Notorious Movie Review 2009 by Peter Tosto

Notorious is a film of Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) played by Jamal Woolard. Notorious follows the life of Notorious Biggie Smalls from geeky Jr. High School student doing exactly as his Mother said getting straight A’s to a street thug Drug Dealer to a successful rapper. The film spans from 1983 until B.I.G.’s murder in 1997.

Notorious captured my interest. I had no knowledge of the history of Notorious B.I.G. or the Rap World in general. It was a cross between a gangster film of rappers trying to establish families through the record companies and territories dividing East Coast and West Coast Rappers.

The film displays B.I.G. as a child drug dealer who ends up in prison on a 2 to 3 year bid. During his stint in prison he turns to writing his poems down in notebooks. Upon his release he begins to rap his poems to his hometown boys. The film portrays Notorious as a young father who rarely is present for his daughter, an abusive cheating husband and a pot smoking rapper who appears loyal to his friends.

The true life controversy lies in the shooting of Tupac Shakur outside of Quad Studio’s where B.I.G. is recording. This leads to a Rap War between East Coast Rappers and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs (Derek Luke) label Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records.

Prior to Biggie being shot and killed the film shows Biggie making a number of phone calls to his Mother who battled Breast Cancer and Biggie saying how proud he was, he goes on to call both his baby’s mommas Jan and Faith Evans asking permission to have his son and daughter come out to visit him in L.A. he then calls Lil Kim who he has been having an ongoing affair with and asks her to forgive him and can he get with her when he gets back to Brooklyn his home town.

The film does a good job of portraying Notorious B.I.G. as a geek, drug dealer, thug, rapper, son, friend, rapper, and cheat and making him believable. With that you would believe most people would not like a man who lives this way yet the writers get you to feel sympathy for him or was it pity.

Notorious lived a short life of 24 years. Tupak Shakur was murdered at 25 in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas. Both man were rising to the top of their game in the rap world both man had their lives cut short as a result.

The film ends with Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G. Hearst driving through the streets of Brooklyn, his mother looking out the window with tears in her eyes as she hears her sons’ voice over the boom boxes of the mourners on the sidewalks.

Notorious receives 2 out of 4 stars.

Cast

Jamal Woolard - Christopher Wallace/Notorious B.I.G.

Angela Bassett - Voletta Wallace

Derek Luke - Sean ``Diddy'' Combs

Naturi Naughton - Lil' Kim

Anthony Mackie - Tupac Shakur

Antonique Smith - Faith Evans