Customer Reviews

Life Is Hot in Cracktown (Unedited)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

In the beginning of the film "Life is Hot in Cracktown" a young man named Romeo extends a playful invitation to a young lady. "Come with me ... I wanna show you something." He leads her by the hand down an alley, at the end of which is a mattress on the ground and a group of his friends, who proceed to brutally gang rape her.

The film doesn't get any easier or nicer from there. "Life is Hot in Cracktown", the title of which sounds like either a dark comedy or a grindhouse B-movie, clearly aims to show humanity at its most brutal, soulless, and cruel. The viewer is taken on a tour of a poor, inner-city neighborhood, where most of the characters have ties to hard drugs, either through being addicts, dealers, or police officers. The combination of poverty, despair, and drug abuse has created situations that range from bleak to horrific.

"Precious" was a film that balanced its brutal portrayal of urban poverty with enough humor and fantasy to keep it from being too bleak. "Life is Hot in Cracktown" aims for pure gritty realism. At its best, it succeeds, and at its worst, it seems exploitive and sensationalistic.

What redeems the film is the performances. Kudos to Evan Ross, who plays Romeo, for infusing his monstrous, sadistic character with tiny shreds of humanity. When I first saw Kerry Washington in the film, I thought she was basically just playing the same character (a drug addicted prostitute) that she played in "The Dead Girl", until it quickly becomes clear that her character is actually a transgendered woman, and she delivers the powerful, multi-faceted performance needed. In fact, most of the actors, even the children, give their characters the depth and humanity needed in order to keep the whole film from turning into a trite morality play.

I'm gonna have to eat some crow here, especially after complaining about the last film I reviewed, Shadowheart. Both it and this one - LIFE IS HOT IN CRACKTOWN - came to me via Amazon's Vine Program. And I was becoming rather tired of the careless films that tended to populate The Vine's DVD list. Well, Life Is Hot In Cracktown has reformed me ...somewhat. It isn't great. It isn't stupendous. But it is gritty, real, and put together in a way that made it extremely watchable.

All of these characters are well-rounded and exceptionally well acted. There will be someone that every watcher will be able to connect with. Whether it's the young boy looking after his younger sister as his mother and her boyfriend get high and leave them alone for days, or the pre-op transsexual Marybeth (Kerry Washington, The Last King of Scotland) and her emotionally labile boyfriend Benny, or Manny, the guy working two jobs trying to support his wife Concetta (Shannyn Sossaman, Wristcutters - A Love Story) and their colicky baby, or the gang-banger Romeo who's life on the street is turning him into a dangerous individual, there's someone here for everyone.

The interest comes in the fact that you watch most of these people make horrible decisions or do terrible things, yet you cannot look away or even condemn them. They are the best and worst of us all, and it shows a rugged side of humanity that most of us would rather not see ...except to realize that one of these people might have been you had you not had a few breaks. It's frightening and enlightening.

The best part of the film is toward the end as we watch each person forced to make a decision and wonder at what the outcome will be. It is a turning point in their lives and we are given front row seats to it. Amazing how it all came together.

Watching the special features, I have to disagree with Kerry Washington's comment about transsexuals never being shown on film in any meaningful way. The film Transamerica focused specifically on this subject and was a fantastic film. Just FYI, Kerry.

Anyway, this film is actually quite good, even though I found the title a bit unfortunate.

Life is Hot in Cracktown (2009) is a movie based upon a collection of short stories written by the director Buddy Giovinazzo. The film follows four story lines: a man who works two jobs trying to support his family and move out of the inner city, a brother and sister who try to survive in a roach infested hotel, a pre-op transsexual who works the streets to make ends meet and a young hoodlum who lives an empty life with no future to look forward to. They are just some of the faceless people who try to make a life inside a poverty stricken ghetto. even though they have a bleak present, something inside of these people drives them to try and look for a way out of there lives and look for a brighter future.

I really enjoyed this movie. Most of the films I see about the inner city are full of cartoonish and stereotypical characters that you don;t care about. The people in this film are real as the person next door. I found a lot of the dialog and situations these people are faced with to be real and very authentic. Buddy Giovinazzo has come a long way since his first film (Combat ShocK) but he still retains the gritty realism and spirit of that film in his latest project. He seems to have a genuine feel for his characters and none of that pseudo-liberal guilt complex that similar films that come out of Hollywood have. No phony baloney middle class guilt trip here and I really appreciate that in a film like this one.

The DVD comes with a twenty minute featurette on the making of the film, several deleted scenes (which should have been added in my opinion) a trailer for the movie and a couple of sneak peak trailers. The film's soundtrack is available in 2.0 mono (which is the best one to listen to because the other one is in 5.1 and that one is too spread out to hear some of the dialog), I have to give this DVD my highest recommendation possible. An awesome film that will punch you in the gut with a shot of reality.

