Gridlock'd (1997)

British actor Tim Roth and the rapper Tupac Shakur are an unexpectedly charismatic and refreshing duo in this off-beat buddy movie. Closer than two brothers, these junkie musicians vow to kick their habits after a soul-shattering New Year's Eve. Gridlock'd is fueled by characterization, of which there is plenty, as the two play off one another with such finesse you would never know Shakur had been a relative novice to the acting profession. Off-beat humor lightens a bleak reality as these outcasts run smack against a brutal bureaucracy. Except for a tired subplot meant to jazz up the action, director Vondie Curtis-Hall employs an inventive approach in this sadly ignored theatrical release. --Rochelle O'Gorman Amazon.com

gridlock'

a very good movie. the company that i purchased it from is very reliable. Tupac was very good in this film, if you want to laugh and cry at the same time this is the movie for you. trying to come clean with drugs but as always there are determents ahead. August 28, 2008

Realistic Depiction of Drug Addiction

This movie gets 5 stars from me from the very realistic depiction of drug addiction and the performance of Tupac and Tim Roth. These two using buddies portray very real life issues and troubles of todays drug addicts. After rushing their musician partner to the hospital from a drug overdose they jump from problem to problem all the while trying to get help in kicking their habit. This movie has an excellent mixture of misery and humor that creates laughter and the hard face of realty at the same time. If you or anyone you've ever known has or ever had a drug problem you'll relate. March 9, 2007

Must watch

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. For a movie with very few action scenes, it keeps your interest the whole time. I think this movie really shows the unbelievable talent that Tupac Shakur had. Tim Roth and Tupac have an on screen chemistry that is rarely seen in movies lately. This is a must watch. January 19, 2007

A Very Overlooked Dark Comedy!

This is a great film. Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth are excellent in this dark-comedy about two drug addicts who find that attempting to quit their drug habit [heroin] is easier said than done. And it's not that they don't try. Spoon (Tupac Shakur) gives a stellar performance as a junkie, who is also a musician. When his girlfriend has an accidental overdose, he decides the time has come to get clean. Along with his friend Stretch (Tim Roth), also a junkie, they both set out to get clean at one of their local clinics. However, bureaucracy stands in the way: They both learn a hard lesson in the jungle of red tape, which seems to be more of a hindrance than help.

When they both attempt to get help from their social service agencies, they find themselves stuck in a quagmire of red tape and delays. They must have a social security card [3 weeks to wait for]. They must have written documents that entitle them to recieve their treatment [3 to 6 weeks], etc. This goes on and on. No matter how hard they try to get treatment, from the Medical specialists who treat heroin addiction, to the social service agencies, whose help they need to get the assistance, they are both met with hostile bureaucrats and numbing red tape. Not only do they find that they cannot just walk in and get treatment, they must go to the agencies which will identify them as addicts. The problem is, every agency shuffles them to another agency. And some of the social service agencies are not in the locations listed in their help guides. Guides given to them by the social service agencies.

However, this is only part of their problems. Their long time drug dealer has been murdered. And they know who the killer is. Moreover, the killers know who they are. Further, the police have them down as suspects in this drug dealers murder. Therefore, they have the police hot on their backs [with descriptions of what they look like] Drug dealers out to kill them, and more importantly, they cannot get into a drug program until they have all the necessary paperwork from the state social service agencies. All they wanted to do was get off drugs, however, they find that the wall of red tape is more than they can handle. Will they get into a drug program? Will they be nabbed by the police? Or will the drug runners get them first? I leave this to the viewer to watch. The film is highly recommended. Both Tim Roth and the late Tupac Shakur compliment each other tremendously in the film. Highly recommended! November 3, 2006

Gridlock'd (DVD)

Before his untimely death, rapper-actor Tupac Shakur left behind a number of completed films in the can. The first to see the light of day is Gridlock'd, the energetic and enjoyable screenwriting and directing debut of actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (Broken Arrow, TV's Chicago Hope and Cop Rock).

After his girlfriend Cookie (Thandie Newton) falls into a drug-induced coma, heroin junkie Spoon (Shakur) decides to lay off the dope, forcing his comrade-in-blow Stretch (Tim Roth) to join him in detox. This simple decision sets off an exhausting chain of events where Stretch and Spoon run around town dealing with bureaucrats of varying rigidity and flee from a drug kingpin (Curtis-Hall) and the police, who suspect the two when a fellow drug fiend and his girlfriend are murdered.

Sounds like pretty heavy stuff, and sometimes it is. But like the big heroin-themed Trainspotting, the film is often quite funny, deftly walking the thin line between the harrowing and the hilarious. And the humor does not come out of nowhere and feel out of place; like life itself, comedy sometimes spring forth naturally from tragedy, with some inherent dark humor being found in what can be seen as the most serious of moments. But this is not to say that Curtis-Hall glosses over heroin addiction. Spoon and especially Stretch are seen for what they are--loser junkies--living in a dirty, cluttered apartment and getting into messes they could easily have avoided, often getting out through sheer luck alone (which results in some overly contrived moments). Curtis-Hall does add some interesting visual flair to the proceedings, using flashy editing and whatnot.

But even with Curtis-Hall's able efforts behind the camera, Gridlock'd could not have possibly worked without a convincing, charismatic lead duo, and Shakur and Roth fit the bill perfectly. Roth has the showier role, playing pathetic, dirty, and just plain wacky Stretch, and he pulls it off as well as one expects (even though his natural British accent sometimes slips into his on-screen New York accent). Shakur's more sensible Spoon is the straight man, but he is far from upstaged, holding his own with his confident, commanding presence; he truly had a bright future in film. Roth and Shakur's rapport is so natural, so effortless that you have no problem believing that they are longtime friends. It's too bad that a reteaming of the two is out of the question.

The pileup of films currently released amounts to one big traffic jam at movie houses, but the entertaining Gridlock'd should have had no problem clearing a path to box office success.

Rest in peace Tupac Shakur. March 17, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...