“If you had a chance to change the situation, would you take it?”
From Director F. Gary Gray, the man who has brought to the screen THE NEGOTIATOR, A MAN APART, THE ITALIAN JOB and LAW ABIDING CITIZEN ~ comes the Biographical film of Rap Pioneers Ice Cube, Eazy–E, Dr. Dre, Dj Yella and MC Ren – a.k.a N.W.A. ~ using their art as a creative voice in the late 80’s to not only create change in South Central L.A., but to spread their message across this vast country of ours – all while laying the foundation for future Rap and Hip Hop artists to share what is exactly is on their minds too…and it all came ~ STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON!
Living the day-to-day torment of being from the supposed wrong side of the tracks, a young Andre “Dr. Dre” Young (Corey Hawkins) is struggling to find his way ~ making his music on the weekends as a DJ in LA, all while trying to live out his real passion of making his own music, and supporting his girlfriend and little girl along the way too…
Good friend and prolific writer O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), is stuck in the same crazy world as his friend Dre, ~ both finding their daily lives filled with the craziness that ensues from the constant barrage from the L.A.P.D., which has seized their city. Caught in the midst of this WAR ON DRUGS is their best friend Eric “Eazy-E” Wright (Jason Mitchell), as he deals daily to make enough dough to get himself off the streets of Compton as well…
Knowing that they all have “something special’ to offer this world, Dre, Cube, Dj Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) want to take their message to the people ~ making their voices heard, their way! Leave it to Eazy and his drug dealing ways to have the funds to start their CREATIVE REVOLUTION and then, when they meet up with music agent Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) – watch out world, because he sees exactly what the boyz have to offer, and what they can offer him in return…“Let me tell you what I see here: a lot of raw talent. Swagger. Bravado. People are scared of you guys. They think you’re dangerous, but the world needs to hear It.” ` and the rest my friends…is MUSIC HISTORY IN THE MAKING!!!
I give STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON 5 out of 5 Stars: I know, you are thinking, Say what??? I don’t give out this rating very often, unless I feel that a film is PURE PERFECTION…and believe it or not, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON IS JUST THAT. And for the rest of you out there thinking “What does this white girl know about gangsta rap??…I was 22 when N.W.A. hit the music scene, and unless you were living under a rock somewhere – the “Boyz-In-The-Hood” made sure their “Gangsta, Gangsta” voices were heard ~ even in the clubs in the LOU while I was attending SLU…but enough about that!!! From the historical significance of the music, to the social repression of the time, to the exceptional performances by the young actors playing the musically talented and socially responsible Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E, this film is 1st class all the way. Add in the outstanding performances by R. Marcos Taylor playing Marion “Suge” Knight and Keith Stanfield playing Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. a.k.a. “Snoop Dogg”, and STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON is a definite MUST SEE by everyone 17 or older. THIS FILM IS AS RAW AND AS REAL AS IT GETS! And don’t let it’s 147 minute time frame hold you back either, as this film flows so effortlessly from frame to frame, that you don’t realize how long you’ve been staring at the screen…and that is what cinched it’s 5 star rating for me!!! The Director’s cut of this film is 3.5 hours, and believe me, and I can’t wait to get my hand’s on a copy of that version, so that I can view it in it’s entirety!!!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 