FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

bob the moo Russell Walker is riding the wave of the hip-hop wave, with the new single from his group Run-DMC getting lots of heat on the street; problem is he just needs a little money to get more prints made to profit on it. With nowhere else to go he turns to a local loan shark to get the money, however it coincides with tensions with his brother Run. Meanwhile, on the outside looking in, the Disco 3 look for a way to get signed.This film was recommended to me by a fellow user and old-school fan on this site and I made an effort to seek it out despite having never heard of it. The film is essentially a way of getting hot new artists into a film and doubling benefiting by giving them exposure and also getting money from people wanting to see them in a film. It is perhaps of little surprise then that the plotting isn't quite all it could have been. Based very loosely on the early days of Def Jam, this mostly fictionalised film can't decide quite what it wants to be. On one hand we the drama with Walker, in debt, in conflict with his brother Run over matters business and personal while also up to his neck in the sort of debts that get legs broken. These sections are handled seriously and contain swearing and a tough tone. By contrast we also have sections with the Fat Boys (partially here as the Disco 3) where the tone is much, much lighter as they mug around and play up the comedic side of their personas. These two aspects sit really uneasily beside one another – alone neither is great (although neither is bad) but together they just seem a very odd contrast and give the feeling of the film really not being sure what to do in terms of tone and story. Sometimes it works but too often it is a little cheesy and uneven and it makes it hard to enjoy as a story-driven film.On the plus side, sitting between these two aspects is the music – lots of music. Shelia E, Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, New Edition, the Fat Boys, Beastie Boys and a really impacting introduction for LL Cool J – all of them are given time to do a little bit within the context of the plot. LL makes the biggest splash with Radio, but Shelia E is great throughout and the other artists all please and satisfy. While the film may not have been very steady in terms of plot, with the music it totally knows what it wants to do. As actors I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of the cast were comfortable in front of the camera. The cast is led by Blair Underwood making his acting debut and he is pretty good with the more serious parts of the film. Run is also very natural and strong in the film. Shelia E is great on stage and great with the lighter stuff, but when the love interest stuff starts the material is weak and she seems stiff – in real contrast to her being on stage, making it stand out more. The Fat Boys are pretty funny throughout and really it was only Kurtis Blow that sounded like he was reading his lines off 20 foot high placards.Overall then this is not a great film in terms of tone and plot but it does enough to avoid being a bad film in the way many similar ones have been. It seems to help that, although cashing in on the genre to a certain extent; it is being done from the inside rather than an outsider seeking to exploit others' success. The music is what it is all about though, and fans of this genre and period will get a lot of stuff to love here – ultimately this is who the film is aimed at and the target audience won't be disappointed.

vchimpanzee Russell Walker co-owns a struggling record company which has a big hit--'King of Rock' by Run-DMC. The record is selling so well the company cannot produce enough copies, and they don't have the money for more until the records sell--which they won't until the company has something to ship. The banks don't want to lend to this company because rap is something new and strange. So Russell has to deal with less than savory characters. Meanwhile, the guys in Run-DMC take advantage of the opportunity to make themselves famous, getting involved with a major record producer.Russell is also in charge of a talent show which includes a number of famous rappers and musicians. However, even though the credits say the Russell character is based on the real Russell Simmons, who was a producer of the movie, at the end of the credits we are told the characters are fictional. So even though a number of well-known rappers perform in this movie, using the same name as in real life, and even though those who belong to groups are in groups with the same name as their real-life counterparts, these are not the real stories of the performers. It would have been too much of a coincidence, though, for so many famous performers to have met in this way when they were unknown.I am a 44-year-old white man who likes easygoing music such as Mantovani, Lawrence Welk, Sinatra, Perry Como and Glenn Miller. Still, The Fat Boys were the first rap group I ever heard (if you don't count Blondie), and they performed without instruments, using their voices for percussion. I enjoyed hearing them do this and wish they had done it more in the movie (they actually had 'real' instruments backing them up which, unfortunately, weren't 'real' like so much of 80s music). But I liked it when one of the guys did this in biology class and got them kicked out, and when they tried doing it for the bouncer where the talent show was being held. And one of the movie's best moments came when the guys saw a sign at Sbarro's which said 'All You Can Eat' for $3.99. The Fat Boys, who were The Disco 3 at first, were a lot of fun.Other than The Fat Boys, I liked LL Cool J the best. But the musical performances in this movie were first-rate, whether they were really my taste or not, and this was the reason to watch--not acting or writing. Sheila E. especially came across well on stage. She was very confident and quite talented at singing, rapping, dancing, playing drums, playing the guitar (now I really liked this, since it was jazz-style rather than rock). As for her acting--well, we can't be good at everything.Blair Underwood is considered a respected actor these days, and I just went through the sad experience of seeing his last appearance on 'LAX', where he and Heather Locklear were so wonderful together. But I couldn't see his potential here.This movie was pretty good, and highly recommended in my opinion for fans of old-school rap.

vvanpo The storyline is a familiar about trying to make it big and how sometimes that means selling your soul to the devil but find redemption in the end etc. The difference here is many of rap music's early stars take a turn at acting. They do all right. I think that Blair Underwood inspired them to do a decent turn.The main attraction now is the nostalgia of seeing Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, The Fat Boys and New Edition perform. Also there are cameos from the young Beastie Boys and a skinny LL Cool J.

Matt Ellington (matte723) This is a movie about the struggles of early rap groups trying to make it big in the 80's when rap was not a popular music genre. This is not the most dramatic of movies by any stretch of the imagination, but if you like old school rap acts like RUN-DMC, The Beastie Boys, The Fat Boys, and LL Cool J you will find this movie entertaining. However if you are not familiar with the 80's rap scene you may not be very impressed with this movie. I though it would be a really stupid movie at first, but once I watched it I was impressed.