This has been done a so many times its irritating. It seemed like they tried too hard to take on too many situations and be shocking and sobering. To me it seemed like a cheap a_ _ wannabe crash part 2. A friend of mine showed this to me as a joke. The subject matter was not at all bad and is no laughing matter but the execution was so horrible it was hilarious. One great point that my friend brought up that kept us laughing and joking for over an hour is that instead of the old man buying some food, he should have went out and bought a gun. They tried too hard too make the Romeo character hardcore but sadistical at the same time. To me he just looked like a cheap a_ _ Micheal Jackson or some kid that would be on the Disney channel. Being in the Army myself and spending over 4 out of my over ten years in the military fighting in the cities and streets of Iraq and Afghanistan and born and raised in the City of Houston prior to the Army, I just couldn't take the twerps in this movie seriously and would take great pleasure in capturing and exterminating Romeo and his lil friends. Judging by his a facial features and girly build his squeals of pain when he is near death would be very feminine. This movie just tried too hard and I couldn't help but laugh at it. For me this was a big waste of time and I hope the director didn't think he was making a work of art or some sort of master peice. Watch this at your own risk you have been warned lol lol.

Before I go into this review, I must caution people that Life is Hot in Cracktown has an awful lot of extreme violence and there is some nudity as well. This is anything but a family film; and indeed, after watching and reviewing Shutter Island just three days ago I can honestly say that this makes Shutter Island look like something put out by The Walt Disney Studios. This is not to say, however, that this motion picture is bad--in fact, it's really rather well done; but it's not for the faint of heart at all.

Life is Hot in Cracktown does have its noted similarities to Crash; only the action is extremely rough and the outlook bleak at best for its principle characters. There are four major stories told throughout this film although none of them is finished when it ends; this gives the film a slice of life quality that I actually enjoyed very much.

When the film starts, it isn't long before we meet Marybeth (Kerry Washington), a pre-op transgender person who is loved by a straight man called Benny (Desmond Harrington). Things are much more complicated, though: they each use drugs and while Marybeth uses heroin Benny smokes crack to get by; and their money woes never seem to stop. In addition, there's ten year old Willy (Ridge Canipe) and his younger sister who live in a flophouse with two crack addicted adults one of whom is his mother (Illeana Douglas). Moreover, there's Romeo (Evan Ross, who gives a particularly stunning performance) who leads a street gang and who doesn't care what damage and violence he does to others. Finally, there are Concetta (Shannyn Sossamon) and her husband Manny (Victor Rasuk) who are struggling to get out of the ghetto and into a much better life as far away from there as they can get.

The acting is uniformly excellent and the cinematography and choreography work wonders for this low budget film. The DVD comes with a few extras. I enjoyed the commentary by director Buddy Giovinazzo and the deleted scenes are also very interesting to watch. Look also for very good performances by Mark Webber as Ridley; Brandon Routh as "Sizemore;" Richard Portnow as "the guy in 4K" and Elena Franklin as Melody. Vondie Curtis-Hall also does an excellent job portraying a cop named Dixon.

Overall, Life is Hot in Cracktown is certainly not for the faint at heart; it's quite graphic and the action, often violent, never stops from the beginning of the film up until the very final frame. I do recommend this film, however, for people who enjoy gritty, social issue dramas that tell it like it is about life in very impoverished neighborhoods and fans of the actors in this movie will want to get this for their collections.

Not knowing much about "Life is Hot in Cracktown," I was enchanted by its title. Can't get much more vivid than that! Essentially a ensemble driven drama, "Cracktown" plays like a dirty cousin to "Crash" pummeling viewers with its hard hitting (but oh-so-obvious message). And while "Crash" was slicker, more polished entertainment--it certainly shares some of the same failings as "Cracktown" Instead of the "racism is bad" theme of "Crash," we get "drugs and poverty are bad." In either case, yeah?

"Life is Hot in Cracktown" is not a bad film, but it is certainly a movie that would have benefited from some shading and subtlety. From the get-go, "Cracktown" works in overdrive to present a gritty, unglamorous, and violent world. I think we all appreciate that the vicinity of an urban welfare hotel populated with prostitutes and drug dealers is not the most savory setting for a film--so there is really no need to oversell it at every turn. It rings a bit false from the beginning because instead of just trusting the story to unfold, "Cracktown" tries to get in your face. Sadly, though, while there are some nice moments and nice performances--too much of the movie is overcooked. It seems to want to shock or educate, but we've really seen it all before and oftentimes much better presented.

If I recommended "Cracktown," it would mostly be for a disparate group of performances. Desmond Harrington is terrific (and oddly, the film's most sympathetic character) as Benny, a small time burglar into getting stoned and sweetly romancing a transsexual. Kerry Washington is appealing, if not particularly believable, as said transsexual. Victor Rasuk has star quality as a family man scraping to get by. I won't single out the less memorable performances other than to say that while I love Illeana Douglas--there's not much new going on here. Brandon Routh gave me a few chuckles as the super-model type homeless guy and poor Lara Flynn Boyle is unrecognizable and underutilized.

