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Back in the days of Biggie and Tupac, my scene wasn’t East Coast or West Coast. It was Midwest. And when both rappers were killed, I was probably sitting in some Midwestern bar, listening to my friends’ band, which was most likely playing some funky ‘70s cover. Still, as a music lover, I knew the stories, and I heard about the accusations, the denials, and the backlash. So when I first heard about the Biggie biopic, Notorious, I was intrigued.
Raised in Brooklyn by a hard-working single mom (played brilliantly—with depth and strength—by Angela Bassett), Christopher Wallace (played as a boy by the rapper’s son, C.J.) started making up rhymes right around the same time that he started selling drugs. At 17, with his first child on the way, Chris (now played by Jamal Woolard) dropped out of school to take care of his family—and promptly ended up in jail. While serving time, he started writing lyrics to pass the time—and the rest is music history.
Notorious is the story of the rise of The Notorious B.I.G. The film covers everything from his childhood and his time on the streets to his discovery by Sean “Puffy” Combs (Derek Luke) to his career with Bad Boy Records. It shows the friends who helped him out along the way and his relationships with first girlfriend Jan (Julia Pace Mitchell), Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton), and wife Faith Evans (Antonique Smith). And, of course, it shows his friendship—and, later, his feud—with West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie).
Since both Sean Combs and Biggie’s mother, Voletta, appear in the credits as producers, it’s no surprise that the rapper’s faults are often glossed over and his merits are touted to the point that he seems ready for sainthood. Sure, he was dealing drugs at 11—but he was smart! Sure, he cheated on every woman who ever loved him—but he was a devoted friend, and he really loved his kids! Sure, his lyrics talked about doing drugs and shooting people, but he was really a good, Christian boy who loved his mother! And, apparently, before he was killed, he made peace with everyone in his life.
Combs, too, comes out looking like a saint. Sure, Luke’s portrayal makes him look somewhat crazed (or, at the very least, like he suffers from severe ADHD). But he’s portrayed as Biggie’s guardian angel—the one who forced him to stay off the streets and become a better person.
While the story is somewhat interesting, though, Notorious isn’t especially thrilling—nor is it particularly well done. After a while, it starts to drag, filling time with cheesy music-video-like montages and overdone girlfriend drama. I kept waiting for the dirt to come out—some fascinating tidbits about Tupac or maybe a little bit of controversy or finger pointing. But there’s really nothing especially surprising or contentious about it—it’s just a straightforward (and rather fluffy) biopic.
Notorious could have been a straight-to-MTV release. In fact, unless you’re a Biggie fan, you’d be wise just to wait for the MTV debut.
Blu-ray Review:
If you haven’t gone Blu-ray yet, you might be wondering what it’s all about. Perhaps you think it’s just an HD upgrade for the good ol’ DVD. Or maybe you grumble that it’s just another video format, created for the sole purpose of forcing movie lovers to go out and re-purchase their entire movie collection yet again. In some cases, it’s a little bit of both; the quality might be a bit better, the image a bit clearer, but that’s the only real benefit. But if you want to know what a Blu-ray disc can really do, check out the Blu-ray release of Notorious.
First, let’s talk quantity. The Notorious release includes two discs—but the second disc is used only for the digital copy. So keep in mind that the rest of these features are all included on just one Blu-ray disc. The main disc includes two versions of the film: the original theatrical version and the extended director’s cut (with an extra six minutes of footage). There are also two commentary tracks: one with the filmmakers and one with Biggie’s mom and co-managers. There’s also a Bonusview feature, which allows you to view behind-the-scenes footage while you’re watching the movie. In addition to all that, there are several making-of features (one half-hour feature and a handful of shorter features), deleted scenes, and an interactive feature that allows you to wander around the set and view additional behind-the-scenes footage. Oh, and I almost forgot…if you have your Blu-ray player hooked up to the Internet, you can also use the BD-LIVE feature to download songs and create playlists. And remember…this is all on one disc. I’d say that’s pretty impressive.
Now let’s talk quality. Of course, the film’s video quality is good; it’s HD. But the special features content is pretty good, too. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, I found that the extras were generally interesting and informative (though many of them did overlap). Most of all, though, they cause viewers to look at the film from a whole new perspective—as a labor of love, a story told by those who knew and loved Christopher Wallace.
So it goes without saying that Biggie’s diehard fans won’t want to miss this loaded Blu-ray release. But, even if you’re not a fan, I still recommend borrowing it from a friend—if only to see all of the cool new things that Blu-ray can do.
