8 Mile (film)

Name	8 Mile
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	Curtis Hanson
Producer	Curtis HansonBrian GrazerJimmy Iovine
Starring	EminemMekhi PhiferBrittany MurphyKim BasingerEugene Byrd
Music	EminemJeff BassProofObie TriceXzibit50 Cent
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Editing	Jay Rabinowitz
Studio	Universal Pictures Imagine Entertainment
Distributor	Universal Pictures
Released	November 8, 2002
Runtime	118 minutes
Country
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
Gross	$242,875,078

8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama film, directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy and Mekhi Phifer.

The film is an account of a young rapper named Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) growing up in a poor area of 1995 Detroit as he struggles for respect among his (mostly black) peers. Contrary to popular belief, this movie does not detail Eminem's life growing up in Detroit, but instead, the average life of a rapper in Detroit, as stated by Eminem in interviews about the movie. Despite this, the movie is considered to be semi-autobiographical.

The film was a financial success, was well received critically, and won an Academy Award for the Best Original Song for Eminem's "Lose Yourself", becoming the first rap song in a movie to win an Academy Award.

Plot

In 1995, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) is a young and frustrated blue-collar factory worker. He has moved back north of 8 Mile in Warren to the rundown trailer home of his alcoholic mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield) and Stephanie's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg Buehl (Michael Shannon). Jimmy seems stalled on getting his rap career started; he competee in a rap battle, but chokes with stage fright and is booed off the stage. Jimmy had recently ended a relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Janeane (Taryn Manning) and begins a new relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy), who he meets at the factory where he works when she arrives looking for her brother, who also works there.

Jimmy gradually realizes that his life has remained static since graduating from high school. He initially considers himself a victim of his circumstances and blames others for his problems. Over time, Jimmy begins taking responsibility for his own life's direction, and understands that he has much control over it. He begins to question whether his friends, including "Future" (Mekhi Phifer), are holding themselves back from bigger things. He appears to put his dream of a music career aside to instead devote more time to his factory job and providing for his mother and sister.

The battle acts as a "final conflict" with a rap group called, "The Leaders of the Free World", who have harassed Jimmy throughout the film. This begins as Jimmy's friendship with "Wink" (Eugene Byrd) begins to deteriorate. The latter pesters Jimmy almost daily with promises that he can help him "get big," that he knows influential people, and that he can hook Jimmy up with the support he needs. When Jimmy finally decides to take him up on his offer and arrives at the studio, he sees "Wink" and Alex having sex. Jimmy attacks "Wink," as Alex tries to stop Jimmy. Enraged, "Wink" later shows up at the trailer park with "Free World" members to beat up Jimmy. As Lily, terrified, watches from inside, the mob beats up Jimmy, leaving him badly bruised and with a black eye.

Impressed with Jimmy's new-found responsibility, his factory supervisor gives him the overtime hours he had been requesting. However, a late-night shift conflicts with the next rap battle tournament. Jimmy initially refuses to go, but a visit from Alex changes his mind. Paul, a gay co-worker that Jimmy stood up for earlier, agrees to cover for him.

Throughout the film, Jimmy's friends have hailed him as an incredible rapper, but until now, his talent has only been seen in snippets. The tournament has three rounds, and in each one, Jimmy competes against a member of the "Free World". Jimmy wins the first two rounds with progressively more impressive freestyle raps. In each one, including the last, he goes over the 45 (90 seconds in the final battle) second limit, and as the beat is cut, he continues rapping, further showcasing his abilities. In the last round, he is paired against "Papa Doc" (Anthony Mackie), the tournament's most feared battler. Jimmy is aware that "Papa Doc" knows all his weaknesses, so he addresses them pre-emptively with freestyle. Jimmy acknowledges without shame his white trash roots and the various humiliations the "Free World" clique inflicted on him, then uses his difficult life as a springboard to reveal the truth about "Papa Doc": despite passing himself off as a thug, he has a privileged background.

