Gridlock'd (1997) Online

Extraordinary chemistry between Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur is the best feature about this movie.

The situations are really interesting with a bit of black humor and some action going on. Tupac Shakur, against all criticism, delivers a solid, believable, likable performance. Tim Roth is amazing and delivers a badass performance as the "cool" junkie with a bad attitude.

I really dig how they care for each other and how they help each other whenever there's trouble. The drug sub-plot is also interesting and very good carried on.

Years ago I mentioned on another review that this was the best on-screen duo of 1997. I still think the same.

From the very first to the very last scenes of this film, I sat immobile, bug-eyed, and completely agog at the sight of my own painfully hopeless experience as a strung-out junk zombie. And I wonder: why did they never screen this film for us in rehab? Not only is "Gridlock'd" an exciting, intelligent, and visually riveting film, it is also dead on the money in its depiction of the excruciating emotional, spiritual, and material bankruptcy of a junkie's living death. Stretch and Spoon are well fleshed-out characters with which I can identify in almost every aspect, and are beautifully portrayed by Shakur and Roth. The true genius of this story is that, despite its grim and uncomfortably blunt treatment of its subject matter, it manages to convey a message of hope that no matter how deeply entrenched in addiction one may be, one CAN break the shackles of substance abuse and realize that one's life is worth saving.

On New Years Eve, jazz musicians Stretch, Spoon and Cookie are using when Cookie overdoses. This is all the motivation Spoon needs to kick and both he and Stretch resolve to give it up. They spend the next day trying to get into a rehab clinic while also getting accidentally mixed up in a murder enquiry.

This is a very dark satire on the bureaucracy of the US healthcare system - a wonderful system if you can afford it, unfortunately not for the millions of disenfranchised who are outside the system. Like Stretch and Spoon. The film shows the frustration they experience with a system that is not focused on the needs of their customers but is layer upon layer of paperwork and bureaucracy. The film shows them getting the round around when all they want to do is kick. However this is not all one sided - the film is intelligent enough to know that both clients and system need to give some. As one of the health care workers says "we have rules. You expect the world to stop just because today you've decided to kick. Like we've all been waiting for this day for 10 years!"

This is very clever because the film doesn't want to be too sympathetic to junkies after all. However it also rightly sees the major problems that exist in the system. The subplot involving the drug-related murder is a good addition to the plot as it compliments the range of problems they are experiencing, and somehow it doesn't seem to fit in too badly with the story even though it relies on several coincidences to get it moving.

The direction is good, the flashbacks are well handled visually and in terms of placing them within the film. The feel of the film is gritty and unrealistic, the drug use is viewed neutrally - the good side of it sits beside the bad side and neither is pushed more than the other. Vondie Curtis Hall is a great actor (with a cameo role here and plenty of great performances in Passion Fish, Drop Squad, Crooklyn), here he shows that he is a good director as well (I can forgive him for Glitter!). But the story is what makes this film - it's dark right up till the end, but the ending feels like a cop out - is it a flashback or is it a happy ending? I don't know.

The performances are roundly good. The chemistry between Tupac and Roth is natural, with Tupac playing it calm and Roth being more angry and aggressive. Both are convincing - Tupac is a good example of a musician crossing over into film and giving a good performance - Master P et al please take note and stop being so arrogant! This is a fitting testimony to Tupac's talent. Roth is good as always with his American accent. Thandie Newton is very good looking and is a good actress but here she's not totally convincing - epically during the jazz scenes where she doesn't really have the voice to be convincing. Outside of these three the rest of the cast throws up some well known faces - Vondie Curtis Hall is good and Lucy Liu makes a brief pre-fame appearance.

Overall a solid drama that is a good satire that is greatly helped by the chemistry between Tupac and Tim Roth.

Great movie! One of the best movies i've ever seen! This film shows how hard and difficult is to quit drugs and find a place for treatment when you're a poor person! Great acting, great plot and very well direct. This is NOT another movie about drugs and drug addicted only, its about burocracy of the healthcare system, how bad it is unless you have money and how it affects this people.

