I have mixed feelings about some of these loosely “biographical” hip hop movies that have come out over the past few years. For the most part, they are fairly entertaining, however you can’t help but wonder how much of the movie is actually based on true events. 

Notorious is the story of rapper Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls.  The story follows Biggie from his grade school days all the way to the peak of his career then on to his untimely demise.  The story is your typical “young kid starts hustling in the streets, realizes he has a talent for rhyming, gets record deal and blows up” variety.  What sets this story apart from others like it, is the fact that many of the occurrences in the film were in fact true and highly publicized. While the majority of people only now about these events through various media, the movie does a good job recreating them and showing how certain things actually went down.

The depiction of Biggie’s life in this film is surprisingly positive.  Take that however you want it. Personally, I like Biggie, but I thought the portrayal they gave was a bit too positive for someone caught up in as much dirt as he was.  The actor portraying Big (Jamal Woolard) barely resembles him, other than being big and dark.  Vocally, he does a decent job of imitating Biggie, but at times he slips in and out of Big’s vocal range. He did do a good job of capturing Biggie’s appeal and charm. Even though he is, as self proclaimed “black and ugly as ever” you can’t help but like the guy.  Overall I thought he did a good job portraying as iconic a figure as Biggie Smalls.

Which brings us to the rest of the cast. Sean “Puffy” Combs (played by Derek Luke of Antoinne Fisher / Booby Miles fame) just seemed a bit miscast. I like Fisher and think he’s a great actor, but I don’t think he really captured Combs’ style and swagger very well.  I’m not a fan of Combs, but he definitely has a distinct confidence and arrogance that is all his own. It seemed he was too focused on making Combs appear to be sincere, which is fine, but there were quite a few moments that required him to bust out his ‘bad boy for life’ persona which just never really happened.

The other major character that merits attention is Big’s mother,Voletta Wallace (Angela Bassett).  While the role is a bit cliche also, Bassett does a great job portraying the no-nonsense, tough love Ms. Wallace.   This is probably her best role since ‘Vampire in Brooklyn’.  Ok I’m joking. Nothing can top Vampire in Brooklyn, but all jokes aside she is excellent in this film.

It’s hard to review a film like this without letting your feelings for the artist influence your perception.  All that aside though, Notorious is a decent movie that will keep you entertained the entire time…provided you are a fan of hip hop. Those with no interest in hip hop may be hard pressed to enjoy this film much, as that is the central focus of the entire movie.  With that said, you don’t have to be a hardcore fan to enjoy this, anyone who’s found themselves bobbing their head to a Biggie Smalls track can enjoy this film. Then again if you never have, you probably will by the end of the movie.