Fear of a Black Hat (1994)

Very best movie i ever watch

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It had been so long since I first (and last) saw this film that I honestly could have told you nothing about it in detail. Recently in a discussion with other fans of hip-hop music, this film came up and was roundly lauded by those that had seen it as being hilarious, smart, cutting and a "classic" (albeit that that final word tends to get thrown around by fans of this genre so much that it really means nothing). As a result I eventually got around to watching it again. The structure of the film is very much Spinal Tap and it owes a huge debt to that film – right down to the short clips playing out under the closing credits and of course the running joke of one specific role always ending badly (in Tap it was the drummer, here it is the manager). The plot therefore follows the group coming up, falling apart and then being put back together again, but it isn't really the plot that matters here.What matters is that the film is a comedy set in the rap world of the early 90's and as such it has plenty of artists and aspects of the culture to make fun of. This it does but unfortunately it doesn't do it particularly well. The reference points and the artists "targeted" will be clear to anyone with a reasonable knowledge of the period, but it doesn't really do anything with it other than present slightly exaggerated and slightly renamed versions of these people, situations and events. I was surprised by just how little of anything was behind these because they don't seem affectionate, they don't seem to be satirical, they don't seem to be cutting and they rarely seem to be particularly funny. Mostly they just "are"; so references to various artists and types of artist are mostly just done and we are expected to laugh because "oh look they going Ice-T/De La Soul/MC Hammer etc". This wasn't enough for me and I was surprised by how little I was even amused by the film, much less laughed.The exaggerated humor gets broader and broader as it goes on; with lots of excess. The cast are part of this and of course the main place for blame is Cundieff himself. As the lead actor I liked him and his Ice-T impression throughout was pretty good, but his script is not up to scratch. In terms of his direction I had no issues but to be honest it did feel like he must have watched Spinal Tap every single day before shooting, so similar was the style. Scott and Lawrence are funny while Lemmons plays her part well. Johnson's turn as a groupie is a surprising find once you recognize her as being Sherry Palmer from 24! Overall Fear of a Black Hat is a broad spoof of hip-hop culture but one that doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. It owes so much to Spinal Tap but yet is not as funny; it apes hip-hop culture but yet cannot work out if it is doing it affectionately or with an edge, so ends up doing neither. What is left is occasionally amusing but is mostly just a load of reference points without context and expansion to an end. This is remembered as a classic and I would suggest that in many cases it is being "remembered" by those people, not watched recently.

This is a really funny film, especially the second, third and fourth time you watch it. It's a pretty short film, and i definitely recommend watching it more than once, you will 'get it' more the second time.It's like spinal tap but the rap version. It has a lot of attitude in it which can be a negative thing in rap influenced films, but it's just a total p**s take and isn't a problem because of the irony it creates.Plenty of stand-out bits, one of those types of films which you will find yourself quoting lines with your mates, and it WILL raise laughter.My personal favourite part is the 'guerrillas in the midst' section. Great video, superb!

I have zero interest rap and in ghetto culture, i'm white and like classic rock, however, that did not stop me from appreciating this fantastic comedy. Its pretty much a sequel of This Is Spinal Tap in the sense that it is the same movie, just about rap instead or rock. Yet it's hilarious. There are many funny jokes but not without a few jokes that just fall flat. The characters are all very funny and believable. I watched just because it made me laugh at 3 a.m., and any movie that can do that warrants at least a test screening. One of the reasons why this movies was so funny was that it makes fun of rap from a different. Rap today is concerned with the wrong things and get by with studio noise and little talent. This movie comes from a time where rappers deserved more credit. Overall, it's a funny movie with many jokes about racism, sex and music culture among the more obvious themes of humor. This is highly recommend for any fan of This is Spinal Tap. They are essentially the same movie, just about different worlds, and yes, the same jokes work in both movies.

This picture apparently was largely the work of the lead character: Rusty Cundieff. Mr. Cundieff wrote, directed, developed most of the "MTV"-like song and dance scenes, and, of course, starred in this film. This was a very good effort and one of my favorite all time films. This is a parody "mocumentary" of the life and times of an up and coming rap group. This film shows the rise, fall, disintegration, and reuniting of this group. Note - Mr. Cundieff has also worked with Michael Moore in the past on "TV Nation."