Gangsta Rap: The Glockumentary (2007)

Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Pretty Good

Absolutely Fantastic

I thought this was an excellent mock documentary. Yes, it borrows liberally from Spinal Tap (some scenes are identical) but the music, script, direction, and acting were quite good. I ended up watching it several times and quite enjoyed it. The music is extremely well done. A lot of parts are funny, but esp. the part with "Momma Rag." I hope the filmmaker does a sequel to this.What else? (this site wants me to write 10 lines for some reason). The love story was extremely well done (good acting), showing the tension between musicians and romance (a la John Lennon and Yoko Ono). The parody of the 'hardcore' gangsta persona was funny (Murder Mike flinching). I guess Durag is my favourite character. The failed aging musician theme is unfortunately all too real for most musicians in our culture, so it needed to be shown. Reminds me of the real life Spinal Tap, "Anvil" (a great documentary if you have the chance to see it).

Every review of this movie seems like it has to compare this movie to CB4, and it seems like everyone is polarized--they love one and hate the other. For me, this was the one I enjoyed.Another IMDb comment claims that the movie was written by an insider to the culture and lifestyle that the movie portrays. Some viewers might think that it reinforces negative stereotypes, and the characters are a bit over the top. But I thought it also had a gritty, realistic feel that added to my enjoyment.If language bothers you, you should know that every sentence in this movie has the N word in it. But the slang is part of what I liked, in the same way that the dialog in Trainspotting was an exaggerated example of how people talk in Edinburgh.The story is about some over-the-hill rappers who try to make a comeback. They seems to be patterned off of NWA, but in the universe this movie exists in, they acknowledge NWA, so they supposedly came up around the same time. Like I said, their lives are so exaggerated, the movie ends up being campy, but for me, it had just the right tone. Imagine a hardcore rap version of Spinal Tap, which this movies seems to have gotten its plot from (even recreating most of the situations and story arc). This is one that I will watch over again, and I really liked the original songs as well. I'm glad I found this.

This movie is what CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat wanted to be. Those films were obviously written by someone who was neither from or understood the "Gangsta" mentality, or the music industry. Although Gangsta Rap is not as prevalent as it was in the 90's, it's still here. 90% of rappers rap about guns and dope....i.e "Gangsta sh..", and 89% of them are as fake as the characters in this movie. This movie was written by two guys who are from that environment, one of them used to be a rapper himself so they know these characters intimately and it shows in the film.Being from Los Angeles, I know and see these characters everyday where as in those other films there was no authenticity whatsoever. Most people from the streets who saw those other movie's thought they were both terrible, and were probably offended by them. You cannot as a filmmaker provide a commentary on something you know nothing about other than playing on stale stereotypes. Gangsta Rap goes beyond that. Murder Mike is my neighbor, Du-Rag is my cousin, Mama Rag is my ex-girlfriend's mother, these characters ring true.In my opinion this film is both funny, and a relevant commentary on the state of Rap music today. Additionally, the group has an album of original music that's hilarious, but more importantly playable, where as the other two films I've heard it compared to sorely lacked in that department. Don't believe me, check out their video for "My Houseshoes" on youtube.I enjoyed both the comedy and commentary. After renting this movie, I bought it online and also bought the album!

or fear of a black hat... whatever. I am afraid 10 lines of text about this movie would be impossible. maybe a haiku...I only wish I. could erase the memory. of watching this poop.The jokes are recycled and hardly still relevant as gangsta rap has faded into mediocre messages of thug mentalities and misguided angst. Maybe if this film was a true parody its smacking of this same un-originality would fit but that seems to be only a happy coincidence. Even Dian Bachar aka "little bitch" cant make this funny... Gangsta Rap: The Glockumentary is to CB4 as Bad Boy is to NWA, what ice cube circa '91 is to ice cube circa '01. Even Malibu's Most Wanted is better than this... avoid.