Back when this movie first came out, I received an early screener from a buddy whose mom worked in the airline industry, and I just watched it over and over.

I was 22, and I'd been into hiphop since the early 90s, and had been big in the scene when the Slim Shady album came out. I remember the subsequent Eminem drops throughout the years, and then all of a sudden there's a movie, an almost-biopic, about Marshall Mathers, with an all-star cast. Like seriously, the cast in this film is ridiculous; Anthony Mackie, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Shannon, Brittany Murphy, Xzibit... it's a literal who's who smorgasborg.

It's heartfelt, it's heavy, it's a love letter to real hip hop, and it's pretty fucking grounded for a biopic (of sorts) of Eminem (or any rapper) at his peak (his album that year sold 1.3 million copies in the first week).

The music is dope, the freestyles are hype, and the last twenty or so minutes are just raw af. I remember going to freestyle battles in the 90s and 00s in Toronto and the energy was just insane, and this movie managed to encapsulate that whole late 90s hip hop scene so damn well.

It feels like such a moment in moviemaking that won't or can't really be repeated ever again due to the cultural significance of the artist at the time. It was truly art imitates life.

I'd love to hear this sub's thoughts on the movie. I've been a lurker and commenter here forever, but I've never posted a movie review/discussion post, but rewatching this movie right now, stuck at home alone, made me want to reach out to you all for some conversation. Wordlife fam.

Edit: yeah, I fucked up the post title, I'm a little drunk and high rn, the movie just made me kinda want to get lit.