Above the Rim (1994)

Director:

Jeff Pollack

Writers (WGA):

Jeff Pollack (story) &
Benny Medina (story) ...

Release Date:

23 March 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The Hardest Part Of Winning Is Choosing Sides.

Plot:

Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with his two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.

Plot Keywords:

Basketball | High School | Drugs | Drug Dealer | Security Guard

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Duane Martin	...	Kyle Lee Watson
Leon	...	Shep
Tupac Shakur	...	Birdie
David Bailey	...	Rollins
Tonya Pinkins	...	Mailika
Marlon Wayans	...	Bugaloo
Bernie Mac	...	Flip
Byron Minns	...	Monroe
Wood Harris	...	Motaw (as Sherwin David Harris)
Shawn Michael Howard	...	Bobby
Henry Simmons	...	Starnes
Iris Little Thomas	...	Waitress
Michael Rispoli	...	Richie
Eric Nies	...	Montrose
Bill Rafferty	...	Himself (as Bill Raftery)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (Certificate #32601) | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

At the start when Shep awakes from the nightmare, you hear the intro to Tupac Shakur's "Pain" - "I Couldn't help but notice your pain" - "My pain?" - "It runs deep, share it with me!". This voice-over is from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the movie's first scene Shepard and Nutso are playing ball on a rooftop with a huge wall and glass window behind the basketball hoop. When Nutso falls off of the roof the wall completely disappears.

Quotes:

Shep: It's time you and me played.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

Soundtrack:

Big Pimpin'

Classic Movie

When i read some of comments that have been posted on this movie i felt as though something was missing. Someone needed to comment on this film who was actually a part of the culture that is being shown in this film. I am a black male who went to see this movie the weekend that it was released. As far as the hood is concerned, this is a classic movie. The cast was perfect, especially for the time of it's release. It was a movie set in the East Coast, but Tupac was a stand out star, and the entire soundtrack was done by Death Row. Shakur gave a great performance through out, along with Dwayne Martin. Leon was also featured in another film celebrated by the black community more than anywhere else, The Five Heartbeats. Not to mention Marlon Wayans doing what he always does. Wood Harris, who later goes on to "The Wire" fame, portrays a very aggressive character. The comedic legend Bernie Mac is featured in a good role also. I know that movies aren't black or white. They are just movies, but it is evident that there are a slew of movies that are celebrated a lot more in the black community than anywhere else. Menace II Society, Juice, New Jersey Drive, Above the Rim, Belly, Paid in Full, and this film are "Hood" classics. If you want to even begin to understand the logic behind some of the themes of this genre, then this is a very good movie to start with.