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Dom Robinson reviews
Good time to kick.. Bad day to pick. Distributed by 
Universal Pictures
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 078 032 2
- Running time: 87 minutes
- Year: 1996
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, 4 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 18
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby ProLogic)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English (and hard of hearing)
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- 16:9-enhanced: No
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 5
- Price: £17.99
- Extras: Trailer, Stills gallery
Director:
- Vondie Curtis-Hall
(Gridlock’d)
Producer:
- Erica Huggins, Damian Jones, Paul Webster
Screenplay:
- Vondie Curtis-Hall
Music:
- Stewart Copeland
Cast:
- Stretch: Tim Roth
Spoon: Tupac Shakur
Cookie: Thandie Newton
D-Reper: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Blind Man: Howard Hesseman
Gridlock’d tells the story of two junkies who decide it’s time to kick their drugs habit when their flat-sharing partner, Cookie (Thandie Newton) goes into a coma after taking one too many happy-tabs. After trying all manner of ways to call an ambulance, they go down to the hospital to book her in. However, this isn’t the only place where bureaucracy won’t help them in their attempt to get clean.
They’ve picked a bad day to kick their habit. It’s New Year’s Day. Last night was great. They played a superb gig in a jazz club where talent scouts were watching and they’re on the verge of signing a deal. Today, things are different. Whether it’s a trip to the local social services office, or an appointment with the nurse at the HIV-testing clinic, nothing is as easy as it seems as they’re pushed from pillar to post in the hope that they’ll get some form of medication today before they crack under the pressure and go back on the smack.
As if that wasn’t hard enough, they’ve also got the local drugs baron, the D-Reper, on their tail, after they stiffed him in a deal to sell him a top-of-the-range camcorder. The D-Reper’s minder is underexagerating the situation a great deal when he tells the two stars that his boss is “very unhappy with his purchase”, and when you watch the film you’ll see why…
The film has been likened as a US “Trainspotting”, but both films use a style of their own and need to be seen on their own terms.
What really makes this film for me is the superb acting, as always, from the reliable Brit Tim Roth. Most people will recognise him from Quentin Tarantino’s films, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, but he has been in the acting game for a long time now and one of the earliest performances I saw him in was another “angry young man” as a skinhead raging against the system whose life is heading fast in a downward spiral, in the 1982 TV film, Made in Britain.
Tupac Shakur does his part well, but it’s hardly outstanding. Most of the time he seems like a combination between Damon Wayans and a young Wesley Snipes, but it seems prophetic in a way that as his screen character, Spoon, eulogises about the fact that he sees his luck in life having run out, that shortly after the film, he was killed in a drive-by shooting leaving behind a few albums and films to his name.
When I first saw this film at the cinema in 1997 and reviewed it, I said that “Thandie Newton has to be one of Britain’s rising stars” and it’s clear she’s on her way up now since the release of M:I-2. Although her role in this one isn’t huge, limited mainly to overdosing, followed by a few flashback scenes to the night before at the flat and in the jazz club, she lights up the screen whenever she appears. The only thing that irks me about her performance comes at the end when she’s talking to the audience and trying to be ‘hip’ and ‘rad’ with the crowd. It just doesn’t gel when, instead of saying something like “we’re going to have a good time tonight”, she comes out with, “we’re gonna burn.. the shit.. down!”. Pardon?
The film shows great prosperity for first-time writer-director Vondie Curtis-Hall, who many will recognise as Dr. Curtis Hancock from TV’s Chicago Hope, although he has appeared in a number of other films including Broken Arrow, Clear and Present Danger and Die Hard 2.
He does well by keeping his speaking role to a minimum, while keeping a presence throughout the film, and not trying to dominate the proceedings as some actor-director’s might. Also, the inclusion of many a quick-cut scene within the film works very well indeed when mixed with the rap music, and alternating with less frantic scenes, such as those of Stretch, Spoon and Cookie’s band performing in a blues/jazz club which keep the camera moving while the excellent music echoes around the auditorium. Enjoy this film in a room with a well set-up sound system to let the mood encapsulate you.
There’s also delight in Howard Hesseman‘s turn as a blind man who doesn’t understand the meaning of not being eligible for state benefits as he begins to create more than a disturbance. It took a short while before I realised it was Charlie, the teacher, from the US TV sitcom, Head of the Class in the late 80’s.
Tim, Tupac & Thandie. When I first saw the press release for this DVD I jumped for joy as the words “16:9 widescreen” and “Dolby Digital 5.1” appeared before my eyes. Alas, this was not to be. However, the image is open-matte even if it is fullscreen, is well-proportioned and there’s no complaints when it’s zoomed in to fill a widescreen TV, bar the cropping of the subtitles at the bottom of the screen – why can’t they be placed within the 16:9 frame? The average bitrate is a fairly steady 5.31Mb/s.
I’m presuming the sound was Dolby Pro Logic to begin with as it sounds as good here as it did in the cinema. Directional SFX when the boys are being chased and the soft, lilting voice of Thandie mixing with the jazz music puts you in heaven.
Extras :
Don’t get too excited about these. There’s just a near-two-minute Trailer and a ten small black and white pictures in the Stills gallery.
There are the usual 18 chapters, which is fine and the subtitles extend to English (and hard of hearing) only. The only menu is silent and static.
Overall, the film itself is well recommended to anyone who appreciates good acting from Tim Roth, good direction and music, and doesn’t mind endless f-words. Given the lack of extras or the promised widescreen print and I’d advise against a purchase only unless you’re a massive fan of the film.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL 
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.