''Chi-Raq'' () is a 2015 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

crime

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

film, directed and produced by Spike Lee and co-written by Lee and Kevin Willmott. Set in Chicago, the film focuses on the

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

prevalent in neighborhoods on the city's south side, particularly the Englewood neighborhood. The story is based on Aristophanes' '' Lysistrata'', a classical Greek comedy play in which women withhold sex from their husbands to put an end to the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

. It stars Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Teyonah Parris, Jennifer Hudson,

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

, John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson. It was the first film to be produced by Amazon Studios, released in select theaters on December 4, 2015 and on their video on demand service Amazon Instant Video on December 29.

Plot

In Chicago's Southside, as the events are narrated by Dolemedes, a war rages between two rival gangs: the Spartans, led by rapper/gang leader Demetrius Dupree, nicknamed "Chi-Raq" and the Trojans, led by gang lord Cyclops. Demetrius's lover, Lysistrata, grows disillusioned after several outbursts of violence near her, including a shootout at Demetrius's concert, an arson attack at their home while the two are having sex and a young girl, Patti, being accidentally killed in a gang shooting, revealed as the daughter of Irene. After the fire, Lysistrata moves in with Miss Helen Worthy, a well-read non-violence advocate who suggests she research about Leymah Gbowee, who led a peace movement to stop the

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a conflict in the West African nation of Liberia lasted from 1999 to 2003. It was preceded by the First Liberian Civil War, which ended in 1996. President Charles Taylor came to power in 1997 after victory in t ...

and threatened a sex strike. Inspired by Worthy and Gbowee, Lysistrata organizes a meeting between herself, the Spartans' lovers and the Trojans' lovers, where they agree to withhold sex until the men agree to lay down arms, hence their plea, "No Peace, No

Pussy ''Pussy'' is a used as a noun, an adjective, and—in rare instances—a verb in the English language. It has several meanings, as slang, as euphemism, and as vulgarity. The most common as a noun, it means "cat", as well as "coward or weaklin ...

." The strike rapidly spreads across the city, with women of many neighborhoods and occupations joining the boycott. Despite the strike's enormous membership, the Spartans and the Trojans refuse to cease their war. Following a funeral for Irene's young daughter Patti, Lysistrata speaks with the local preacher Fr. Mike Corridan, who argues passionately against the American institutions that profit from the South Side's wars. Deciding that the problem is bigger than the gangs' resentment, Lysistrata and her women seduce their way into a military armory and capture it from its soldiers and their general, General King Kong. The takeover of the armory sparks a national crisis, with the military and the police surrounding the site. The forces are barred from storming the armory as it was taken by merely 75 unarmed women who are not holding any hostages. The women's actions also cause their boycott to become famous worldwide, with women from countries all over the world organizing their own sex strikes. Planned by Mayor McCloud and Commissioner Blades, the military tries to lure the women in the armory out by playing seductive music but it fails after the women find the military's earplugs and the men themselves become unbearably turned on by the music, thus missing their women even more. After three months, Cyclops's and Demetrius's gangs begin to grow disillusioned, from the absence of sex and from having plenty of time to think over their fate in a gang. Demetrius remains too stubborn to give up the Spartans but agrees to organize a meeting with Lysistrata after the boycott spreads to Mayor McCloud's wife and to the

first lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

. The city arranges a deal: Demetrius and Lysistrata will meet each other in bed and whoever climaxes first loses and must agree to the other's terms. The deal is cut short by Cyclops arriving to declare he and the Trojans are laying down their guns. A truce is organized the following day, with Lysistrata, Mayor McCloud, and Cyclops signing a deal to end gun violence and build new hospitals and trauma centers. Demetrius refuses to sign and walks away but is ultimately moved by Miss Worthy's testimony of the death of her daughter, as confessed to by Demetrius's father, Jamel Dupree. He admits that he was the one who killed Irene's daughter and gives himself up for arrest.

