The Wackness
The Wackness is a poignant but meandering coming of age movie about a young weed dealer set in Manhattan circa 1994. The year is important because most people over a certain age (25 and up) tend to regard that as the golden era of rap music, myself included. I’m sure one could make an argument for the 88-93 era being more important to the genre as a whole, but whatever. Anyway, the main character Luke has a problem getting laid despite being a drug dealer; a fact his main customer and psychiatrist (Ben Kingsley in a mullet wig) is only too happy to point out. Luke and his shrink have a casual friendship based on mutual gain but eventually grow to be best friends based on the fact that Luke eventually gets mad lucky (putting mad in front of everything automatically says 90′s) and sleeps with his stepdaughter. I won’t go into the obvious conflict of interest that a psychiatrist who likes to get stoned presents, but all the relationships in this movie are fucked so I’m sure it was intentional on the filmmakers part. Method Man also makes an appearance as Luke’s supplier sporting his best Miss Cleo patois accent, and I was annoyed at the fact that they layered The What on top of his dialogue. Being that Luke’s main issue is getting some- after this gets resolved, the second half of the movie drags on interminably shifting from one depressing vignette to the next (word). Themes like suicide, and separation are explored but there is never any real climax (swidt) presented for the viewer to sink their teeth into. Overall this flick is a real dud but I definitely shed a tear for Hip Hop after hearing all the good music from a lost era that defined a whole generation for better or worse.
In: Reviews · Tagged with: 90's, nostalgia, sleep aids, The Wackness
