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June 2006
WAIST DEEP |
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ByWilson Morales
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There was a time in the 1990s when Hollywood was throwing their support to the black community and bringing a number of “hood” flicks to theaters. We’ve had our fair share of “New Jack City”, Boyz N The Hood”, “Menace II Society”, and countless others. To some degree, these films represented the way of life that some folks live, and the liberties taken in some films weren’t that far off from reality. Then the genre faded away and then came the romantic comedies (The Best Man, Two Can Play That Game, etc) and biopics (Ali, Ray). While violence still plays out in reality, its time on the big screen has had its day gone. Well, leave it up to Director Vondie Curtis-Hall to resurrect the genre and try to ignite some fire with his latest film, Waist Deep. Unfortunately, what started out as an intriguing wrong place, wrong time scenario turned up to be the same old film we have seen before with nothing new to add to the genre. Reluctantly leaving his new job because his cousin failed to pick up his son, recently paroled O2 (Tyrese) races to get Junior from school. While staring at a beautiful sister while driving, Coco (Good) comes up to O2 to convince him to buy some top of the line suits from her. He refuses and she walks away. Before you know it, O2 gets carjacked with Junior in the back of the car. Thinking Coco set him up, O2 initially forces her to help him find his son but then backs off when she convinces she wasn’t involved. Willing to help him because her suits were stolen in the process of looking for clues, Coco needs O2 for protection from her hustling boss, who wants his money from the stolen suits. When the ransom demand includes $100,000, O2 and Coco go on a Bonnie and Clyde expedition, ripping off banks in broad daylight. Falling short of the requested amount, O2 asks Lucky (Tate), his cousin, for some help in raising the cash. The man behind the kidnapping is a former foe of O2, Meat (The Game), who will not relent from applying violence from those who act in defiance of his orders. As the cops and heat close in on O2 and Coco, they race through LA looking for another way out of this. Initially explosive and kinetic when the film starts, the film goes downhill when combining elements from other films and adding nothing new to the genre. Tyrese, who made his film debut with the John Singleton’s Baby Boy, has played enough roles with a tough person (Four Brothers, Annapolis) that he could have phoned in his performance. Vondie Curtis-Hall made one hell of a film with “Redemption”, which helped Jamie Foxx gained credibility in his Oscar year. But this film, it's a step backwards. Not only is the dialogue stilted but the his direction needed some editing. The car chase seen is probably the most improbable and unnecessary scene I’ve seen in a while. One can't fault The Game for his one-note performance. Though menacing on screen with his ruthless behavior, you would be glad he hasn't given up his day job. At least he retains his SAG card! Meagan Good has been taking so many eye candy roles lately, she's become the new Stacy Dash if you know who she is. Part of the problem with this film is that there are too many circumstances that are implausible and over the top. What could have been a good urban action thriller has turned into a clichéd film with a weak script.
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