I recently was watching the Miami Vice movie (starring Mr. Jamie Fox and Mr. Colin Farrell) with a friend. Let me mention a bit about the movie first. It’s not the version you might expect if you were a fan of the television series. While both men look the roles and mesh with each other mostly believably, little else from the television series survives to be in this movie. Most notable are the fact that the pace and music are far off.
The music of the show was catchy, somewhat in your face and upbeat. It matched the show perfectly and in every episode it helped to set the mood as much as the visuals of Miami did. In this movie the visuals are fantastic. The music is downbeat and virtually numbing. But it must be said that it fits the pace exactly. If you were hoping to hear the theme or even a version of Mr. Phil Collins song – In the Air – you will be disappointed. It doesn’t happen. If they crept it in there at any point I missed it. And I was looking for it.
As I’ve mentioned the pace is more reminiscent of the movie Grand Canyon than what you would think for Miami Vice. The focus of the majority of the film is the unlikely and sudden love story between Sonny Crochet and the Columbian crime bosses girl. This relationship feels forced and stupid. I mean as a supposed drug runner for a huge and vicious drug cartel, would you want to date the wife of the boss behind his back (and yet without regard in front of his various guards and frontman)? Not a smart move if you expect a long life. At least Tubbs relationship makes sense. But if you recall this is not supposed to be a romantic love story, it’s supposed to be an action/police drama movie. Someone forgot to mention this to the director and writers.
So I think you can tell I didn’t enjoy the movie. Were it titled something else and accurately promoted, I might have. But as a film that was supposed to live up to and pay homage to a popular 80’s action police drama it failed, badly.
Now there was something else that caught my attention. Not really about the movie, but caused by it. Early in the movie, Crochet and Tubbs are after a dealer, and he is speaking with a pimp in a trendy club. One of the girls being offered to the dealer seems to be upset [gee I can’t imagine why] and the pimp is not happy. He has her dragged to a secluded area in the club and begins to beat her. Tubbs thankfully has seen this, but is pulled away before he can get to the girl and do something about it.
My friend, from the small town I live in now, mentioned, “What is he doing? Do pimps act like that?” To which I stated of course. I then went on to mention what a real pimp acts like. That beating the women he derives his income from is a regular act and part of how he retains control. (I do realize that all pimps are not just men, but they all do act in the same manner) My friend was surprised. I was surprised that this wasn’t either known or obvious. It also made me think.
These days kids like to go around calling themselves pimps and pimpettes. They have no clue what they are talking about. Rappers and some entertainers say the same and are generally just as lost in the meaning. I think only Ice-T really understands the meaning, as he actually was doing this (by his own admission) long before he ever was interested in rap.
Movies, music videos and general ignorance on the meaning of words have lead to the illusion that such a lifestyle is in anyway glamorous or positive. Kids, or anyone who uses the term, should take a look at the hospital wards that these women frequent after being beaten by their pimp. I wish a film could be made that shows how a pimp really acts, not the censored scripted generic image given in most movies or the hyped glamorized version of videos. The reality just in that one scene, and the realization that the truth is far worse had a serious impact on my friend. I wish it had for everyone who saw the movie and misuses this term.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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