For those who care, Notorious delivers captivating story.
Growing up, I was obsessed with the stories of Tupac Amaru Shakur and Christopher Wallace, better known as rappers Tupac and Notorious B.I.G., respectively. It amazed me that two highly talented individuals, growing up on opposites sides of the country, could meet up, become friends, then enemies, and ultimately be tragically gunned down in their youth.
Needless to say, I was excited when I discovered the plans to release a Notorious movie. I have seen many movies oriented around Tupac and Biggie, but none quite like this, with actors telling the life story of Notorious B.I.G.
This is the way a biopic should be done. The movie progresses at a nice pace as we start out seeing Biggie as a kid in school (played by the real Christopher Wallace’s son). A young and ambitious kid, as Biggie (newcomer Jamal Woolard) grows up, he becomes engulfed in a world of drugs and a love for money. Things seem to spiral out of control for Biggie quickly. Within the next two years he has been kicked out of his house by his mother, spent two years in jail, had a child with his girlfriend, and was continuing to hustle and sell drugs on the streets.
The movie feels very real, partly due to the fantastic casting of Jamal Woolard as The Notorious B.I.G. Woolard, an aspiring rapper by the name of “Gravy” looks uncannily like the original, and sounds like the fierce rapper Biggie Smalls was.
It isn’t until Biggie meets up with Sean Combs (Derek Luke, Glory Road 2006) that things really start to turn around. Combs presents Biggie with a record deal and a promise that he will be a millionaire by the time he is 21. The movie portrays Sean Combs as a relatively good influence on Notorious, telling him to stop selling drugs and to avoid violence, perhaps due to the fact that the real life Sean Combs is the executive producer for the film.
In a time of weakness, Biggie sells drugs one more time on the streets, but this time he and his best friend get caught by the cops, who give them an ultimatum, saying only one of them will go to jail. His friend, D-Roc (Dennis L.A. White, The Brave One 2007), selflessly takes the fall for Biggie, telling Biggie that his music is special and doesn’t come around that often.
Things start to slow down in the movie, as Biggie gets mixed up in the world of females. I felt a little bored following the mess of Biggie’s relationship with his baby’s Mother, Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton, former member of pop group 3LW), and Faith Evans (Antonique Smith, Across the Universe). To sum it up quickly, Biggie ends up marrying Evans, leaving Kim and his baby’s mom both devastated.
It is tough to get used to the actor who plays Tupac at first, which hurts the movie, as Tupac plays a crucial role in Biggie’s life. I later, however, came to believe that the Tupac actor did a good job of portraying the relationship with him and Biggie, as a friendship gone bad.
The movie comes off as a little biased in favor of Biggie, presenting him as the one who tried to fix things with Tupac, while Tupac is seen as instigating the rivalry, alongside his boss Suge Knight (Sean Ringgold, One Life to Live).
The feud becomes national, creating the famous East coast/West coast battle, and the media is blamed as a major reason for things getting out of hand. When Tupac is gunned down, Biggie is devastated. The death of Tupac is the wake-up call Biggie needs, and a major turning point in his life.
Notorious starts to make things right, mending ties with his past girlfriends and visiting his son more often. He travels to Los Angeles to promote his new album and things seem perfect.
If you know anything about Biggie already, it is hard to be surprised by the ending. I still was very gripped by the events. The end grabbed me and had me feeling angry, sad, and joyous, all at once.
It is hard to fathom where hip/hop would be now if Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur were alive today. No movie will ever be able to tell the real story or convey the powerful life these men lead, but this movie comes close. It serves as an excellent reminder of how fame and fortune can be the end of some of society’s most influential icons.
