Frankie (Vivica A Fox) has a bank job — until someone she knows from South Central LA holds her at gun-point, the attempted robbery turns into a bloodbath, and the boss sends her packing. Life gets much harder. Her homegirls (Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise) fix her up with the office-cleaning firm where they work nights, but it’s not long before they hatch a plan to capitalize on Frankie’s qualifications, in particular her inside knowledge of bank security procedures.
In the wake of all those gun-toting white women and black men, black women were overdue their own loaded action adventure. This noir Thelma & Louise rekindles some of the subversive fire of ’70s exploitation flicks, although it’s far too polished to have come from the Corman stable. The intense heist sequences show a command of thriller dynamics that’s right up there with the best of them, but director F Gary Gray is equally convincing on the character front, eliciting funny, grounded performances from the four women (Latifah notably refuses to caricature her lesbian role). It’s an energizing spree for the Girlz n the hood.
The movie surprised and moved me: I expected a routine action picture and was amazed how much I started to care about the characters… It creates a portrait of the lives of these women that’s so observant and informed.”
Roger Ebert
Latifah brings an extraordinary presence to the proceedings, and not just in her no-fuss approach to Cleo’s sexual orientation. Both in the way that she scowls and glares at her adversaries and the way that she delights in her friends’ company and her new-found job skills, Latifah brings something new and startling to the traditional screen depiction of women, something that comes across as so completely indifferent to how she’s perceived by any camera or viewer.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Media Partner
F. Gary Gray
Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox, Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise
USA
1996
English
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits
Producer
Dale Pollock, Oren Koules
Screenwriter
Takashi Bufford, Kate Lapier
Cinematography
Marc Reshovsky
Editor
John Carter
Original Music
Christopher Young
Production Design
Robb Wilson King
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
Unforgiven
Bill Munny (Clint Eastwood) is face down in pig shit when we first see him. He's a bad farmer, but has a natural facility for killing people – a vocation to which he returns in a quest that combines both profit and justice. Or so he chooses to believe.
Malcolm X
In an indelible role, Denzel Washington give us a layered, compassionate, conflicted man who finds the strength in Islam to transcend his demons and confront the inequity and racism in America head-on. Along with Do the Right Thing, this is Spike Lee's greatest film.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
A bona fide classic and arguably the greatest Canadian film of the 90s, Girard's dazzling deconstruction of the biopic gives us the mercurial pianist Glenn Gould as Picasso might have rendered him, a cubist portrait combining multimedia vignettes.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Short Cuts
Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories, Short Cuts weaves between 8 or 9 overlapping storylines and 22 characters. it's a teeming, caustic and compassionate human comedy; a singularly astringent, often cynical view of America and Americana.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
Schindler's List
One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.
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Three Colours: Red
Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.
The Lion King
With its beautifully drawn East African setting, its humour, pathos, and engaging characters, as well as its stirring songs, The Lion King stands as the pinnacle of traditional Disney family entertainment.
Image: © Disney, 1994
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.