Hip-hop duo Outkast has always had a flair for theatrics, best seen in its music videos. Andre 3000 and Big Boi have taken their act to the big screen in “Idlewild.” It's not their first expedition to the big screen, but it’s their first time together.
In Prohibition-era Georgia, the gangsters run an underground hooch business and lackeys run the clubs to sell the illegal alcohol. The public flocks to the Church for sanctuary, but not salvation. The Church is the local bar, dancehall, brothel and more. Childhood friends now grown, Percival and Rooster (Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton) perform at the club.
Rooster is a womanizer with a wife and five children at home and ties to the hooch selling gangsters. Percival is the dreamer with hopes to some day take center stage rather than inherit the family mortuary business.
After a pair of murders, Rooster gains ownership of the club along with a hefty debt and the not-so-nice new boss of the hooch trade in Idlewild: Trumpy (Terrence Howard). A new singer at the Church, Angel Davenport (Paula Patton), steals Percival’s attention and becomes the star of the show.
Both men are set in forging their own paths, but they have to live up to expectations, avoid being “laid-out” by vengeful gangsters and still be the life of the party.
“Idlewild” is a very ambitious project and that’s possibly why so many big name stars signed on; the cast boasts Ving Rhames, Ben Vereen and Patti Labelle. But with the competing stars come competing storylines.
Andre 3000 and Big Boi are the top billed co-stars, but in the end, the movie should have only had a single storyline -- featuring either Outkast member’s character -- with everyone else’s stories as bit parts.
Some of the most hilarious scenes actually feature the younger Percival and Rooster. Bobb'e J. Thompson plays the young Rooster and he’s surely a little spitfire. He’s recognizable from the Disney show “That’s So Raven,” where he’s got such spunk and this role is no different. As Rooster, he plays the neighborhood kid set on hustling and having fun with a larger than life attitude. He’s bound to garner more than a few laughs.
The music stays true to the hip-hop with a touch of R&B that Outkast is known for. However, at times this music in a period piece is stretching it. When Big Boi raps about jeans and Cadillac Sevilles in the 1930s -- a time period prior to them being made for the public at large -- there's a bit of a disconnect that bridges a gap between past and present, but it doesn’t always fit.
By no means could this movie be considered a musical, like “Moulin Rouge” or “Chicago.” Singing and music rarely occur outside of the Church, but one of the best songs outside of the club goes to Andre 3000 singing with a backup band of cuckoo clocks. In the Church setting, the singing and choreography blend together perfectly. The camera work slows the dance steps and movements down on the dance floor making for spectacular scenes.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