Watch this movie if you can, its really good.

Rhythm is the key of this superb movie, the elapse is basically an endless chase that keeps you awake all through the movie. Besides the whole atmosphere is very cool the decadence of the junkie world has a glamour of its own, mostly when it's magnificent represented by Tim Roth (the acid James Cagney) and Tupac Shakur who really shows us his acting skills here. You gonna love him. The movie is basically perfect in the sense there's nothing to criticize: On every single aspect the movie is magnificent.

Vondie Curtis-Hall simply couldn't make a better debut as a director.

This movie was just a lot of fun, no matter how you try and break it down. I saw it because of Tim Roth, and I'm glad I did; Tupac Shakur was just as enjoyable to watch, along with smaller roles from the now much-more-famous Thandie Newton and Lucy Liu.

In retrospect, the character development isn't anything incredibly deep, but it still has incredibly funny and dramatic moments despite this. It plays like a stageplay on a skateboard, bouncing from place to place, the journey more important than the destination.

Maybe that sounds a little silly, but it's still a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to go on a ride with these characters. Definitely a great kick, as we patiently wait for another film from mostly-actor Vondie-Curtis Hall.

This movie rocks! That's all I can say about it. 2Pac is great, and what to say about Tim Roth? He's awesome. The chemistry between Shakur, and Roth is powerful. The situations are really cool, and you can't help but enjoy this movie.

Recommended for everyone.

Imagine the lives of the two musicians, Stretch and Spoon, part of a jazz combo that receive a warning sign when the other member of the group, the sultry Cookie, the singer, is found almost comatose after a drug overdose. Stretch and Spoon decide they have been lucky, so far; they must change their lives and their dependency on drugs.

Alas, the system is against them. The two embark in a vain attempt to be enrolled in Medicaid so they can be detoxed. Everything turns against them. To vent their frustrations, they visit the drug dealing Mud, but they are surprised what they find in the apartment. Then, to make matters worse, they are chased by a dangerous duo who want something they took from Mud's place that belong to them.

The pair get into all kinds of hot water. They are even shown on the television news as the probable culprits for offing their friend. In every government agency the two visit, they are dealt a blow, as nothing comes as simple as what they thought would be a cinch. In order to accomplish being admitted to a hospital and be treated, Spoon asks his buddy to stab him, after Stretch has been shot in the arm. In a hilarious sequence, Stretch tries in vein to do what his friends want him to do.

"Gridlock'd" directed by Vondie Curtis Hall, an actor making his debut behind the camera, is a personal triumph. Mr. Hall got an excellent crew to work with and amazing performances from Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur, a rap star who died too young. Mr. Shakur impresses as he holds his own against a more experienced film actor of the stature of Mr. Roth. Both are great fun to watch. Thandie Newton, a gorgeous actress, plays Cookie, a sort of singer with an unique style. John Sayles, who had directed Mr. Hall in "Passion Fish" has a brief role as a cop.

This film will delight viewers with its fast pace in the mean streets of Detroit. The language might put some people off, but it works fine in the context of the action and what the characters are supposed to be.

Didn't intend to watch but was flicking channels and hooked from the first few minutes. Maybe I should have known, but didn't realise it was Tupac Shakur initially - just thought I was watching a good actor I'd not seen before. A real shame such a talented man's life was taken..Roth & Shakur work incredibly well together despite some initial feelings that Shakur just seemed too cool to be hanging out with someone like Roth, but it works as the story moves along.

Would recommend this to anyone as a well presented story with some genuinely funny moments...very minor SPOILER alert...watch out for the scene with the pocket knife later in the movie, great funny scene.

