Rapper Ice Cube's debut as a director proves that he has a little work to do in the field before he has perfected the craft. But it also acts as a debut for one of the more promising talents in recent memory. Cube's film revolves around a topless bar, the titular (pun intended) "Player's Club," and, in particular, a dancer named Diamond. The story begins with her walking through the burnt our ruins of the club and her voice over narration lets us know that this is where the story will eventually end.

It doesn't take long for Cube to get us back to the beginning of the story, where a young Diana gets invited to work at the club by a couple of current dancer and we find ourselves on the floor of one of the trashiest dives ever to grace the screen.

Cube gives every indication that he can one day be as fine a filmmaker as Tarantino. He already has a modern day Pam Grier in LisaRaye, who plays Diamond, a novice actress and one time erotic dancer that Cube discovered for the role. And his use of color, action, music, slo-mo and violence show us a strong, capable director who just needs to slow down a bit and trust in his instincts a bit more. A great example of this lack of trust comes in the "rape" scene late in the film which escalates much too quickly and without an adequate setup. Cube hurries too much here when, even though we can see the situation coming, a slower and more detailed approach to the segment would make it exponentially more harrowing.

Another problem with the film is Cube's script which wavers between comedy and drama much too often. Cube seems afraid to present a complete drama here since his first script was the hilarious comedy "Friday." But the forced comedy parts of the script don't work. Take for example the scene where a character tells a cop, played by John Amos, that he "looks like the father on 'Good Times.' Not funny and really out of place in the proceedings here. When the comedy comes from the natural situations in the film, it's perfect. But too often Cube isn't able to reign in the script and the film suffers for want of a laugh that never comes, because it is too forced. Surprisingly, and too our delight, Jamie Foxx, who plays the club DJ, is very restrained and only brings us jokes when they fit.

The acting in the film is relatively good, although LisaRaye's presence reminds us of blaxploitation films of the 70's somewhat. Cube plays this up wonderfully in the climactic cat fight in the dressing room of the club where mirror after mirror is smashed in the action. The actors of note in the film include the rather irritation and mush- mouthed Bernie Mac as the club owner Dollar Bill. At first, obnoxious, his presence soon becomes quite amusing. Monica Calhoun is also wonderful as Diamond's young cousin Ebony who also takes a job at the club. More wild and naive than her cuz, she often provides the film with dramatic tension and the crux of the unease we feel here. Calhoun never fails us and her constant fluctuation between wild-eyed innocent and drunken whore consistently brings us deeper into the film. A.J. Johnson has some funny moments as Li'l Man, the doorman, while Chrystal Wilson, plays the heavy as the bad girl Ronnie. Also in the film are Larry McCoy as Saint Louis, Dick Anthony Williams as Diamond's father, Tiny Lister as XL, Master P in a small role and the aforementioned Amos and Faizon Love as neighborhood cops. There is also an appearance by Luther Campell (as himself) which establishes a scene for more tension in the film and Cube himself plays a secondary role.

If there is a huge problem in the film, it's the way the film uses lesbianism to equal corruption and depravity. This theme appears so frequently that it becomes a sort of disquieting motif. What Cube has against lesbianism is anybody's guess but it is perturbing that his female villain actually attempts to rape the female heroine on more than one occasion. It's also sad that this theme is present, if only subliminally, when the heroine seeks her revenge on the woman. This female heavy does enough other bad things in the film to justify her conclusion that lesbianism doesn't even have to be brought into the piece. If nothing else, it seems, to me with so many male customers in the film, even though they are almost all black, that another type could be exploited as the villain here.

"The Player's Club" isn't perfect but it does show the promise of a talented director yet to come to the cinema. Cube has already established himself as a rapper, an actor, a producer of both film and music, and a writer of both as well. It won't be long until he establishes himself as a director of superb merit as well.

Note: Cube acts as a Producer as well as scripting the film. Some of his songs are also used on the soundtrack.

Score by Hidden Faces with pop songs by Brandy, R. Kelley, Republika, Master P, Luke, and Mia X among other rap acts.

Choreography by Fatima, a stripper.

Filmed in L.A. on a budget of $5 million.

Review written in 1998

More of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click your favorite letter to go there.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

HOME