Waist Deep Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)June 23rd, 2006
Waist Deep
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2 out of 4
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Screenplay: Vondie Curtis-Hall, Darin Scott
Cast: Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, The Game
MPAA Classification: R (strong violence and pervasive language)
Waist Deep has been billed as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde set in "da' hood." But Tyrese Gibson is no Warren Beatty and Meagan Good is definitely no substitution for Faye Dunaway. The films are nothing alike, and the only reference made to the 1967 classic is made by the asinine, poseur in the gas station struggling to get Meagan Good's autograph. In truth, Waist Deep has more licks of similarity to Wayne Kramer's Running Scared than Bonnie and Clyde. But Running Scared knew it was kitschy and vulgar; Waist Deep hasn't a clue. It dives headlong into a psychotically unbelievable gang tale and forgets its own obligation to silliness. So not only is Waist Deep woefully solemn, but it's also woefully hard to sit through.
Tyrese Gibson (he now goes by his first and last name) plays O2, a father one-month out of jail for gang-related crimes now working a security job on parole. Now, I don't know about Los Angeles' parole rules or an employer's policies about ex-convicts, but would you give a gang banger just out of jail the job as security officer for your grocery store? Hmmm. But with summer action films, some reality must be suspended, so we'll let it go. It's just a reason for O2 to get his hands on a gun, anyhow.
The weapon comes into play when Coco (Meagan Good) sets him up for his car to be jacked by four hoodlums with pistols. The criminals overlook Junior, O2's son, in the backseat and start speeding down the crowded Los Angeles streets. O2 sprints after them, pistol now in hand, and guns down three of the four men, leaving the fourth to speed away to Meat's (The Game, who still goes by the one name) Cocaine-cutting fortress of operations. Meat is the big gang boss for the area, and has a dirty penchant for machetes. He demands one-hundred thousand dollars from O2 before the end of the following day, or Junior starts losing limbs. Without much in the bank, O2 must find a way into the ransom money. He hunts down Coco to help him out, threatening her with his big muscles and shiny pistol, and they start robbing banks.
In any film where the characters names are O2, Meat and Coco, and where the son's name is Junior, we must be ready for formula. Waist Deep is no exception. But this isn't a pastiche of Bonnie and Clyde, but a photocopy of every other film where there are nicknames like O2, Meat and Coco, and where the son's name is Junior. And in terms of sappy endings-without giving anything away-Waist Deep's is the worst. But because this is a summer action flick where originality is rarely paired with quality, we'll the cut the film some more slack. We don't come for plot anyhow; we come for big muscles and shiny pistols. And Waist Deep has enough of that to go around.
Director/Co-Writer Vondie Curtis-Hall does well to annunciate each gunshot and couple it with huge beats of rap. His style is muscular and often powerful. He'll cut in for a close-up and clear the orchestral score for an emotional monologue, seeking out a note of rawness before going to ham-handed sentimentalism. And when Mr. Gibson grips a pistol, Curtis-Hall makes him breathe testosterone.
But big muscles and shiny pistols can only get a film so far. And O2 and Coco don't have enough charisma put together to charm a finger. They're characters are flat and it's obvious the two were only cast for their graciously endowed physicality. The camera gives Ms. Good more elevator-eyes than the sleazy gang bangers do. So even if we do make compromises and suspend belief in reality or cut the film slack with its formula storyline, Waist Deep still comes up short. So what if we don't make the compromises in intellect the summer release schedule asks us to and critique the film with our regularly harsh hand? Well, let's save Waist Deep the embarrassment and not get into that.
-www.samseescinema.com
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