After their brash jazz singer pal Cookie (the adorable Thandie Newton) winds up hospitalized from overdosing on bad smack, mellow, sensible, long-suffering bass player heroin addict Spoon (a wonderfully laid-back and affable Tupac Shakur) and his wild, irrational, unpredictable keyboardist fellow dope fiend best friend Stretch (a marvelously manic Tim Roth) decide to go into rehab in order to kick their habits. This seemingly simple task proves to be easier said than done when the hapless pair run afoul of both angry drug dealers and a lumbering bureaucracy that's rife with red tape, apathy and incompetence.

Writer/director Vondie Curtis Hall expertly mines a savagely funny line in raw, caustic and profane pitch-black humor while delivering a scathing indictment of the indifference and ineptitude of the social welfare system. Moreover, this film has a great rough, gritty edge to it that positively surges with a furiously hopped-up crackling vitality. Best of all, the amazingly springy'n'zingy electric and natural chemistry between the utterly engaging well-matched leads is a constant joy to watch, reaching a hilariously brutal zenith towards the end when Shukar persuades Roth to repeatedly stab him in the stomach so they can both finally get some much-needed medical treatment. Roth and Shakur shine in their roles, plus there's terrific supporting turns by Newton, Hall as a lethal drug dealer, Tom Towles as Hall's equally deadly partner, Howard Hesseman as a weary blind Vietnam veteran with a seeing eye dog named Nixon, Charles Fleischer as a helpful social worker, Elizabeth Pena as a snippy hospital admissions person, Bokeem Woodbine as a volatile junkie, Lucy Liu as a cokehead, and John Sayles as a jerky cop. The movie's refreshingly candid and honest depiction of interracial relationships qualifies as another significant asset; the scene where Shakur chastises Roth for his overly liberal use of a certain harsh racial epithet in particular is a small gem. Bill Pope's slick, accomplished cinematography and Stewart Copeland's funky, syncopated score are likewise on the money excellent. A real treat.

The mixing in of the past into the present makes me think of Pulp Fiction. Of course Tim Roth, excellent again, might have pushed my thoughts that way unconsciously.

There is a scene involving a pocketknife - to avoid spoiling your fun I won't say more - at the very end of the film which had me rolling around laughing with tears in my eyes.

Gridlock'd is the movie i really enjoyed watching! I believe that Tupac and Tim R. are the perfect match! They are amazing.. I really liked it.. Thats very sad that we wont see them 2 (Pac and Roth) acting together again... I am a huge fun of Pac and i really believe that this movie showed everyone that he is not just a great rapper, but also an amazing movie star.. You kind of from very beginning down with his character and cheer for him.. This movie really shows the reality of nowadays, and those two characters really represented it. Gridlock'd is the first movie i saw starring Pac and as i said, it couldn't be any better!

There are only a few films that I would give ten stars and this is one of them. I might be slightly bias due to the fact that I am a fan of 2pac but I truly believe that this is one of the best films that I have seen. It follows the story of two friends Spoon (2pac) and Stretch (Tim Roth) as they attempt to get into a rehab centre so that they can kick their drug addiction. The film which also features Thandie Newton really makes you feel like you are going on the journey with these characters as both 2pac and Tim Roth give very convincing performances in this brilliant film that in my opinion is underrated. I would recommend this film to most people but I think 2pac's fans will appreciate it most of all.

When their friend Cookie {Thandie Newton} overdoses, Spoon {Tupac Shakur} and Stretch {Tim Roth} make the decision to kick their drug habits. However in spite of their determination they find themselves constantly hampered by red tape. Shunted from building to building the boys have enough on their plates as it is, but they also have the small matter of an irate drug lord after them as well.

I tuned in to watch Gridlock'd expecting a buddy buddy nonsense piece of fluff, what I actually got was a darkly funny satire on the health-care state of America and an interesting flip side to the life of the drug addicted. Never one sided in its sympathies to either side of the fence, Vondie Curtis-Hall's {writer and director} picture throws up interesting posers whilst poking us in the ribs along the way. Both Shakur and Roth are excellent, creating a rich chemistry that is as believable as it is potent. The direction is relaxed, with Hall content to just let the cameras follow these guys from one situation to another. And the dialogue is zippy and easy on the ears. Some scenes, in spite of the expected contrivances, are hilarious, with one particular stabbing scene being an absolute riot {I kid you not}. To which leaves a film just crying out to be discovered by more people.

