Paid in Full (2002)

TOMATOMETER

53%
47%

Critic Consensus: Though well-acted and non-exploitative, Paid in Full treads a very well-worn story.

AUDIENCE SCORE

93%

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Movie Info

Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival.

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Cast

Wood Harris
as Ace
Mekhi Phifer
as Mitch
Kevin Carroll
as Calvin
Esai Morales
as Lulu
Chi McBride
as Pip
Cam'ron
as Rico
Remo Green
as Sonny
Cynthia Martells
as Dora
Cynthia Martels
as Dora
Elise Neal
as Aunt June
Regina Hall
as Kiesha
Joyce Walker Joseph
as Janet
Ron Cephas Jones
as Ice
Nelson Tynes
as Wedge
Karen Andrew
as Cakes
Pedro Salvin
as Columbian Man No. 1
Ramon Marroquin
as Columbian Man No. 2
Bruce Robinson
as The World Famous Brucie B
Jonas Chernick
as Detective/Surgeon
Maestro
as Mitch's Friend
Rufus Crawford
as Tommy
Jason Burke
as Street Runner
Chris Collins
as Kid No. 1
Geoffrey Antoine
as Kid No. 2
Arnold Pinnock
as Wiry Man
Tyson Hall
as Customer
Flash
as D.C. No. 1
Martin Roach
as D.C. No. 2
Noreaga
as Runner
Jesse Gibbons
as Antoine
Rohan Waugh
as Andre
Raven Dauda
as Donna
Eduardo Gómez
as Columbian No. 3
Anthony Clark
as Rico's Buddy No. 1
Michael Pope
as Rico's Buddy No. 2
Busy Bee
as Himself
Doug E. Fresh
as Himself
Khalida Outlaw
as Homegirl on the Street
Terrance Telfair
as Neutral Kid
Derrick Simmons
as Taunting Guy
Damon Dash
as Cruiser
Angela Martinez
as Girl in Car
Jamie Hector
as Dunn
Hassan Johnson
as Accomplice
Tobias Truvillion
as Runner
Jermaine Lloyd
as Money Counter
Clarence Fok Yiu-leung
as Dancer/Roller Choreographer
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Critic Reviews for Paid in Full

All Critics (43) | Top Critics (19)

I'm going to give it a marginal thumbs up. I liked it just enough.

Oct 29, 2002
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic

This familiar rise-and-fall tale is long on glamour and short on larger moralistic consequences, though it's told with sharp ears and eyes for the tenor of the times.

Oct 25, 2002 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Seattle Times
Top Critic

Needed a little less bling-bling and a lot more romance.

Oct 25, 2002 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic

Rings true, from the smooth dialogue to the unaffected performances of the central actors.

Oct 25, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
New York Post
Top Critic

A fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them.

Oct 25, 2002 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic

It does offer an uncommon thoughtfulness that makes it far less exploitative or sensationalistic than most examples of its genre.

Oct 25, 2002
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic
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Audience Reviews for Paid in Full

½

Paid in Full has a gritty realistic quality that is excellent in its' world building. It's well acted by largely unknowns, and succeeds in painting a real picture of Harlem without making it glamorous. The pacing, however is uneven, with the film seemingly dragging at points. More time should also have been devoted to fleshing out some of the characters. Still, its realism reminded me of The Wire, the greatest crime show ever.

Jeffrey Meyers
Jeffrey Meyers

Super Reviewer

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