11/29/06 Menace II Society

Menace II Society (1993), directed by Albert & Allen Hughes

watched solo; DVD rental (North American Video) @ home

A big fan of the Hughes Brothers work ("Dead Presidents" and "From Hell"), I never did catch this original piece from them, that was to prove the most gritty and raw of their thematic elements. What I thought would be just another entry into the urban ghetto dramas that followed up the excellent and hard-hitting "Boyz N The Hood" or "New Jack City," this film actually had more comparisons to another excellent piece of violent work. I must also admit here that I totally stole this comparison and ideas from a review I read on a website, but I found myself completely agreeing with the statements. This gritty urban drama paralleled something like Scorsese's "GoodFellas" more than anything else. What we have is a similar theme by showing a flawed main character that has been raised and nurtured in a violent community around him, at heart a good person yet caught up in the seedy dealings that are all around. The anti-hero that is presented is trying to get out of his respective hell that he has created, but inevitably falls victim before fully breaking free. As Ray Liotta's character Henry played a narrative that showed two sides to a gangster lifestyle, so does the main character here Caine. Caine is a young man trying to avoid the harsh trappings of the ghetto and its crime-ridden warfare of gang-banging and drugs, on the verge of his high school graduation and perhaps escaping this particular world. Lead into many unwanted situations of crime by his crazy friend "O-Dog," influenced at a young age by his imprisoned older brother, and pushed out of his loving surroundings by his grandparents when they learn about his lifestyle, Caine is faced with a frightening reality. Being smart enough to alleviate his current plight, Caine must choose whether he can leave that life behind and make his future better...or succumb to the status quo of the ghetto. It's a very harsh and biting tale of brutal youth in urban society, who are trying to live a normal life amidst vicious surroundings. While not at all as impactful as "Boyz N The Hood" can prove to be, it is nonetheless a very important landmark film...plus it was a key part of the Wayans Brothers eventual spoof of the aforementioned genre. Cue the longest movie title ever. "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood" ring a bell?

3 out of 5 stars