Jimmy makes a reference to "Shook Ones (Part II)", the beat that the DJ is spinning, by calling "Papa Doc" a "half-way crook", which sends the crowd into a frenzy. "Papa Doc," left speechless in rebuttal, passes the microphone to Future, and backs down. As Jimmy leaves the venue, "Future" suggests he stay and celebrate his victory while also offering him a position to co-host battles at The Shelter. Jimmy declines, claiming he has to get back to work and do everything his own way, to which "Future" agrees and respects. Jimmy walks away from The Shelter, more confident about his future.

Cast

Eminem as James (Jimmy) "B-Rabbit" Smith, Jr.

Kim Basinger as Stephanie Smith

Mekhi Phifer as David "Future" Porter

Brittany Murphy as Alex Latorno

Chloe Greenfield as Lily Smith

Michael Shannon as Greg Buehl

De'Angelo Wilson as DJ IZ

Evan Jones as "Cheddar Bob"

Omar Benson Miller as "Sol George"

Eugene Byrd as "Wink"

Anthony Mackie as "Papa Doc"

Xzibit as Mike (male lunch truck rapper)

Proof as "Lil Tic"

Obie Trice as male parking lot rapper

Taryn Manning as Janeane

Brandon T. Jackson as a Chin Tiki club-goer

King Gordy as "Big O"

John Singleton as bouncer

Music

Name	8 Mile: Music from the Motion Picture
Type	Film
Artist	Eminem
Released	October 29, 2002
Recorded	2001-2002
Genre	Hip hop
Length	68:19
Label	Shady Records, Aftermath, Interscope
Last album	The Eminem Show(2002)
This album	8 Mile Soundtrack(2002)
Next album	Encore(2004)

Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile is the official music soundtrack to the 2002 movie 8 Mile, starring Eminem, who features on five of the tracks on this soundtrack. It was released under the Shady/Interscope label and spawned the massive hit single Lose Yourself. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart that year with over 702,000 copies sold and 507,000 sold in the second week also finishing the year as the fifth best-selling album of 2002 with US sales of 3.2 million, despite only two months of release. It also reached #1 on the UK Compilations Charhe Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart. It featured Eminem's worldwide chart-topping single, "Lose Yourself". It also spawned a follow up soundtrack, More Music from 8 Mile, consisting of songs that appear in 8 Mile that were current singles during the film's time setting of 1995. The album was also made in a clean edition removing most of the strong profanity and violent content.

Track listing

Parodies

Eminem's single "Just Lose It" and its video featured a parody of the film.

Scary Movie 3 heavily parodied many elements of this film.

Robot Chicken, which airs on Adult Swim, ran a short skit during the eighth episode of their second season featuring the Looney Tunes characters during the final rap battle of the film. Bugs Bunny plays "B-Rabbit", Daffy Duck as David "Future" Porter, Porky Pig as DJ Iz and Elmer Fudd as Papa Doc. B-Rabbit wins the rap battle and is offered a record deal by Dr. Dre.

"Weird Al" Yankovic did a parody of "Lose Yourself" entitled "Couch Potato" that appeared on his 2003 album Poodle Hat.

The movie is referenced in The Cleveland Show episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner".

Comedian Dave Chappelle made a parody of the movie on The Chappelle Show.

Reception

8 Mile opened to relatively positive reviews, with much of the praise going to Eminem's performance. It holds a 74% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a 3 out of 4 stars. He praised Eminem's performance, as well as Basinger's. He said he wanted to see a sequel where Jimmy actually made it as a famous rapper.

The song "Lose Yourself", with music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto and lyrics by Eminem, won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Awards for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song. "Lose Yourself" also placed 93rd on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list. The song was later included on Eminem's greatest hits album .

References

External links

Category:Eminem Category:2002 films Category:2000s drama films Category:American coming-of-age films Category:American musical drama films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Curtis Hanson Category:Best Song Academy Award winners Category:Films about music and musicians Category:Hip hop films Category:Hood films Category:Gang films Category:Films shot in Michigan Category:Imagine Entertainment films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Films set in 1995 Category:Films set in Detroit, Michigan