''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is a 2005 American
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
film directed by
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...
and written by
Terence Winter
Terence Patrick Winter (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). Before creating ''Boar ...
. It stars
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in his feature film acting debut, alongside
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor performing on film and television. He has received a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden ...
,
Joy Bryant,
Bill Duke
William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor, director, and producer. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. As a ...
,
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
,
Omar Benson Miller,
Ashley Walters, and
Viola Davis
Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
. The film, which contains autobiographical elements from 50 Cent's life, follows his character, Marcus Greer, a drug dealer who turns away from his criminal life to pursue his passion of rap music. The film's title is shared with 50 Cent's 2003 debut
album of the same name.
Plans for a film starring 50 Cent were revealed in 2004, following the success of the ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' album. It was known during production as ''Locked and Loaded''. Similar to the 2002 film ''
8 Mile'' starring
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, which it used as a template,
[''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' film review - Radio Times](_blank)
/ref> the film took inspiration from 50 Cent's childhood experiences as a drug dealer. Filming began on April 11, 2005, and ended in June of that same year. The filming locations included New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
(in Toronto and Wasaga Beach) and Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
(in Bray and Dublin).
Originally scheduled for a 2006 release, ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' had its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...
in Hollywood on November 2, 2005, and was released in the United States by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
on November 9. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and grossed $46.4 million at the box office on a budget of $40 million. The film gained a cult following especially for its soundtrack and remained a standout in 50 Cent's career.
Plot
Marcus is a quiet boy who adores his mother Katrina, and the two live a relatively comfortable life on her drug-dealing income. After Marcus writes a song for his love interest Charlene, her stepfather sends her away to live with her grandparents. Meanwhile, Marcus's mother is murdered, and Marcus has to live with his grandparents full-time. Marcus turns to selling drugs in order to buy new shoes, and as he grows older, he eventually abandons high school to sell drugs for local kingpin, Levar, and his underling, Majestic.
Years later, Marcus reunites with Charlene and the two become intimate. One of his close friends, Antwan, is shot and paralyzed at a club by a Colombian named Raul. In retaliation, Marcus attacks Raul, but stops short of murdering him and instead shoots Raul in the legs multiple times as payback for Antwan. When Raul refuses to identify Marcus as the shooter in a police line-up, he is allowed to go free. However, cops raid his house after an anonymous tip and find a gun and drugs. Marcus is sent to prison, where he befriends another inmate named Bama. Meanwhile, Majestic makes his move to seize control of the local drug trade. He sets Levar up to go to prison, and then frames Levar's second-in-command Odell for it. After publicly torturing and murdering Odell, Majestic then takes over Levar's empire as the new kingpin.
After encouragement from Bama, Marcus leaves the drug trade behind to pursue and fulfill his lifelong dream of being a rapper, calling himself Young Caesar, with Bama as his manager and producer. After Marcus gets out of prison, Majestic invites him to become his right-hand man, but Marcus tells him of his aspirations to being a rapper, which Majestic laughs off. Marcus leaves with Bama and takes Justice with him.
Justice and Bama initially have a clash of personalities, but Marcus calms them after a roadside stop. Unconvinced of Marcus's dream, Justice informs Majestic of his activities. As Marcus more seriously pursues music, Majestic uses threats and his power to try to stop his success. Marcus retaliates by taunting Majestic in his songs, and Majestic targets Marcus for death.
Despite Marcus's insistence at avoiding crime, Bama convinces him to carry out one last robbery on a Colombian safe house. After Marcus and his crew complete the robbery, Marcus is shot outside of his home by Justice, but is saved by his grandparents. After being hospitalized, he goes through a period of self-loathing and pity before reevaluating his life and prioritizing his family. After a long and painful recovery, he records music again.
Angered with Justice's failure to kill Marcus, Majestic kills Justice. Marcus meets with Levar in prison, who remorsefully reveals that he is Marcus's biological father and regrets not being there for him and his mother to protect them.
