Notorious (2009)

Starring – Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Angela Basset, Anthony Mackie
Director – George Tillman, Jr
Domestic Gross – $25 Million as of 1/22/09
Running Time - 122 minutes

I’m not sure I ever knew what the term lackluster meant. After seeing Notorious though I think I’ve got a handle on it. This is a reasonably factually biopic of Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. Clearly this is told from a less than objective source given that it was produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs and the late rapper’s mother so it tells a somewhat sunnier story than I’m sure the truth is. That said I was entertained from start to finish. Woolard was very good in his first role. Naturi Naughton and Antonique Smith were great as Lil’ Kim and Faith Evans respectively. Angela Bassett couldn’t seem to remember if she was supposed to have a Jamaican accent from minute to minute which is a little suprising given that she was the most accmoplished actress in the film. And Derek Luke was more or less wasted as Diddy, but hilarious each time he did the Diddy Dance. Overall, it was an entertaining, but mostly forgettable two hour effort. Wait for DVD on this one.

I’m Mike D and I approve this message.