''Tougher Than Leather'' is an American film released in 1988 and distributed by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

. The film was directed by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

and stars the hip-hop group Run–D.M.C. They created the film to coincide with the release of their fourth studio album also titled ''

Tougher Than Leather ''Tougher Than Leather'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 17, 1988, by Profile Records. The album was produced by the group members themselves, Davy D. and Rick Rubin. While the new record did ...

''.

Plot

At the beginning of the film, D.M.C. is released from prison, at which time he returns to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with his band-mates, Run and

Jam Master Jay Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...

. They are ready to schedule some gigs and kick-start their musical careers when things take a dark turn. Their friend Runny Ray, played by Raymond White, has been murdered by Vic Ferrante (

); this pulls the group into a seedy world of crime and violence. Vic and the police cover up the murder to look like Ray died from drugs. As the band members attempt to determine who is responsible for the murder, their own lives become endangered. They take matters into their own hands trying to find Ray's killer. However, the action is balanced with a series of musical performances by the stars and other late 1980s hip-hop stars including

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

and Beastie Boys.

Cast

Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), better known by his stage name DMC, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers of hip hop culture. Early life McDaniels gre ...

as "D.M.C." *

Joseph Simmons Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964), better known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run or DJ Run, is an American rapper, producer, DJ and television personality. Simmons is one of the founding members of the influential hip hop group Run ...

as "Run" *

Jason Mizell Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...

as Jay "Jam Master Jay" *

Richard Edson Richard Edson (born January 1, 1954) is an American actor and musician. Personal life Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York to a Jewish family. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters, Andrea, who resides ...

as Bernie Carteez *

as Vic Ferrante *

Jenny Lumet Jenny Lumet (born February 2, 1967) is an American actress and screenwriter. She is the daughter of director Sidney Lumet and granddaughter of Lena Horne. Lumet is perhaps most known for writing the original screenplay of the 2008 Jonathan Demme ...

as Pam * Russell Simmons as Himself *

Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), better known under the stage name MCA, was an American rapper, bass player, filmmaker and a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Besides his musical work, he also directed ...

as Himself *

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York Cit ...

as Himself * Adam Horovitz as Himself *

as Himself * Vic Noto as Steve, The Bartender

Critical reaction and release

While the music usually garners a favorable response, critics generally panned the film. According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', the film is "vile, vicious, despicable, stupid, sexist, racist and horrendously made." It was also described as "poorly executed and exploitative fare." It carried a 43% rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. The film failed at the box office, but was released on VHS. It is now out of print.

Connections to Blaxploitation

In response to the negative reactions to the film, critics like Randall Clark have pointed out the many connections between the movie and the history of the " Blaxploitation" genre. Much like earlier films such as '' Shaft'' and '' Black Samson'', the plot features inner-city anti-heroes who need to take the law into their own hands as they have been neglected by the more traditional avenues of justice.Clark, Randall. ''At a Drive-In Near You''. London: Routledge (1992), 162. Paperback

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0096291 1988 films Run-DMC 1980s hip hop films Hood films New Line Cinema films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films