Everyone's a critic: 'Idlewild'

Thre stars (out of four)

This film places the members of the popular band Outkast into the fictitious Georgia town of Idlewild during the perilous 1930s.

Friends since childhood, Percival (AndrZ Benjamin, aka "Dre" or "Andre 3000") and Rooster (Antwan A. Patton, aka "Big Boi") now lead very different lives. Percival works for his mortician father and dreams of one day becoming a famous pianist. Rooster is married with five daughters and a beautiful but jealous wife (Malinda Williams).

Rooster and Percival pursue their dreams by working at a nightclub called "The Church." Things get complicated after Rooster inherits "The Church" and its many problems that are stereotypical of a prohibition period "hooch" club.

This surprisingly wonderful film has a little bit of everything; song and dance intermixed with tears and hope. "Idlewild" may not walk away with an Oscar, but it does hold promise by interjecting some distinct ingenuity and an appealing story line.

-- Jerry Swan

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Three stars (out of four)

Hip hop meets the 1930s in the movie "Idlewild."

This movie follows the life of two men, Rooster and Percy, in the little town of Idlewild, Ga. Rooster is a singer and shady businessman. Percy is the son of a mortician and a piano player, whose true calling lies in music. These two men end up playing in a club called "The Church" when a young beauty comes in, passing herself off as a famous singer, and a former henchman turned mob boss tries to muscle Rooster for a bigger cut of the club's income.

The acting was done well, and the music was a mix of hip hop and the old 1930s-style music. The dancing in it was well done. I was surprised that a lot of the bigger names listed in the opening credits had nothing more than cameo roles. Patti La Belle, Cicely Tyson and Macy Gray all had minor parts in the movie. The animation of Rooster's flask and all of the cuckoo clocks on Percy's wall were well done. A lot of the effects they used, such as the slowing of the film and then speeding it up in certain scenes, was also well done.

The only thing that I didn't really care for about the movie was that it was predictable. Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy goes onto bigger and better things. Overall, the movie was enjoyable, and if you like the gangsters-and-guns type of movie, then go see this one.

-- Dan Zimmerman