Juice (1992)

Four inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writers:

Ernest R. Dickerson (story), Gerard Brown (screenplay)

Stars:

Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Omar Epps	...	Q
Tupac Shakur	...	Bishop
Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins	...	Steel (as Jermaine Hopkins)
Khalil Kain	...	Raheem
Cindy Herron	...	Yolanda
Vincent Laresca	...	Radames
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Trip
George Gore II	...	Brian (as George O. Gore)
Grace Garland	...	Q's Mother
Queen Latifah	...	Ruffhouse M.C.
Bruklin Harris	...	Keesha (as Idina Harris)
Victor Campos	...	Quiles
Eric Payne	...	Frank
Sharon Cook	...	Record Store Clerk
Darien Berry	...	Blizzard

Storyline

4 Harlem teens, Q, Bishop, Raheem and Steel, are out skipping school one day when they find out an old friend was killed in a shootout at a bar. After this, Bishop tells his friends that they have no respect, or juice. To get some, they rob a corner grocery store, but things take an unexpected turn. Only the four friends know what happened, but one of them is out for himself.

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Plot Keywords:

blaxploitation | bar | teenager | power | inner city | 

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Taglines:

Power. Respect. Juice. How far would you go to get it?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, and for some violence

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uma Questão de Respeito

Filming Locations:

Saint Nicholas Terrace & 135th. Street, Harlem, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,146,880

Company Credits

Production Co:

Island World

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Special Ed, who played Keesha's boyfriend, originally auditioned for the part of Raheem.

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Goofs

After Q, Bishop and Raheem are driven away by the clerk, they run around the corner. When Steel arrives, Bishop has a cigarette in his hand. In the next shot the cigarette vanishes.

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Quotes

Bishop: What you know about control, Big chops? What you ever control?
Steel: I control my life.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.21 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Shoot 'Em Up
Written by B-Real, Senen Reyes and Larry Muggerud
Performed by Cypress Hill (as Cypress Hill Crew)
Produced by Larry Muggerud (as DJ Muggs) for The Soul Assassins
Courtesy of Ruffhouse / Columbia Records

User Reviews

Gritty, hard-boiled streets drama

Top performances from Epps and Shakur make this film watchable, the story a fairly mundane one of street youth gangs drifting into crime in search of kicks, streetcred and "juice" (or power). Shakur is the nutter who leads the way on a downward spiral, eager to get involved in any crazy venture and leading his more cautious friends down with him, Epps the good kid hoping to escape the ghetto life through his DJing skills. Uniformly good acting especially from the two leads, cameos from Queen Latifah and Samuel L. Jackson, tense atmosphere and a funny, slang-heavy script all act in its favour, but a lack of originality and a rather mediocre ending bring it down a notch or two. Worth a look if it's your scene though.