$2.50 is what I would pay to watch this movie.

    I’d have a lot more respect for this movie if it had an ounce of originality to it. The only thing that saves this movie is the quality of the actors, and even that is disputable, as the lead role is modeled after the lead actor’s life, so how much of that was “acting” is not clearly answerable. Not to mention, this is Eminem’s first role where he isn’t billed as “himself” in the credits. Regardless of all that (which is pretty much just a cheap shot) Eminem’s performance is solid, and it remains only to be seen whether he can duplicate it. But one can’t dispute Mekhi Phifer, again giving a solid performance, albeit as Eminem’s main cheerleader, “Future.” Evan Jones gave a solid performance in the role of “Cheddar Bob,” the main group of buddies’ token moron.
    I, of all people, should be a huge fan of this movie, as Curtis Hanson decided to rip off Lars von Trier almost exclusively. The cinematography of this movie is reminiscent of “Breaking the Waves”, and the entire structure of the movie is, to be kind, a tribute to “Dancer in the Dark.” Even the fact that Eminem’s character works in a factory with many very interesting sounds going on is a direct take on “Dancer in the Dark.” Not to mention the most “romantic” scene in the movie, where Eminem bangs Brittany Murphy in an empty part of the factory, leaves a very “Breaking the Waves” flavor in the mouth.
    The actual plot of the movie is fairly standard. As my good friend Jeff said, “I liked this movie better the first time I saw it, when it was called ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter.’” I thought that was remarkably accurate, despite the fact that Eminem’s character in “8 Mile” never actually achieves stardom, he simply overcomes his own fear of performance.
    That was one thing that really bothered me about this movie: There was never any doubt that Eminem’s character could perform. Not once did the movie convince me that it was possible that he would fail to achieve his (rather modest) goals. I guess the gimmick is that this “world” that the characters live in is supposed to be shocking and harsh compared to the world that we normal humans dwell in, but I didn’t buy it. Sure, it seemed that many of the people in the main character’s life were basically out to sabotage his ambition, but he also had a very supportive core group of friends that, through the entire span of the movie, were pushing and dragging him towards success. Not to mention that it was clearly established that this character was uncommonly gifted, so any doubts about his capabilities centered around a rather weak demonstration of stage fright.
    The actual environment that the character was in could have been deadly, but it was clearly established that the only people who actually shoot people in ghettos are morons or prep school boys, and the rest of the inner city is busily engaging in heated rap battles. In other words, guns aren’t cool, and most of the characters in this movie are.
    Overall, this movie is not terrible. Honestly, I think that it is highly overrated and, like many highly overrated movies, it will soon be forgotten. I would suggest watching it, however, if only to watch the novelty of a professional musician’s debut film not being terrible. If you hate rap, you might not like this movie, but you might like it, too. If you like Eminem, you will probably dig this movie. This is a good movie, it’s just not very interesting.