In this hard-edged drama with a strong undercurrent of dark comedy, Stretch (Tim Roth) and Spoon (Tupac Shakur) are two friends who share both a passion for music and a dependence on heroin. Stretch and Spoon play in a jazz combo with Cookie (Thandie Newton), and after a New Year's Eve gig, they score drugs and get high together. Cookie lacks her friends' experience with hard drugs and soon ends up in the hospital after a severe overdose. Cookie's brush with death turns out to be a serious
reality check for Stretch and Spoon, and they decide that it's time to kick drugs and get clean and sober. But both men know that they can't get off heroin on their own, and therein lies the problem; as they try to navigate a complex maze of social service agencies (who can't help them get treatment because they aren't on welfare), drug treatment facilities (one of which turns them away because they're only equipped to handle alcoholics), and hospitals (where, in order to be admitted as emergency patients, Stretch and Spoon ponder how to go about stabbing each other) in search of a detox program. The two friends begin to wonder if it might simply be easier to stay on drugs than to get healthy. Gridlock'd marked the feature film directorial debut for actor Vondie Curtis Hall, best known for his work on the TV series Chicago Hope; Elizabeth Pena and John Sayles both appear in supporting roles. Rap musician-turned actor Tupac Shakur, who played Spoon, died in a drive-by shooting four months prior to the release of this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
An engaging look at a mangy day in the lives of two junkies trying to kick, Gridlock'd would have been a good mid-level B.O. performer even without the interest surrounding it, due to the recent death of co-star Tupac Shakur.
The movie's appeal lies largely in its capacity for surprise, riffing off tired characters and pooped genres to produce, intermittently at least, a fresh new tone. Call it junkie humour.
Cast against type as the gentler of two musician junkies trying to burrow through the bureaucracy to enter a rehab clinic in Detroit, Shakur has the relaxed screen presence of a young Wesley Snipes and plays perfectly off the delirious Tim Roth.
A surprisingly light-hearted comedy about what happens when two self-imposed exiles from society decide to go straight and look to the system for a little help.
The film has a fairly uninteresting narrative motor in its thriller subplot, but hits on an edgy black comic tone for Stretch and Spoon's increasingly pained dealings with the unsympathetic representatives of authority.
The late Shakur is especially impressive as the brighter of the duo -- a frazzled but infinitely patient character with a touching faith that somehow, if the pair just keeps plugging away, everything will turn out okay.
Written and directed by actor Vondie Curtis Hall, the film blends savvy and sour-mash humor with bone-deep sadness that recalls predecessors as varied as After Hours and Trainspotting.
In Gridlock'd, an oddly effective combination of gritty drama and social satire, Shakur and his co-star Tim Roth take sketchy characters and make them exciting to watch through the pure energy of their talent and chemistry.
I love this movie, its extremely entertainly.Its a laugh a minute and you can just fall in love with all the characters!Tupak and Roth are fantastic and have great chemistry and Newton is also brilliant.Its a highly enjoyable and funny movie that is a must to watch!
April 14, 2009
Film Crazy
Super Reviewer
an excellent film about friendship and the abuses of heroin. tupac puts forth probably the one truly noteworthy performance of his acting career and tim roth is brilliant as always. underrated in that this film has been so largely ignored over the years, definitely worth a watch.
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