It’s not the conventional rags to riches story where the guy gets the girl and the unfathomable wealth and all is right with the world. However, on Detroit’s real Eight Mile, the strip of land that separates the black from the white neighborhood, the urban from the suburban, this story is worthy of Disney accolades.
Our diamond in the rough is Jimmy Smith Jr., B-Rabbit (Eminem), the fledgling white trailer park rapper who works at the Detroit Stampers factory during the day and hits the black dominated world of hip-hop at night. We see the “next Vanilla Ice” choke during his first battle, and lose to Papa Doc whom he must face, inevitably, in the end.
Of course, Rabbit has to have his boys, a posse that ranges from Future (Mekhi Phifer), the MC of the battles of Rabbit, to the cut-up Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones), who shoots himself accidentally in an effort to save Rabbits honor. Then there is Sol, the lovable big boy dreamer played by Omar Benson Wilson and the African Activist DJ Iz, performed by De’Angelo Wilson. Together these friends make up the “Three One Third” crew, aspiring for a way out of gangsta’s paradise.
We become acquainted with Alex, the nympho-wannabe model (Brittany Murphy) who believes in Rabbit almost as quickly as she propositions him at work and helps Rabbit believe in himself. We interact with his drunk, bingo playing, trailer trash mother played convincingly by Kim Basinger. When they argue, we almost believe that Eminem is purging his trailer park demons as a young boy. However, even she supports his demo dreams.
We follow Rabbit as he emerges as a potent rap force, ready to stick it to the world as he lays it on the line to regain his name and respect from the harsh hip-hop community. In the final battle against Papa Doc, Rabbit disses himself before Papa Doc can dis him, leaving his opponent speechless. We are left with no gold records, no rap lifestyle and no gold chains, gold teeth or the Crystal that come along with it. We are left with Rabbit, returning to work after the battle of his life, as an ordinary guy who achieved an extraordinary triumph, just trying to save money for studio time.
We see Rabbit in the gritty world of Detroit’s real Eight Mile, a raw portrayal of the streets and its landscape. Producer Brian Grazer convincingly portrays Detroit as dead-end and hopeless. Hues of grays and blues and close-up shots with in your-face images, shot with a hand held camera, serve to give the audience a sense that they are right there with Rabbit. When Rabbit battles, we are on stage with him; we are looking out into the critical audience as our man Rabbit embarrasses his opponents in a lyrical combat.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, who won an Oscar for L.A. Confidential, Eminem emerges as a believable actor, already receiving Oscar buzz. Hanson provided Eminem with seasoned actors, which made it seem that it was just a day in the life of Eminem circa 1995. The chemistry between Eminem and Murphy and Eminem and Basinger is electrifying, and we almost believe that these two actresses transform into ghosts from Eminem’s past.
Although the film may be called semi-autobiographical, the real Slim Shady is confident, Rabbit is unsure. Where Eminem had a pregnant girlfriend, Rabbit only has an ex-girlfriend who fakes a pregnancy. There are differences, albeit minute ones, but the fact is that Eminem is the J-Lo of the rap world. All we need is the clothing line and the cologne.
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