Roxanne, Roxanne Movie Review

Why'd'ya Have To Make A Movie 'Bout Me...?!

There was talk of a Roxanne Shante screen adaptation some years ago and here it finally is.
This mid/low budget drama tells the story of Lolita Shante Gooden as she tries to make her way through life in early 1980s NYC, specifically the projects in Queensbridge.

It all looks rather clean for 1984, no filthy streets, clothes all immaculate; I imagined a totally different place back then.
Thirteen year-old Roxanne is constantly heralded as the Queen emcee, especially by her best friend who insists of announcing her presence wherever she goes, ("the champ is here, the champ is here"). Sadly though we don't get to actually see much battling as the story is more concerned in showing you Shante's personal battles than those out in the parks and basketball courts.

The REAL Roxanne (left) / TV Roxanne (right)

This is evident early on and we learn how much of a struggle she had with looking after her younger sisters and trying to keep her head up in the Projects. However we do eventually get to see Roxanne's first glimmer of fame as she records that answer record about UTFO up in Marley Marl's crib. The actor playing Marley has a slight resemblance to him and that works in his favour. Actually the actress playing Roxanne not only looks alike at times but has a similar name in real life - Chanté Adams.

We don't get to see a whole deal of the concerts and life in music as I explained earlier which may frustrate some because of course that is pretty much why many wanted this film to be made in the first place. Nevertheless it's a good insight into what made her the feisty young lady she became.

There is some A-list talent roped in to this project such as Forest Whitaker and Pharrell Williams who were two of the many producers, The RZA on scoring duties as well as the 1990s-honey dip, Nia Long (Boyz n the Hood, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and 1/3 Beastie Boy, Adam Horovitz in a short cameo.
However for me though I feel it could've gone a bit deeper into the music as some of the Juice Crew were featured (albeit by actors) and I couldn't help thinking that we could've got some good stories out of them.

Oh, and the less said about the shoe-horned Nas scenes, the better.

Roxanne, Roxanne is available to watch on Netflix here.