The film serves as a fitting tribute to Shakur, who was sadly murdered before this film was even released. On the evidence of this piece, the music world not only lost a supremely talented poet of the street, but cinema also lost a talented actor. R.I.P Tupac Shakur 1971-1996.

I watched this movie because Tim Roth is awesome, but as it turned out it has so much more to offer. First of all: even though it's entirely about drug abuse, it never turns overly dramatic. It's sad how these guys can't get a break, but it's also funny in some kind of sadistic way. Especially the abrupt ending captures that tone perfectly, it's so comically deadpan. Another thing that really surprised me was the acting talent of Tupac Shakur. Movies often used him as some kind of gimmick, but here he actually seems to be the best possible guy for the part. The whole appeal of the movie is actually to see the main characters interact, because the actors really work well together. They make this into a very grim but excellent drama/comedy.

I just saw this film an hour ago and i have to say this is a better drug-related film than requiem for a dream. The film features Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur as two addicts who try to kick the habit after their friend (Thandie Newton) falls into a drug induced coma. After being given the run-around by various clinics and offices, they decide to fall back on some drugs before they get into rehab but are chased through the city by a drug dealer and police officers. Tupac and Roth are a great on-screen duo and the film does a good job of showing the grittier side of drugs and the difficulty of quitting. I highly recommend this film as one of Tupac's best and Roth's most obscure roles. Altogether a great movie.

This is a good film. But, pay attention to the certificate rating, it is definitely not suitable for kids. Don't watch if you hate films about drugs, violence etc, because you could be appalled by this film. The two main leads, Shakur and Roth both do an excellent job, and make their parts believable, as do many of the less frequent characters. However, the plot is a little shaky. The film, although enjoyable, doesn't actually have much of a plot. It's just the two main characters trying to quit the habit, and then coming across their dead drug dealer...and then, they almost get killed, and then they are wanted by the police, and then their friend comes out of a coma, and they live happily ever after. The film just seems to stop dead at an ending, and i was taken off guard, expecting the film to last longer. Instead, you are left with an empty hole where a good ending should be. Because there really isn't any ending. Having said all that, it is worth a look, if you don't get offended easily!

Pac's not a gangsta! But, he sure is brilliant Pac, Roth, and Pena. Wow. One of the best buddy films of all time. The ingenious of this film is that it is such a simple idea twisted around and made brilliant. The story is genius. Vondie Curtis Hall does his best to dramatize every small event and does a great job. If Tupac would have lived, I would have loved to see him with Vondie Curtis Hall more often. I really can't say enough about how wonderful this film is. It's a new look at the street life and the impact that drugs have on many neighborhoods and kids in this country. The main reason this film was so great was the excellent performances. In most of my reviews I boast on how well the actors are. This is only because it takes a great actor to portray the written word onto the screen. Tupac was brilliant with endless amounts of talent that was wasted. This is the one film that we can look back on and argue the fact that he was multi talented beyond his career in hip hop. Other films were there and where great. But, the difference is obvious. RIP soulja

When a movie has scenes that are overly clever, and you get the idea the director is trying to show off ("U-Turn", "Toys", one out of every two Brian DePalma films), they often come off as obnoxious and pretentious. "Look at me," David Lynch says, "I can merge 'Bonnie and Clyde' with 'The Wizard of Oz'! I'm a genius!" Yech.

Every so often, the cleverness is telling us that the director has a fire in his belly, and a story to tell. If he/she is lucky, he gets actors like Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth. Vondie Curtis-Hall has that fire, and "Gridlock'd" is his nearly-great story to tell. He has several scenes full of clever, "cinematic" doo-dads and gizmos, mainly slo-mo and reverse video, but his movie also has a pulse. That is rare.

