Life Is Hot in Cracktown

Life is Hot in Cracktown (2009) is a movie based upon a collection of short stories written by the director Buddy Giovinazzo. The film follows four story lines: a man who works two jobs trying to support his family and move out of the inner city, a brother and sister who try to survive in a roach infested hotel, a pre-op transsexual who works the streets to make ends meet and a young hoodlum who lives an empty life with no future to look forward to. They are just some of the faceless people who try to make a life inside a poverty stricken ghetto. even though they have a bleak present, something inside of these people drives them to try and look for a way out of there lives and look for a brighter future.

I really enjoyed this movie. Most of the films I see about the inner city are full of cartoonish and stereotypical characters that you don;t care about. The people in this film are real as the person next door. I found a lot of the dialog and situations these people are faced with to be real and very authentic. Buddy Giovinazzo has come a long way since his first film (Combat ShocK) but he still retains the gritty realism and spirit of that film in his latest project. He seems to have a genuine feel for his characters and none of that pseudo-liberal guilt complex that similar films that come out of Hollywood have. No phony baloney middle class guilt trip here and I really appreciate that in a film like this one.

Highly recommended.

First off let me say that I used to live where this movie was filmed and its some what like that but this movie is madness maxed out. Its really not like that. They show these people has having no humanity what so ever. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Bad things do happen but when u live in a neighborhood no matter how down trodden the people are still your neighbors. You have to live with those people. They show crackheads as just animals with no souls. Its not true.

Another reviewer said that it was unreal because the transgender character was beautiful. He's obviously not been around many trans women or seen many. There are some trans women who are absolutely stunning like the character in this film.

Again this movie is gritty but its sensationalism. I also resent that the only redeemable characters are white people. All the black men are barbaric and the white are more docile. This is not true. I'm sick of seeing this mess in films.

I'm gonna have to eat some crow here, especially after complaining about the last film I reviewed, SHADOWHEART. Both it and this one – LIFE IS HOT IN CRACKTOWN – came to me via Amazon's Vine Program. And I was becoming rather tired of the careless films that tended to populate The Vine's DVD list. Well, Life Is Hot In Cracktown has reformed me ...somewhat. It isn't great. It isn't stupendous. But it is gritty, real, and put together in a way that made it extremely watchable.

All of these characters are well-rounded and exceptionally well acted. There will be someone that every watcher will be able to connect with. Whether it's the young boy looking after his younger sister as his mother and her boyfriend get high and leave them alone for days, or the pre-op transsexual Marybeth (Kerry Washington, THE LAST KING OF Scotland) and her emotionally labile boyfriend Benny, or Manny, the guy working two jobs trying to support his wife Concetta (Shannyn Sossaman, WRISTCUTTERS) and their colicky baby, or the gang-banger Romeo who's life on the street is turning him into a dangerous individual, there's someone here for everyone.

The interest comes in the fact that you watch most of these people make horrible decisions or do terrible things, yet you cannot look away or even condemn them. They are the best and worst of us all, and it shows a rugged side of humanity that most of us would rather not see ...except to realize that one of these people might have been you had you not had a few breaks. It's frightening and enlightening.

The best part of the film is toward the end as we watch each person forced to make a decision and wonder at what the outcome will be. It is a turning point in their lives and we are given front row seats to it. Amazing how it all came together.

Watching the special features, I have to disagree with Kerry Washington's comment about transsexuals never being shown on film in any meaningful way. The film TRANSAMERICA focused specifically on this subject and was a fantastic film. Just FYI, Kerry.

Anyway, this film is actually quite good, even though I found the title a bit unfortunate.

As a fan of writer/director Buddy Giovanno's bleak low budget horror classic Combat Shock, I sought out this film looking for more of his work. While Life Is Hot... is a drama and Combat Shock is a tweeked out horror film, they do share some similarities. Both films are bleak, depressing and urban. Like Crash this movie links together various characters from this story. However all of these characters all live in the same neighborhood and each has their own set of problems. Buddy humanizes these undesirables and shows many different sides to their everyday existence. The most sympathetic characters in this picture are Marybeth and Benny , a pre op transsexual streetwalker hooker and her hood burglar boyfriend. The least likable of the bunch is Romeo, a ruthless gangbanger on borrowed time. While this little indie film won't appeal to much of a mainstream audience, it has a lot more substance than some of those films that draw people in droves and do huge business. Life Is Hot in Cracktown shows the dark underbelly of urban America in a new light and fresh perspective. Anyone can fall on hard times and the film shows the hopelessness and misery that is a harsh reality for many people. The film is gritty and uncompromising and very real in its approach and vision. Performances are excellent as well. For me the film is a humbling experience. I am thankful that I did not grow up in this environment and that I did'nt have to shake the roaches from my clothing, then go out and hustle so me and my kid sister can eat.

Most awful casting I've ever seen. Clark Kent as a crack head, a very feminine looking woman as a trans and on and on.............

Stupid ass violence just for the sake of being violent. No content, no meaning. This person has never been on the streets. It's a joke!

The only thing dumber than this movie is the fact that I finished watching it. I just kept thinking it couldn't get any worse but it did to the very end.

Trying way to hard to be an off the hook movie. Trying to be freaky. So stupid! I really have no more to say but can't leave a comment unless I write more.

Please take this advice and DO NOT BOTHER WATCHING THIS MOVIE!!!!! AWFUL!!!