Gridlock'd

''Gridlock'd'' is a 1997 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Lucy Liu, and Thandiwe Newton. It was the directorial debut of Curtis-Hall, who also has a small role in the film. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it finished with a little over $5.5 million.

The film paid tribute to star Tupac Shakur, who was murdered four months prior to the film's release.

Plot

Set in Detroit, ''Gridlock'd'' centers around heroin addicts Spoon (Tupac Shakur), Stretch (Tim Roth) and Cookie (Thandiwe Newton). They are in a band – in the spoken word genre – called Eight Mile Road, with Cookie on vocals, Spoon on bass guitar (plus secondary vocals) and Stretch on piano. Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their habit after Cookie overdoses on her first hit. Throughout a disastrous day, the two addicts dodge police and local criminals while struggling with an apathetic government bureaucracy that thwarts their entrance to a rehabilitation program.

Background

Production

Cast

* Tupac Shakur as Ezekiel "Spoon" Whitmore
* Tim Roth as Alexander "Stretch" Rawland
* Lucy Liu as Cee Cee
* Thandiwe Newton as Barbara "Cookie" Cook (credited as Thandie Newton)
* Charles Fleischer as Mr. Woodson
* Bokeem Woodbine as Mud
* Howard Hesseman as Blind Man
* John Sayles as Cop
* Tom Towles as D Reper's Henchman
* Tom Wright as Koolaid
* James Pickens Jr. as Supervisor
* Debra Wilson as Medicaid Woman
* Rusty Schwimmer as Medicaid Nurse
* Elizabeth Peña as Admissions Person
* Kasi Lemmons as Madonna
* Vondie Curtis-Hall as D Reper

Soundtrack

Reception

Critical reception

''The New York Times'' editor Janet Maslin praised Shakur's performance: "He played this part with an appealing mix of presence, confidence and humor". Desson Howe, for the ''Washington Post'', wrote, "Shakur and Roth, who seem born for these roles, are allowed to take charge – and have fun doing it". ''USA Today'' gave the film three out of four stars and felt that Hall had not "latched onto a particularly original notion of city blight. But he knows how to mine the humor in such desperation". Similarly, Roger Ebert wrote in the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' that Roth and Shakur "illuminate" a "movie of despar and desperation" with "gritty, goofy comic spirit". He gave the film three out of four stars and said, "This is grim material, but surprisingly entertaining, and it is more cause to mourn the recent death of Shakur, who gives his best performance".

''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "''Gridlock'd'' doesn't have the imaginative vision of a movie like '' Trainspotting'', yet it's more literally true to the haphazard torpor of the junkie life than anything we've seen on screen since ''Drugstore Cowboy'' ... Curtis-Hall has caught the bottom-feeder enervation of heroin addiction."

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 88%, based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.75/10.

Box office

''Gridlock'd'' debuted at #9 at the box office in the United States, with $2,678,372. The film was released in the United Kingdom on May 30, 1997.

References

External links

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{{Vondie Curtis-Hall

1997 films
1990s black comedy films
1990s buddy comedy films
1990s crime comedy-drama films
1997 independent films
American black comedy films
American buddy comedy films
American crime comedy-drama films
American independent films
Films scored by Stewart Copeland
Films about drugs
Films about heroin addiction
Films directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall
Films set in Detroit
Films shot in Los Angeles
Gramercy Pictures films
Hood films
Interscope Communications films
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films
Universal Pictures films
1997 directorial debut films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films