At Marcus's concert debut, Majestic shows up with his goons and tries to intimidate Marcus as he goes on stage. Majestic reveals that he killed Marcus's mother years earlier for spurning his affections. Marcus attacks Majestic in rage but before he can kill Majestic, Bama persuades him to start the show, urging him to think about his family. As Marcus starts to walk out on stage, Majestic tries to stab him, but Bama shoots Majestic. Majestic begs for Marcus to finish him off, but Marcus refuses. As he walks out towards the crowd, Bama kills Majestic anyway. Marcus steps onto the stage, removes his bulletproof vest and performs " Hustler's Ambition".
Cast
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on November 8, 2005. In December 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) certified the album platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
. The album has so far sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
Controversy
Samuel L. Jackson publicly turned down an offer to co-star in the film, citing that he did not want to lend credence to what he believed was an inexperienced and unproven actor. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
wrote that Jackson may be "arguing against the anti-intellectual message that success for young black males is better sought in the worlds of rapping and sports than in the classroom." Jackson and 50 Cent later co-starred in the 2006 film '' Home of the Brave''.
Reception
''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' holds a 17% critics' approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...
based upon 120 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "While it may be based upon 50 Cent's own life experiences, ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is too similar to many other rags-to-riches stories to resonate." ''Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' criticized the film, saying that "as a vehicle for hip-hop superstar Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, this ilmruns out of gas a fair few kilometres short", giving it a "could be worse" rating of 2/5 stars. CinePassion stated that " imSheridan's surface vividness is applied around a vacuum."
'' FilmFocus'' said that the film's "real danger is that it sets a precedent for the director; if the price is right he's on board". The BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
was not entirely impressed with the film, saying that "while it boasts a first-class director and is loosely based on the rapper's own life-story, the results leave you feeling a little short-changed".
Jonathan Ross gave a positive review, calling ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' "gripping" and suggesting that it had "excellent performances". Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
also praised the film, giving the film a 3 out of 4 rating and saying that it was "a film with a rich and convincing texture, a drama with power and anger".
In retrospect, director Jim Sheridan, said: “''Get Rich'' came out the wrong way. I thought 'I can do this.' I'm there directing 50 Cent and he's looking blank, and I'm thinking 'this is great. The American audience will get this. When they look at John Wayne and his face is blank, they know exactly what he's thinking. So I'm thinking 'this is like John Wayne.' I was wrong.“ He also added: "When you look at 50 Cent and his face is blank you go 'what ... is he thinking?' He's not John Wayne. My empathy tripped me up. I got it, so I assumed the audience would. They didn't." Screenwriter Terrence Winter is also unhappy with the movie and said it “bears absolutely no resemblance to the script I wrote.“: “The mandate for that movie was to write the black Goodfellas and I said, “Great.” That's what I did in my original draft. It didn't turn out to be the black Goodfellas at all. Unfortunately, it turned into something completely different but that was at least what our intention was initially.“
Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' grossed $12,020,807 in its opening weekend. Altogether, the film grossed $46,442,528 in total worldwide.[
]
Home media
''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' was first released on VHS and DVD on March 28, 2006. It was later released on Blu-ray in 2021.
See also
* '' 8 Mile''
* '' Notorious''
* '' All Eyez on Me''
* List of hood films
This is a list of hood films. These films focus on the culture and life of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and, in some cases, Asian Americans, Asian-Americans or White Americans who live in segregated, low-income urban c ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Film)
2005 films
2005 crime drama films
2000s American films
2000s coming-of-age drama films
2000s English-language films
2000s hip-hop films
African-American films
African-American biographical dramas
American coming-of-age drama films
American crime drama films
Films about African-American organized crime
Films directed by Jim Sheridan
Films scored by Quincy Jones
Films set in New York City
Films shot in County Wicklow
Films shot in Dublin (city)
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Toronto
Films with screenplays by Terence Winter
2000s hood films
MTV Films films
Paramount Pictures films
Semi-autobiographical films
English-language biographical drama films
English-language crime drama films
English-language musical films
2005 musical films