Notorious Hype

The reviews are in, from some very notable and well-respected publications, and yet people stil insist on trying to convince me that this movie is the best thing since The Wizard of Oz.

NYTimes-

What they have produced is a messy, lively melodrama, reasonably faithful to the facts of Biggie’s life and wholeheartedly devoted to burnishing his myth.

Newsday-

What really saves "Notorious" are the performances of rapper Jamal Woolard, who captures some of The Notorious B.I.G.'s playful charm, and newcomer Naturi Naughton, who dazzles early on as the fiery Lil' Kim.

Rolling Stone-

The movie is forced to rush things, but Biggie biographer Cheo Hodari Coker, who co-wrote the script, gets in the essentials, starting with young Chris on the streets dealing despite warnings from his single mom (a vivid Angela Bassett).

...but director George Tillman Jr., who sweetened Soul Food, goes soft when he should go for the jugular.

Washington Post-

Those trailers on YouTube may look promising, but don't believe the hype. "Notorious," a new biopic about the life and death of the Notorious B.I.G., feels like Biggie's Wikipedia page reformatted for the big screen. No era of the iconic Brooklyn rapper's tumultuous 24 years goes untouched, making for a frustrating dash from the playground to the grave, all in under two hours.

The experts have spoken, and it's pretty clear that this movie doesn't live up to all its hype. Not only did people hype the film, they took it upon themselves to immortalize Biggie. People have gone so far as to compare him to people like MLK and Shakespeare. REALLY???!!!!! A civil rights leader and a LITERARY genius?? He's a drug-dealer turned baby daddy turned rapper turned murder victim. Where is the glory in what he did? What disease did he cure? What great sacrifice did he make for mankind?

It is still my belief that this movie had NO BUSINESS GOING INTO PRODUCTION, and I will not stray away from that conviction. However, the disaster is done and yet people refuse to let it be, and call it was it is - a BIG mistake.

If this was such a GRAND masterpiece, where are the nominations, hmm - the Oscars, the SAGs? Why is it #7 on the box office charts, grossing slightly over $34M? Oh did we reeeeaaally think white America was going to align themselves behind this? And let's NOT play the race card - Ali with Will Smith grossed $87,713,825 worldwide, while earning 2 Oscar nominations; and Ray with Jamie Foxx grossed $124,731,534 worldwide, and was nominated for 6, winning 2 Oscars. Even that disaster of a movie, Tropic Thunder, got a damn nomination (Robert Downing Jr. for Best Supporting Actor). The truth of it is, the money-makers and movie connoisseurs saw what I saw - that this movie was a sham and a marketing ploy. While the slain Tupac Shakur has managed to release FIVE albums since his death, not to mention a number of collaborations, documentaries, et al; Christopher Wallace has done...

...don't worry, I'll wait.

The man was a good rapper. I will admit. And being from Brooklyn myself I was indeed a supporter. BUT I will not support the lies that people insist on spewing, as though he is the greatest this since color TV and cable television. He didn't "save" or "change" hip-hop. He was a part of it, and died from it. The man is no pioneer, he no saviour of any sort, and he is certainly NO MLK!!

When will this stop?