Cast

* Nick Cannon as Demetrius "Chi-Raq" Dupree * Wesley Snipes as Sean "Cyclops" Andrews * Teyonah Parris as Lysistrata * Anya Engel-Adams as Rasheeda * Jennifer Hudson as Irene *

as Miss Helen Worthy * John Cusack as Fr. Mike Corridan * Samuel L. Jackson as Dolemedes *

Michelle Mitchenor Michelle Mitchenor is an American actress. She is known for portraying the series regular role of Detective Sonya Bailey on the FOX's primetime action comedy-drama television series ''Lethal Weapon''. She also played “Jayla Wright” in the TV ...

as Indigo *

D.B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor. Early life Sweeney was born in Shoreham, New York, on November 14, 1961. He attended both Tulane and New York University. Career In 1990, Sweeney starred as Treplev in Jeff Co ...

as Mayor McCloud *

Harry J. Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend (actor), Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as List of Dollhouse characte ...

as Commissioner Blades * La La Anthony as Hecuba * Felicia Pearson as Dania * Jay Washington as Besomighty *

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

as Morris *

Steve Harris Steve Harris may refer to: * Steve Harris (musician) (born 1956), founder member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden * Steve Harris (actor) (born 1965), American film and TV actor * Steve Harris (basketball) (1963–2016), American basketball playe ...

as Ole Duke *

David Patrick Kelly David Patrick Kelly (born January 23, 1951) is an American actor, musician and lyricist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is best known for his role as the main antagonist, Luther, in the cult film '' The Warriors'' (19 ...

as General King Kong *

Irma P. Hall Irma Dolores Player Hall (born June 3, 1935) is an American actress who has appeared in films and television shows since the early 1970s. Hall often played matriarchal figures in films including ''A Family Thing'', '' The Ladykillers'' and ''Soul ...

as Dr. Miss Aesop *

Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Isiah Whitlock Jr. (born September 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as corrupt state senator Clay Davis on the HBO television series ''The Wire'' as well as being a frequent collaborator of Spike Lee. He has also a ...

as Bacchos

Production

Casting

Rapper Kanye West was supposed to star in the film but dropped out, possibly due to scheduling conflicts. On July 21, 2015, it was announced that La La Anthony, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson,

, John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson had joined the cast.

appeared in the film as the owner of a strip club. This film saw Lee reuniting with Bassett, Jackson, and Snipes, having worked with all three actors on earlier films such as ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played ...

'', ''

Jungle Fever ''Jungle Fever'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, ...

'' and '' Malcolm X''.

Filming

Principal photography began in June 2015 and continued production through July. The project hired many local actors and had an open casting call in Chicago on May 9, 2015.

Music

''Chi-Raq: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', featuring music from the film, was released via digital download and physical formats on December 4, 2015 through RCA Records.

Release

Theatrical

''Chi-Raq'' was the first original film to be distributed by Amazon Studios In addition, Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate partnered with the company for a limited release in theaters on December 4, 2015, with the film premiering on Amazon Instant Video.

Marketing

The first trailer for the film was released November 3, 2015.

Reception

Box office

The film had a limited release into North American theaters on December 4, 2015. It grossed $1,250,224 from 305 theaters in its opening weekend, including a $15,000+ per screen average on 22 screens in Chicago.

Critical response

''Chi-Raq'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has rating of 82%, based on 151 reviews, an average rating of 7.35/10. The site's critical consensus states, "''Chi-Raq'' is as urgently topical and satisfyingly ambitious as it is wildly uneven – and it contains some of Spike Lee's smartest, sharpest, and all-around entertaining late-period work." Metacritic reports a score of 77 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Metacritic also found ''Chi-Raq'' to be tied with ''

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

'' as the 27th most acclaimed film of 2015, with five critics having named it the year's greatest and 18 others having ranked it in third place or below.

Accolades

Controversies

The November film trailer was controversial. Criticism included an op-ed in the ''Chicago Tribune'' by emergency physician Amy Ho, who argued (before the film's release) that Chicago deaths occurring nightly in local hospitals were used for the purpose of entertainment. Critiques of a similar vein were published on Twitter and other social media sites. The term "Chi-Raq" is a portmanteau of Chicago and Iraq, as well as an

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

used by some Chicago non-residents to liken the area to a war zone due to its high crime rates. City residents and city council members requested that Lee change the name of the film, and threatened to withhold tax credits that the filmmaker would receive from the city. Lee later called Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel a "bully" and several Chicago aldermen "bootlickers" for their criticisms. The film's production received more negative press when it was discovered that its music supervisor Thomas "DJ Slugo" Kendricks was charging artists a submission fee in order to have their music considered for the soundtrack. These measures were taken to the film's production team, and Kendricks was fired.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chi-Raq 2015 films 2010s crime comedy-drama films 2010s musical comedy-drama films 2010s satirical films American crime comedy-drama films American musical comedy-drama films American satirical films Films based on works by Aristophanes Films scored by Terence Blanchard Films directed by Spike Lee Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films with screenplays by Spike Lee Films based on ancient Greek plays Amazon Studios films Vertigo Films films Works based on Lysistrata 2015 comedy films 2015 drama films Films produced by Spike Lee Films with screenplays by Kevin Willmott 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films