Biker Boyz Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)February 3rd, 2003
'3BlackChicks Review...'
BIKER BOYZ (2003)
Rated PG-13; running time 90 minutes
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Genre: Action
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.bikerboyz.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0326769
Written by: Craig Fernandez, Reggie Rock Bythewood
(based on the article by Michael Gougis)
Directed by: Reggie Rock Bythewood
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Meagan Good, Orlando Jones, Brendan Fehr, Rick Gonzales, Djimon Hounsou, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Kid Rock, Larenz Tate, Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Salli Richardson, Tyson Beckford, Eriq La Salle, Terrence Howard
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
Review URL:
http://www.3blackchicks.com/2003reviews/bamsbikerboyz.html
[Disclaimer: anytime a writer is too close to the subject matter at hand, they can be seen to be biased in their writing. So I'll disclose here that I was once part of a Black biker club. And yes, I said *club*, NOT "gang". Stop believing the hype].
Yes, many Black biker clubs have probies (new members who haven't yet been invited to join in the club's reindeer games), and depending on the club, probies are sometimes dogged out. Yes, Black bikers have been known to have wild parties, sometimes leading to unpredictable turns of events. And yes, bikers on crotch rockets...er, sports bikes...tend to ride them faster and more unconventionally than those of us who ride baggers, cruisers, or standards.
All these things are sometimes true. And as such, they probably would've made a decent documentary on PBS or The Travel Channel. But as a 90-minute feature film, they just don't cut the mustard. Which is probably why BIKER BOYZ sucked so badly.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
In this story, very loosely based on an article written by Michael Gougis about the sport biking subculture in California, Derek Luke plays Kid, who starts out as a prospect in the Black Knights Motorcycle Club. Unhappy as he is to be a probie, he's even less happy that his father, Slick Will (Eriq La Salle), is a subordinate to the club's president, Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). When Slick, Smoke's mechanic, is killed in a horrible accident, Kid (inexplicably) decides to challenge Smoke to a motorcycle race.
His task is not an easy one, in that Smoke, aka "The King Of Cali", is the fastest ricer in California. Not to mention the fact that, in his anger, Kid broke off with the Black Knights. But not to worry: all he has to do is start up his own set with his buddy and Token White Guy, Stuntman (Brendan Fehr), beat other ricers like Motherland (Djimon Hounsou) and Other Token White Guy, Dogg (Kid Rock), win the love of his girlfriend Tina (Meagan Good) and convince his mother (Vanessa Bell Calloway) not to kick his grown ass out of the house like the Baby Boy that h...uh, sorry, wrong movie.
THE UPSHOT
It hurt me to see such a waste of rich talent like Terence Howard, Larenz Tate, Eriq La Salle, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Salli Richardson, Derek Luke, and most painfully, Laurence "Why'd ya do it, Boo?" Fishburne, in a movie that could only rightfully be called "pedestrian". Orlando Jones ("Soul Train") and Rick Gonzales ("Primo") were about the only personalities to draw anything resembling interesting characters out of this film, and - you guessed it - they were the Comic Relief. I still can't believe that Reggie Rock Bythewood gave these actors such pathetic, mouth-wrenching dialogue to speak. Shame on ya, Reg. Shame on ya.
[Rule One: not counting the originator - BOYZ N THE HOOD - any Urban film's title in which one of its names ends with a "z", is immediately suspect]
The sheer pointlessness of it all is what got me most; "a modern-day western on iron and steel"? Har! And "Variety" called it a "mythic motorcycle tale of father and son". ooh, looks like someone got caught with their hand in the ganja jar again. The movie's silly military-like formations made me snicker, but I'll grant that the wheelies, stoppies, burnouts and other stunts were fun to watch...for a few minutes. Then BIKER BOYZ got bogged down into tedium; and with nothing but a formulaic painting-by-the-numbers story to fall back on, there was no place left to go.
[Rule Two: in most action flicks, the "bad guy" (Smoke) should usually be a less sympathetic character than the whining, immature, why-am-I-mad-at-the-bad-guy "good guy" (Kid). Especially if the writing's already weak and the other characters have no dramatic leg to stand on. Otherwise, the audience might get confused about who they're supposed to be cheering for.]
I read one description of the plot that spoke of it revolving around "African-American men, mostly white-collar workers who exchange their suits and ties at night and on weekends for leather outfits and motorcycle helmets". And again, I can affirm that that's my actual experience; the clubs I associated with, had folks from all walks of life as members. But whoever wrote that description of this movie, must've seen a different story than the one I watched. Except for Train's all-too-brief scene as a jailhouse lawyer, you'd swear that these men and women didn't exist except when it was time to go for another race.
The real shame is that I know there are real, honest-to-goodness Black bikers out there - some who ride crotch rockets way too fast, some who cruise down the road looking way cool in her shades, some who like riding with other people, and some who just wanna be left alone to ride their own ride - with interesting stories to tell. Maybe I'll do something about that one of these days.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
There are actually a few good stories to tell about...ahem..."underground" Black biker clubs; hell, I could tell some of them myself. Unfortunately, BIKER BOYZ wasn't up to the task of doing those real stories any justice.
BIKER BOYZ rating: flashing redlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
EMAIL: [email protected]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
