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Idlewild: The Major Motion Picture · by Sach O
Remember that Rooster song from Speakerboxxx? It’s more prominent than anything from the soundtrack.
Good news Outkast fans! Idlewild: the Motion Picture has practically NOTHING to do with the album of the same name. Written while Outkast was working on Speakerboxxx and The Love Below, most of the film’s music comes from those two albums rather than their new release. Other than Chronomentrophobia and When I look into your eyes, none of the new music was composed during the making of the film and the few times it appears on screen, it’s in the background and barely noticeable. Instead, most of the film’s musical aspect is dominated by original score and assorted stage performances from Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx. In light of this, I’m pretty sure that the Idlewild album was recorded in all of 2 weeks in order to have something new to sell along with the film because it’s an entirely separate entity. It’s actually quite reassuring in a twisted way.
So how’s Idlewild the film? The answer is surprisingly entertaining.
The dual stories of a repressed piano playing mortician and the girl he loves and a club owning gangster and the man who wants to kill him, Idlewild is a slice of strangeness, full of animated flasks, dancing stick figures, scratched vocals and over the top characters. Big Boi acts like himself and Andre 1935 tries really hard to show off his chops by playing Mr. Sensitive. Macy Gray is annoying and Terrence Howard acts like an asshat. Paula Patton is hot and the film features guns, swearing and a one random titty shot. If this sounds like an entertaining time to you, go see the film. The story is pretty inconsequential since it’s all about seeing some of your favorite emcees play out a bizarre future-retro scenario and even when the plot gets convoluted and the acting turns hammy, it’s still enough mindless fun to keep the average fan satisfied. Additionally, the film is well shot and Brian Barber takes his chance at fame and a career with gusto, staging dance sequences, effects shots and even good old fashioned dialogue without coming off as second rate. Let’s put it this way, it’s not Belly and I mean that in a good way.
Idlewild won’t change the world but it WILL cleanse the bad taste left in your mouth by the album of the same name and will keep you laughing for 2 hours. Andre needs a few more acting lessons before he’s ready for the screen again (though his theatricality would be perfect for Broadway, oddly enough) and Big Boi essentially plays himself but no one in their right mind is going to walk into this expecting Citizen Kane. And much like Andre’s recent Prince-lite work, I guess they hope no one remembers Purple Rain either.
Sach, that review was money
— Dallas Aug 29, 10:18 AM
Well-written review….still, I contend that the best artist/actress is Janet Jackson, she did her thing in Poetic Justice to me…and from what I’ve heard, her new album 20 Years Old is hot too
— James Sep 23, 10:28 PM
^^ yeah i heard that album is hot from like five street-teaming bots posting on the boards
— David Sep 23, 10:37 PM