I will commend the film for the ending. For a film that made some pretty predictable choices, the openness of the conclusion was an unexpected surprise. Listen, if the film sounds like your type of movie, check it out. KGHarris, 9/09.

To say that this movie is not engaging will be an understatement. True, it reveals a lot of pain points for a leading society, primarily the struggle for survival for the underprivileged that could make for a good debate at a literary university class. What lacks is the types of characters that viewers can fall in love with and follow through. There were moments indeed. Moments where a young boy is out on the street begging for money in order to feed his little sister, or a young father working two jobs and studying part time to provide for his new born. Within these moments, one looks to connect somewhat remotely and share in the struggle. Then there the moments where a transvestite is hiding his true identity from his boyfriend, while both abuse hard drugs - these in particular are too tough to decipher for us the identity-settled middle class folk.
This isn't a date-movie, feel-good-movie, entertaining-movie, get-together-with-old-pals-movie. This is a weak attempt to capture what could be a powerful book (it is always doubtful that a movie can capture the soul of the poor ghetto survivor).

As the director states, "like a car crash; you can't help but look." Disturbing yet compassionate look at life in the inner city.

Buddy Giovinazzo writes and directs this adaptation of his own novel, which in both story and structure instantly made me recall films like Crash (Widescreen Edition). Yes, this low-budget movie about the lives of several people living in inner-city New York will feel instantly familiar to many filmgoers. Life is Hot in Cracktown has an advantage though that many of the films like this one do not have; without the restrictions of a Hollywood movie, this film goes places that no Hollywood production would dare go.

The film opens brutally with Romeo (Evan Ross), the ringleader of a group of thugs, leads a girl into a near-rape situation. Next, we meet Manny (Victor Rasuk) who works in both a convenience store and a low-rent hotel to be able to support his wife and child. At this hotel lives Willy, a 10-year-old boy, along with his younger sister, drug-addicted mother (Illeana Douglas), and her violent boyfriend. Finally, there's Marybeth (Kerry Washington), a pre-op transsexual and prostitute who lives with her husband Benny (Desmond Harrington).

You'll see some familiar faces too, such as Brandon Routh (a.k.a. Superman) as a friendly junkie and Thomas Ian Nicholas as a young, rookie cop.

Many, if not most, of the characters dabble in illicit drug use; specifically (you guessed it!) crack. Seeing the depths these character's have sunken to is tragic enough, but there's still more room for them to sink and the camera follows them through this process unflinchingly.

Giovinazzo has no obligation to gloss over his characters and he has no problem showing them to us in all their depraved glory. There are some scenes in this film that are truly disturbing and difficult to watch. One scene in particular has Romeo and his thugs attacking an elderly man. Some may call this scene excessive, but it does a great job of illustrating how neither Romeo nor the rest of his gang possess any capacity for sympathy.

What sets it apart from similar films and keeps it from just being a re-tread is that it gives the characters complete freedom to lead the plot to it's conclusion rather than relying on dramatic circumstances and life-affirming dynamics. There is no sense of optimism and even it's devastating, well-edited, and powerful conclusion doesn't try to lift that.

I don't know how realistic it is as a portrait of life in inner-city New York, but it is realistic in the way it seems to follow the characters to their destiny rather than throwing their destiny in front of them. At the same time, it never asks us to sympathize with or loathe anyone, but just to watch them. It's realism is furthered in its treatment of the relationship between Marybeth and Benny, which could've been exploitative or could've become parody. Giovinazzo is smart, handling it like a typical male-female relationship.

This is not a movie for just anyone and many will be turned off by its graphic content. If you're up for it, you'll find Life is Hot in Cracktown to be a raw, gritty movie with a subtle undercurrent of sensitivity. It's not perfect though and it's not unlike many other (better) movies that have come before it. It's not a masterpiece for that reason and that there's really no reason to watch the film more than once.

GRADE: B

(In comparing this film to several other films, specifically 'Crash,' I am fully aware the novel was released in 1993...Just so you know)

I went into this movie expecting to hate it, or at best maybe tolerate it. Maybe that's why I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked it. The performances are first rate, as well as the writing and directing. In his interview, included in the special features, the director says that he doesn't expect viewers to like the characters in the movie. What surprised me so much was how much I DID like them. Yes, they have all kinds of problems. Yes, they make all kinds of mistakes. However, they also, in spite of all those problems and mistakes, TRY their best to do whatever they can for the people they care about - and they do care about others and have others who care about them. I think that's what hooked me into the story. These people's lives are terrible, but they still go on having real relationships and trying to make a go of it in their own strange brand of "normal". The only complaint I have - and I'm pretty sure it only applies to the R rated version of the movie that I watched - is that the editing is pretty sloppy. Parts of scenes are cut out in a very rough manner that makes the cut extremely obvious. I'm sure the cuts were made to obtain the R rating, but it really takes you out of the story for a few moments while you wonder what was cut instead of following what's continuing to happen on-screen. That's why I recommend that you get the unrated version of this excellent movie rather than the R rated version.