Film Snail

6.8

Get Rich or Die Tryin'

R·2005·117m

Drama

Crime

Music

Drama

Crime

Music

Summary

A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.

Cast

50 Cent

Marcus

Joy Bryant

Charlene

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Majestic

Omar Benson Miller

Keryl

Terrence Howard

Bama

Viola Davis

Grandma

Ashley Walters

Antwan

Tory Kittles

Justice

Marc John Jefferies

Young Marcus

Sullivan Walker

Grandpa

Bill Duke

Levar

Mpho Koaho

Junebug

Serena Reeder

Katrina

Russell Hornsby

Odell

Vanessa Madden

Marcus' Relative

Joseph Pierre

Uncle Deuce

Ryan Allen

Uncle Ray

Brendan Jeffers

Marcus' Relative

Anastasia Hill

Marcus' Relative

Zainab Musa

Marcus' Relative

Lawrence Bayne

Security Guard

Boyd Banks

Prison Solitary Guard

Lenno Britos

Carlos Delgato

Mykelti Williamson

Charlene's Stepfather (uncredited)

Leon

Slim

Rhyon Nicole Brown

Young Charlene

Paulino Nunes

Detective

Arnold Pinnock

Detective

Frank Pellegrino

Detective Doyle

Bubba

Easy / Coke Dealer

Walter Alza

Raoul

Jer O'Leary

Valdez

Jorge Berrio

Cash Counting Machine Operator

Pedro Miguel Arce

Cash Counting Guard

Mercedez De Castro

Woman

Martha Chaves

Woman

Pedro Salvín

Man

Beatriz Pizano

Rodrigo's Mom

Arlene Duncan

Judge Juvenile Court

Charles Anthony Burks

Car Salesman

Roland Rothchild

Marcus' Lawyer

Ejyp Johnson

Lizard Boot Man (as Curtis 'Ejyp' Johnson)

George Randolph

School Security Guard

Conrad Bergschneider

Prison Guard

Tommy Chang

Store Owner

Vivian Lee

Store Owner's Wife

Ethan James Duff

New Jerseyite

Malik Barnhardt

Gun Salesman

Michael Miller

Dangerous

Don Ritchie

Emergency Room Doctor

Jean Daigle

Prison Corrections Officer

Steve Prempeh

Young Antwan

Cinam Zee

Young Kid

Shane Francis Smith

Young Kid

H. J. Mueller

Young Kid

Andrea Grant

Charlene's Mother

Víctor Gómez

Tito

George Ghali

Landlord

Goûchy Boy

Club Bouncer

Rogue Johnston

Coin Fiend

Michael Colonnese

Raoul's Younger Friend

Mike Santana

Fiend

Benz Antoine

Ray Wilmore

Mantee Murphy

Canary Cook

Quancetia Hamilton

Canary Waitress

Dan Duran

Journalist

Destan Owens

Charlene's Friend

Jerome White

Photographer

Bazil Williams

Teacher

Juliette Nurse

Teacher

Dave Naughton

Prison Tattoo Artist

Lloyd Coke

Majestic Thug

Roger Moore

Majestic Thug

Philip Akin

Reverend

Nigel Henry

Mourner

Dalecia Davis

Neighborhood Kid

Venice Grant

Hot Girl

Linda Boahen

Party Girl

Amber Shana Williams

Party Girl

Jessica Rose Lengyell

Party Girl

Patricia McPherson

Party Girl

Tracy Johnson

Party Girl

Ma’at Zachary

Party Girl (as Keisha 'Ma'at' Zachary)

Christopher Armstrong

Party Boy

Randy Brookes

ND Thug

Luis Fino

Studio Engineer

Pauline Berger

Receptionist

Bruce McFee

Security Guard

Wes Williams

Security Guard

Marlon Smith

Young Majestic Thug

Arnold Dulmus

Young Majestic Thug

Jérome Kern

Young Majestic Thug

Jahvan Caesar

Young Majestic Thug

Jamal Caesar

Young Majestic Thug

Ray H. McKay

Young Majestic Thug

Paul McKay

Young Majestic Thug

Mark McKay

Young Majestic Thug

Tristan Martin

Young Majestic Thug

Renee Miller

Young Majestic Hottie

Keisha Debro

Tammi (as Keisha Brown)

Keleisha Brown

Monique

Paul De La Rosa

Baliff

Angelica Mengana

Reporter

Kenneth Pressman

Diner Paramedic

Barry Moffatt

Diner Paramedic

Joe Boyes

Diner Paramedic

Stefania Vammaro

Gangster's Girlfriend

DeAdra P. Mickel

Check Cashier

Anarosa Peguero

Check Cashier / Drug Addict

Denia Brache

Cashier

Keith P. Scott

NJ Guy (as Keith Schatt)

Richardson Desil

Gun Store Bouncer

Victor of Aquitaine

Mercedes Driver / Drug Buyer (as Victor Fischbarg)

Atif Lanier

Neighborhood Thug

Paul D. Coleman Jr.

