3 Strikes (2000)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

3 Strikes is a flick that had potential in terms of its main theme. But it sank into very low humor very quickly. There were aspects of 3 Strikes that merited further exploration...how the law affects families, and how many Blacks and other people of color are sent upstream disproportionately and unfairly. It was an opportunity to make a serious statement...and the opportunity was wasted. The trials and tribulations of one potential victim cannot speak for the whole. And...there is nothing funny about getting a third strike. It's the gateway to a life of hell...endless incarceration. This was a chance to "scare straight" some younger folks who might have been headed to the prison farm. Instead, the movie delivers a strictly ghetto-ish and highly comedic message that falls flat. Nothing is wrong with ghetto humor, but in this instance it was not used to full effect. The acting and the script could have been much tighter. I really wanted to like this movie...but around halfway through I was wishing it was over, and was somewhat ashamed to see some fine black talent nearly reduced to Minstrel show status...and there was no clear IN YOUR FACE message to stay out of jail and to stay away from the situations that can result in one...two...or three strikes. I hope someone picks up on the subject again and puts it in a somewhat more focused perspective.

1st watched 4/28/2006 - 3 out of 10(Dir-D.J. Pooh): Unfunny supposed comedy about a man getting out of jail and hoping to stay away from his 3rd conviction which would land him back in for 25 years according to the law(Aka-3 Strikes). Brian Hooks plays the lead role and right away puffs on some weed as soon as he enters his friends car(so how serious is he anyway…is my thought). But then he finds out his friend has stolen the car that he picked him up in and as you can suspect everything goes haywire from here. There are only a couple of laughs in the whole 1 hour and 22 minutes of this film so I you can probably figure out what I thought of the movie already. There are a handful of cameos by bigger names like George Wallace as his dad, Antonio Fargas as his uncle and Monique as someone trying to get into his pants as well as present him with a cassette that supposedly has the evidence to get him out of his trouble. None of these people add many laughs to this mediocre film. The outtakes at the end actually are a little funnier than the entire movie itself(which is definitely a bad sign). I guess the only good thing is that it has a lot of rap music by popular artists, if you're into that kind of music, so buy the soundtrack but don't bother with the movie.

Luckilly this one was viewed for free because man did it ever strike out.There is nothing new here, the movie is poorly written and has nobody to root for. There are some funny parts, but they are very few and far between and are all done better in Friday.The acting is mediocre and does not make the movie a must see. Acting is done much better in Love & Basketball.In all, one the worst of 2000. While the movie was profitable, the budget was relatively miniscle.Stay away from the strikes unless absolutely necessary, it almost asurredly will disappoint.Rating: 2Viewed: in theatre (Scope)

A hilarious movie, full of sexual themes and innuendo. The movie is centered around a community of African-Americans in LA, one of whom has been arrested for felonies twice, one away from a long jail term. Unfortunately, he gets picked up from jail by his "friend" in a stolen car. The strikes keep piling up! It's nothing that you wouldn't expect from a film of this kind. Just something to see on a Friday night.