Notorious B.I.G. ‘Gimme the Loot’
Sometimes, it’s not always good to read too much about a film before
you go to see it. When entering the cinema, I was already at the point of
expecting a film with some good graffiti action, with a plot thrown around it.
But, as the film went on, I became more and more disappointed.
The plot is simple: Adam Leon starts with a clip from ‘All City Hour’, in
which writers talk about tagging the Mets’ apple at Shea Field, sorry Citi Field.
Seeking revenge on a rival gang, two writers, Sofia and Malcolm, look to make a
name for themselves by achieving this very feat. Needing $500 for a blind eye
to be turned to gain access to the stadium, the pair take to the streets to try
and hustle up the money.
What follows is a two-day journey around the city in a similar style to
‘Kids’, as the duo repeatedly struggle to raise the cash. This is where my
expectations went missing. What I’d read about the film made me expect a lot of
graffiti, a bit of a tagging war and maybe a bit of Notorious B.I.G.. Instead,
the film is more about the failings of the two leads – and for me, this is the
film’s failing.
The two leads, Sofia, played by Tashiana Washington, and Malcolm, by Ty
Hickson, don’t particularly live up to their image: Sofia, while described by
Malcolm as being hard and tough, spends a lot of her time naively getting scammed
and played for a fool by people of all ages, with whiney shouting her only
reaction; Malcolm, among fellow taggers, seems to command respect and sometimes
fear, as if he got the juice – to use a Nineties phrase – though again spends
much of the film foolishly, coming across as a bit of an idiot. Being that this
is such a character-led story, it needed some stronger characters.
Though, with this, perhaps Leon is trying to create more realistic
characters, full of flaws and inconsistencies, making them seem like the
ordinary idiots you know. With the cast and director not having the longest
careers in film on their CVs, there is a slightly amateurish feel throughout,
that gives it a charm, but also some drawbacks. ‘Gimme the Loot’ is not a bad
film, and has its moments, though by the end it’s not wholly satisfying and leaves
one feeling of ‘gimme a little more.’