"Gridlock'd" also features two of the lesser-known great performances of '90s cinema: Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur. I always kind of like Roth's easy-going, natural style, and he's a positive addition to any movie he's in. Shakur had a fierce screen presence, but he was also a natural. When he died, a lot of potential went out to sea. I'm not just saying that because he's dead, either: he had the power and the determination to be an actor/musician on a stratospheric level.

Numbers and letter grades aside, "Gridlock'd" is a movie that is well worth anyone's time.

I must say before I begin that I'm a Tim Roth fan. But after you see his performance in this it wouldn't suprise me if you became one too. Tupac and Tim play two druggies trying to hold their own in a world of rules and regulations. There are just some scenes where you'll be on the floor when you listen to the two curse about the previous situation. The direction is relaxed with just the camera following the two. Any other way would be anti Gridlock'd as it's this same direction which makes us just focus on the witty dialogue. And what awesome dialogue it is.

LOKI- 12

This movie wasn't that good and I'm a fan of Tim Roth in several of his movies, this isn't one of them. It wasn't the actors fault the movies bad, it was just bad. Basically what it's about is two guys trying to get on welfare and them waiting in line. A little bit of suspense, a little bit of comedy....NOTHING SPECIAL!

It's a film that anyone who has had to deal with jobsworth bureaucrats will find funny but true to life. It does have a serious subplot as to why so many do so little, other than pass the process back and forth. Some of the best moments are actually less to do with the headline stars, but the bored / tired / fed up minions obeying orders.

Gridlock'd falls between good and okay, but veering more towards good. It's a fun time movie, and one I like a lot, with scenes that all too depressingly real about two no hopers trying to kick theur habit, with kicking in the new year, after their roomy Cookie (Thandie Newton) o'ds where there's a possibility that she may not come back. This impels Shakur to wisen up, where he and mate Spoon (Roth, again just what we expect from this impressive actor) are given the runaround while trying to get clean, waiting in line, going to office to office, dealing with rude assistants, while getting pretty hacked off themselves. Roth letting his lips flap with many an F word, was funny. Shakur who was one of those rapper/actor revelations, especially after seeing him in Bullet, and Roth made an interesting buddy team, where there was really great chemistry between the actors. Some other performances are noteworthy in bit parts. Their day gets worth when two thugs, who are ripped off by Shakur and company return, guns blazing, not happy with their non purchase of a stereo radio, veiled in a cardboard box (should of checked) where inside are bricks. There are a few side splitting and classically memorable moments, that were implanted my head, none more that stabbing scene. There's a real smartness to the film that has a real laid back feel, not really reliant on plot, just driven by the frightening and worrying catalyst at the start, where what follows is an all true realism of situations and hapless circumstances with our two character mains trying to achieve their goal, and continuing to come up against a brick wall. The movie has those admiring qualities going for it, only I just feel that wasn't enough to maintain good quality status. Stay for the song Traffic Jam, that comes after a sudden ending. I was enjoying the movie that much, as well as watching Newton slip back into her knickers and clothes.

I wasn't expecting too much from this offbeat comedy, especially as it takes a little while to get going, but was surprised at how good it was. This is thanks largely to the on-screen chemistry between Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur as a couple of drug addicts who decide to kick their habit when flatmate Thandie Newton nearly dies from an accidental overdose.

From such thin premises are great films sometimes crafted, the thinness of the plot meaning that the writers inevitably need to rely on characterisation to flesh things out. If they get it right they can create a classic, if they fail we can all end up watching an interminable mess. Here, Vondie Curtis-Hall does succeed in creating a couple of improbably likable anti-heroes in the form of Stretch (Roth) and Spoon (Shakur), while falling down a little in the realism of some of their decisions. It's nice, though, to see a film about characters like these which isn't downbeat and depressing. Despite their situation they each have an innate optimism and drive that is endearing even if it doesn't quite ring true.