Straight Outta Compton (2015)

The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Jonathan Herman (screenplay), Andrea Berloff (screenplay)

Stars:

O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
O'Shea Jackson Jr.	...	Ice Cube
Corey Hawkins	...	Dr. Dre
Jason Mitchell	...	Eazy-E
Neil Brown Jr.	...	DJ Yella
Aldis Hodge	...	MC Ren
Marlon Yates Jr.	...	D.O.C.
R. Marcos Taylor	...	Suge Knight (as R. Marcus Taylor)
Carra Patterson	...	Tomica
Alexandra Shipp	...	Kim
Paul Giamatti	...	Jerry Heller
Elena Goode	...	Nicole
Keith Powers	...	Tyree
Joshua Brockington	...	Young Warren G
Sheldon A. Smith	...	Warren G
Keith Stanfield	...	Snoop (as Lakeith Lee Stanfield)

Storyline

In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent-stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world's most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.

---

Plot Keywords:

hip hop | rap music | gangsta rap | nwa | rags to riches | 

---

Taglines:

The world's most dangerous times created the world's most dangerous group

---

Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Music

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, strong sexuality/nudity, violence, and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hai'sher mi'Compton

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$56,100,000 (USA) (14 August 2015)

Gross:

$161,029,270 (USA) (16 October 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Circle of Confusion, Crucial Films, Cube Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min 167 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

O'Shea Jackson Jr. says he was not comfortable playing his father Ice Cube when he was first cast. But after lots of training and help from his coaches, he says he is the only one that should portray his father in the movie, not anyone else.

---

Goofs

The opening scene is set in 1986 and Eazy-E is seen wearing the black & white Chicago White Sox hat. However the White Sox did not adopt that logo until 1991.

---

Quotes

Jerry Heller: [from trailer] Let me tell you what I see here: a lot of raw talent. Swagger. Bravado. People are scared of you guys. They think you're dangerous, but the world needs to hear it.

---

Connections

References Diff'rent Strokes (1978)

---

Soundtracks

Ruder Thump
Written and Performed by Jason Ruder

User Reviews

Something Fishy Is Going On Here!

I've been writing reviews for IMDb for ten years, and I think something fishy is going on here. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON is getting very, very high reviews from the vast majority of IMDb reviewers -- but the nine and ten- star reviews are all getting pelted with "negative" marks, earning scores of "1 out of 15" likes.

So what's the problem? The problem is that this movie wasn't supposed to be a hit. The mass audience wasn't supposed to respond to the story of young black men facing oppression and coming out on top. The American people were not supposed to see the real truth about how their police treat minorities every day.

Quick, let's bury the good reviews! Let's spawn a phony backlash! Let's discredit Dr. Dre and Ice Cube on the basis of things they did twenty years ago. Oh, and let's all get sentimental about Eazy E because he's dead, and young black men are okay once they're dead. The dead ones are no longer scary and threatening.

The problem with this movie is that the people who made it actually dared to portray young, angry black men as heroic, not as criminals or predators. It's okay to glamorize white criminals, because Hollywood was built on that. From PUBLIC ENEMY to THE GODFATHER, white audiences have always loved to sentimentalize their own criminals. But you can't do that with black men who rap about crime, even when they aren't actually criminals themselves. When Cagney postures like a thug in some ancient piece of crap that's cool. But when black men do it today that's dangerous and irresponsible!

There are very powerful elements in this country that are terribly frightened by this movie. They're frightened because this movie gets white audiences to see young black men as something other than dangerous criminals. The scenes of NWA being roughed up by police are a terrible threat to the powerful elements in our society, who stay in power only by keeping white people scared of black men. They can't tolerate the idea of black male victims, so they instantly start a media backlash portraying the victims as criminals.

I say this is a good movie, a powerful, exciting film that presents a side of American life that is almost never seen on the screen. I know I'm not going to get many likes for this review, but what the hell.

I've got enough already.