Harambee

Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Arts

Photo courtesy of www.rottenapples.com

The compelling story of a legend unfolds in the movie "Notorious."

Christopher "Big" Wallace (Jamal Woodlard) is a boy living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York with his mother Voletta Wallace (Angela Bassett) in early 1980s.

Although he is once described as "fat, black and ugly," Christopher has the gift of oral poetry and begins rapping around the neighborhood, quickly becoming known as Biggie Smalls (or B.I.G.).

Confronted with poverty and the pressure of raising a child, he naively starts to sells drugs to support himself and his daughter. Yet, with talent, hope and determination, Biggie rises to become one of the greatest rappers of the hip-hop genre.

Through a connection from an old friend, Biggie meets a producer by the name of Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs (Derek Luke), who assures Biggie that he one day will be one of the largest names in the rap world.

He then meets Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones (Naturi Naughton) and recruits her to be in a group along with other rappers known as the Junior Mafia.

As a whole, "Notorious" touches a lot on the life of Wallace, showing the audience a more intimate playful side of the icon, instead of the hardcore image often seen in the media. The movie does not, however, give audience members a deeper look at what kind of emotional stress he went through.

It illustrates the relationships Biggie had with close friends, as well as with his many fans. "Notorious" does not give a behind-the-scenes take on the life of Biggie, but gives a confirmation of what the public thought was going on in the hip-hop star's life.

Despite a few scenes of brutal reality, these moments are still not really serious enough to make viewers feel the script.

Additionally, the movie does not leave the viewer guessing what was going to happen. Since "Notorious" was a biopic, everyone in the audience knew the next sequence of the movie, making the experience boring at times.

The story seems to skip important facts, many questions are left unanswered and there is no kind of transition between scenes to let the viewer know what happened.

As an overall movie, however, "Notorious" is a success and is well worth the admission and eventual pricetag when the biopic makes its way to DVD.

This article originally appeared in the Contra Costa Advocate, the student newspaper of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA.

Contact Harambee Staff Writer Lamar James at ljames@acccentadvocate.com.

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