. While she lies in a coma, and on life support, Spoon decides that its time for he an' Stretch to kick their drug habit. Thus begins a very LONG day in which the two try everything in their power to find a rehab program for themselves. But in a cruel an' unfeeling bureacracy, it seems like all the cards are against them. They circle endlessly through a series of social-welfare agencies that almost seem to be deliberately plotting to keep them away from help: They find they can't get medicards without being on welfare, can't get into detox without filling out forms and waiting 10 days, can't get into a rehab center because it's only for alcoholics, can't get the right forms because an office has moved, can't turn in the forms because an office is about to close. And if that wasn't enough to drive them crazy, they've also been mistaken for the murderers in a drug-related double homicide, putting their faces on the 6 o'clock news as fugitives on the run. Daaayyyuumn! Jus' relayin' all that to y'all stresses ME out! So anyways with local cops closely in on their tail, as well as the real killers after them to reclaim 3 ounces of heroin that the two stole from the crime scene, Stretch an' Spoon are finding it harder and harder to get clean.

The two leads, Shakur and Roth, are the heart of the movie. Their chemistry together is terrific, and their closer-than-two-brothers act is incredibly convincing. Their dialogue together, whether they're cool an' relaxed, or frustrated an' angry, or filled with remorse an' regret over how they've lived their lives up until then, is always interesting. They are real people caught up in the absurdity and unfairness of this life, which adds something I think 'Trainspotting' sometimes lacked: humanity an' compassion. Writer-director Vondie-Curtis Hall wrote the screenplay and makes his directorial debut here. He does a fine job, and seems to have a good handle on keeping the audience involved, without shutting them out by being overly-cynical in his depiction of street life and drug addicts.

I'd highly reccommend this film to anyone who hasn't seen it. If you are turned off by the grim-sounding material, believe me, you will be surprised at how human and fun it is. There are several scenes in this movie that are absolutely hilarious, in which the resentful social workers blow up at the two from across the counter. An ER nurse lets loose all her frustration an' anger at Spoon while making him fill out forms before they can admit Cookie into the hospital, and, in probably my favorite scene, a desk clerk at the department of welfare completely snaps: "Yeah, we all been waiting for the day you come through that door and tell us you're ready not to be a drug addict. After five, ten years, you decide this is the day, and the whole f---in' world is supposed to stop!?" Life is hard, the film tells us, and getting through it with all your marbles is the hardest part. Abstract as it is, I think this movie gets the message across perfectly.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally underhyped masterpiece., May 27, 2001

By 

Danny "Alan Smithee" (South Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gridlock'd (DVD)

When serious film buffs talk about Gridlock'd, they can't help but compare it to the supposedly better Trainspotting. Well, I've seen both films and I prefer Gridlock'd. And although I'm bias when it comes to Tupac (my favorite rapper), this lost little gem of a film truly stands on its own.

The movie is about two heroin addicts, Stretch (Tim Roth) and Spoon (Shakur) who are desperately trying to kick their drug habit after their fellow musician friend Cookie (Thandie Newton) OD's on New Years Eve. Thus begins their hilarious harrowing journey through an uncaring beaurocracy, including a rude hospital worker, a desk clerk with a short temper... and the list goes on and on. Not only that, but Stretch and Spoon have to get into a detox center before they're captured by the police who think they've committed a drug-related double homicide, when in actuality, the real murderer is a drug dealer (Vondie Curtis Hall) who is trying to kill them both for stealing his dope. WHEW!

Shakur and Roth have outstanding chemistry together in this film. Both turn in terrific performances and deliver occasionally hilarious one-liners. Gridlock'd is Vondie Curtis Hall's directorial debut, so props to him. He did a very fine job. He also wrote the screenplay.

If you haven't seen it yet, I'd highly recommend it. If you read the summary on the back of the cassette/DVD case and thought it sounded stupid, believe me. It's really a great movie. If for nothing else, rent the film for Tim Roth's encounter with the desk clerk. It has to be one of the funniest moments in film history.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gridlock'd (DVD), March 16, 2006

By 

David Foskin "SneakyGoblin on XBL" (Waterford, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gridlock'd (DVD)

Before his untimely death, rapper-actor Tupac Shakur left behind a number of completed films in the can. The first to see the light of day is Gridlock'd, the energetic and enjoyable screenwriting and directing debut of actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (Broken Arrow, TV's Chicago Hope and Cop Rock).

After his girlfriend Cookie (Thandie Newton) falls into a drug-induced coma, heroin junkie Spoon (Shakur) decides to lay off the dope, forcing his comrade-in-blow Stretch (Tim Roth) to join him in detox. This simple decision sets off an exhausting chain of events where Stretch and Spoon run around town dealing with bureaucrats of varying rigidity and flee from a drug kingpin (Curtis-Hall) and the police, who suspect the two when a fellow drug fiend and his girlfriend are murdered.

Sounds like pretty heavy stuff, and sometimes it is. But like the big heroin-themed Trainspotting, the film is often quite funny, deftly walking the thin line between the harrowing and the hilarious. And the humor does not come out of nowhere and feel out of place; like life itself, comedy sometimes spring forth naturally from tragedy, with some inherent dark humor being found in what can be seen as the most serious of moments. But this is not to say that Curtis-Hall glosses over heroin addiction. Spoon and especially Stretch are seen for what they are--loser junkies--living in a dirty, cluttered apartment and getting into messes they could easily have avoided, often getting out through sheer luck alone (which results in some overly contrived moments). Curtis-Hall does add some interesting visual flair to the proceedings, using flashy editing and whatnot.

But even with Curtis-Hall's able efforts behind the camera, Gridlock'd could not have possibly worked without a convincing, charismatic lead duo, and Shakur and Roth fit the bill perfectly. Roth has the showier role, playing pathetic, dirty, and just plain wacky Stretch, and he pulls it off as well as one expects (even though his natural British accent sometimes slips into his on-screen New York accent). Shakur's more sensible Spoon is the straight man, but he is far from upstaged, holding his own with his confident, commanding presence; he truly had a bright future in film. Roth and Shakur's rapport is so natural, so effortless that you have no problem believing that they are longtime friends. It's too bad that a reteaming of the two is out of the question.

The pileup of films currently released amounts to one big traffic jam at movie houses, but the entertaining Gridlock'd should have had no problem clearing a path to box office success.

Rest in peace Tupac Shakur.