Anyone remember Cool as Ice? You know, that horrendously cheesy movie starring Robert Van Winkle (a.k.a. Vanilla Ice)? I think it was put out in the early 90s…I believe it was ’91. Well, when I bought my ticket to see 8 Mile on opening night, I had visions of Vanilla saying, “You better lose that zero and get with the hero,” turning and winking in the camera’s direction. I stood in line praying, “Please don’t let me waste my money. Please let this not suck a horse willie. Please don’t let this be the Cool as Ice of the new millennium. Let me walk out of this theater with my head high. For love of all that is sacred, please let this movie be worth a student discounted ticket.” I didn’t have enough money to buy any Junior Mints or popcorn or some type of carbonated beverage, so the simple pleasure of theater food was not going to help me save face. All I could do was to take my seat and hope I was able to make myself sit through the whole film.

Let me clear some facts up before I begin. This is not Eminem’s autobiography, though there are some parallels. Quick list:

• Jimmy Smith (played by Eminem) a.k.a. Bunny Rabbit (This name freaked me out when I read a review before Friday night. No worries though in the end.) lives in Detroit, he is a white rapper, and he wants to make it big as a rapper.
• He does not have a little girl, though he does have a younger sister.
• His mom is not that fucked up. Besides, she’s played by Kim Basinger. Oh mama!
• Jimmy tries to make it despite his social status and anger management issues.

The title 8 Mile is taken from a dividing line between the city and the beginnings of the suburbs in Detroit. This, of course, acts as a symbol of social oppression physically and mentally. 8 Mile takes place over the course of a week in Jimmy Smith’s life. In this week, he both conquers his stage fright and experiences an epiphany of sorts about life. Smith goes from puking in the toilet before a battle and absolutely freezing on stage to...I’m not telling…go see the movie…let’s just say it’s a feel good ending. And, for those of you who don’t know, a battle is a competition between two people who each have a specific amount of time to insult their opponent through free-style rapping. The winner goes on to the next round and the cycle continues until someone wins the whole thing. It’s important to note that this movie did not caricature hip-hop culture nor did it have an unrealistic ending. Okay, I’ll tell you something about the end…Rabbit does not get a record deal or anything close to that nature…the very end maybe my favorite part of the whole film…fuck it…Rabbit goes back to work. Let me back up some. Right before Rabbit goes to battle, his boss tells him what a good job he’s been doing at the factory and asks if he’d like some overtime. Rabbit says yes, goes to the battle anyway, but asks a guy to cover for him a little while. He goes back to work…

That’s the thing about this move, it was believable and thus a good movie. No, it was not Oscar worthy, but it was good. The acting was good, the cinematography was good, the plot was good, the characters where good (There was some typical comic relief offered by one character, Bob, who shoots himself accidentally and says silly things, but it was okay…really.), it was funny, the battle scenes were realistic, etc. If you’re not a snob and enjoy movies that don’t show at the ragtAg, go see 8 Mile. I like the ragtAg and those pretentious movies. I’m just stating a fact. If you’re a hip-hop fan, go see this movie. Even if you are a movie snob or hate Eminem, take a step down from that self-righteous pedestal you put yourself on and see 8 Mile. Remember that…you put yourself there, not someone else…you are creating that image of yourself…just thought I’d get something of my chest.

Needless to say, I liked 8 Mile. The movie was worth the student discounted ticket, it was not near a Cool as Ice for the new millennium and I didn’t need the bad movie crutch: theater food. My hat goes off to Eminem and the director of 8 Mile.

- Bob Sullivan