Neighborhood Thug

Basil Gibbs

Pelham Hall Security Guard

Kevin Dotcom Brown

Pelham Hall Security Guard (as Kevin Brown)

Rashaad Robert Devore

Subway Man

Balford Gordon

Marcus Crew Guy

Zachary Augustine

Marcus Crew Guy

Lewis Bedford

Marcus Crew Guy

Anwan Ekpo

Marcus Crew Guy

Allan Alexander

Marcus Crew Guy

Marlon J. Hull

Marcus Crew Guy

Jason Moore

Marcus Crew Guy

James Ockimey

Teenage Thug

Vinny Cuevas

Barber Shop Patron (uncredited)

Livingston Beaumont

Principal (uncredited)

Dorly Jean-Louis

Shanelle Club Babe (uncredited)

Mohamed Dione

Street Thug (uncredited)

Michael Yare

Sound Engineer (uncredited)

Jeshua Vargas

Driver (uncredited)

Anthony M. Pizzuto

Protester (uncredited)

Burton Perez

Miguel (uncredited)

Luisa-María Linares

Neighbor (uncredited)

Shareef McIntosh

Extra (uncredited)

Gloria Parks

Dominican Hottie (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Jim Sheridan

Writer

Terence Winter

Reviews

tmdb28039023

September 12, 2022

Get Rich or Die Tryin' reminds me of the apocryphal Chinese curse 'may you live in interesting times'. The most interesting thing that has happened to Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is that he has been shot nine times; accordingly, not only the character he plays, Marcus 'Young Caesar' Greer, but also a lot of other people get shot in this movie.

Most of them survive, though, so even this turns out to be not so special after all. As for the second most interesting experience in Fifty’s life, this actually happened to someone else: 8 Mile, the vastly superior film starring Eminem and released three years prior.

The problem is that 8 Mile is a story about humility, while GRoDT is about arrogance; the title alone exudes hubris, and the fact that it shares its title with a 50 Cent album makes us think that the inflated ego is not limited to the character, but it affects the star as well.

Unlike Em, who didn't play himself but played someone very much like him in particular and a real human being in general, Marcus Greer is not so much a fictionalized version of Jackson as 50 Cent's idea of 50 Cent.

Young Caesar is the larger-than-life figure that Curtis Jackson desperately wants to be, to the point that a modest 50 cents is not enough anymore; only a nickname that references arguably the most brilliant political and military mind history will suffice.

This is unintentionally ironic because the protagonist is not the sharpest knife in the kitchen; for example, little Marcus's (Marc John Jefferies) mother is murdered, and the suspect is a "Rick James-looking motherfucker" (Leon, criminally underutilized), so Marcus keeps a photo of the Super Freak ever near him, because otherwise he would forget what her mother's alleged killer looks like?

This is supposed to be a drama, a genre that the filmmaker, having directed My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father, should know very well; on the other hand, the director also wrote those films, so the blame for this inexplicable faux pas falls squarely on the scriptwriter.

The hero's Dickensian childhood was a cliché that 8 Mile could afford to skip because the dysfunctional interaction between Em and Kim Basinger told us everything we needed to know about it without the need for flashbacks narrated in Fifty’s uninflected monotone.

Then again, the soundtrack includes a song called “Window Shopper,” which means a mandatory shot of little Marcus staring forlornly through a window at the sneakers he can't afford, while a couple of extras taunt him.

The director surrounds Jackson with strong supporting cast (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Terrence Howard, the monolithic Bill Duke), but this is a double-edged sword; either they elevate Fifty to their level, or they completely overshadow him until he disappears, which is exactly what happens here.

Now, if Jackson were any smarter or less selfish, he would have let Howard, still fresh from a similar role in Hustle & Flow, play the lead, instead of saddling him with the role of his trusty sidekick Bama.

Nevertheless, Howard steals every scene he’s in (and has the best lines of dialogue; e.g., "Bama. Are you from Alabama?" "No, North Carolina." "Why do they call you Bama?” “I didn't want people to call me Lina”), including the best of them all: a revealing scuffle in a jail shower that preceded the Turkish bath fight in Eastern Promises by two years.

The big difference is that Hustle &Flow is about a pimp who aspires to become a musician, while GRoDT is about a gangbanger who gets distracted too easily: “I had my own space and I could focus on my dream of being a rapper… After three hours, I quit my career as a rapper and went back to selling coke.” In other words, why make an effort when one is such a prodigy that, when imprisoned, the other inmates and even the guards know the lyrics to Young Caesar’s future chart-topping hits?