Chocolate City

This film tells the story of a young man in college, who lives with his mother and elder brother. They go completely broke, and hence he chooses to make some quick money by exotic dancing in a club for the ladies.

The plot is very predictable and thin, but it's OK because people watch "Chocolate City" for something other than the plot. One thing that it does well is the portrayal of interpersonal relationships, especially the mother and son relationship, and the relationship with the girlfriend. The tension and competition between dancers get portrayed nicely as well. I enjoyed watching the dancing and listening to the songs. I think "Chocolate City" is entertaining.

What's for breakfast? When Mike Aka Sexy Chocolate looked into the camera, I thought he was looking right at me. All oiled up and raining dolla bills, this epic chronicle of urban dancers put the D in delicious. Whitey Soderbergh should be all over this piece of chocolate cinema. Black Dynamite? Nah. Trouble Man? Nuh uh. Shaft? Not enough! This has it all with Genuwine, BOLO the entertainer, Darrin Henson, MICHAEL JAI WHITE, and even Carmen Electra gets to shout out to the boyz! Vivica A Fox is amazing as Sexy Chocolate's mother, the only thing disappointing about this is that she doesn't deliver her chocolate milk. OH WELL. Michael JAI White plays the mentor that leads Sexy Chocolate the way to the stage and helps fulfill his dreams of good pay and hysterical black women with a few whiteys peppered in. If you take your coffee black, you will not be disappointed! Highest of recommends!

The gorgeous Robert Ri'chard stars in a typical college student- come-stripper story in Chocolate City. Urged by his brother Chris McCoy, played by a sorta-funny DeRay Davis, Michael McCoy somehow finds his way (who really cares how he got there we just care that he is there) to a dance floor where he dances topless for cash. I don't want to spoil the movie for you (ha ha) but I must say, I don't understand why anyone who is even remotely attracted to the male species would give this movie less than 10 stars. This movie delivered EXACTLY the package it sells, and more. The dancers unfold like chocolates out of a Godiva box! Bitter Dark (Tyson Beckford), Sweet Caramel (Robert), Hunky Milk Chocolate (don't know his name but he is the first dancer and he alone was worth the ticket). The dancing was crazy! 1000% better than Magic Mike (sorry Channing) on sexiness of the dance, much smoother and gave you a glimpse at what REALLY goes down in the club, not the watered down version.

Moral of this critique is - if you like looking at hot men, you will LOVE this movie. If you are looking for a great, life changing movie with an amazing script that grips your emotions and inspires you to look at life differently you will probably not find that here. Unless of course you started the movie not liking men and then by the end became a full fledged queen, which I could totally see happening. They were that hot.

I was both surprised and happy to see 'Chocolate City' name drop 'Magic Mike' right off the bat. It was a smart move because you know it was the direct comparison viewers were gonna make. This tale aptly takes place in Atlanta and of course features the African American side to male strippers. A formula plot, but with likable characters & delivers the visuals females will enjoy.

Michael (Robert Ri'chard) has a partial scholarship to college, minimum wage job, attends church and a family strapped for cash. A chance meeting with Princeton (Michael Jai White) lands him a job that of course turns out to be stripping. Michael in shape and a good dancer takes to the money as he plays a balancing act of secrecy from both his mom (Vivica A. Fox) and girlfriend Carmen (Imani Hakim).

Notable cast includes Carmen Electra as the club DJ, singer Ginuwine & male model Tyson Beckford as fellow strippers while writer/director Jean-Claude La Marre plays the local church pastor. It's really Ri'chard's likability and the screen presence of White that stood out for me in rehashed drama. You have to accept how quickly Michael's reluctance for this line of work goes away. Then the speed at which he becomes a star and lies to everyone around him.

The rest offers no surprises. Failing school grades. A concerned mother wondering where all the money is coming from. A barely developed feud with an a-hole stripper. A girlfriend who finds out the truth and the fallout. I'm obviously not the right demographic, but for a dtv flick about male strippers this could have been 10X worse.

Wasn't this suppose to be some competition to the upcoming magic mike xxl? Guess not. Looks like it flopped so bad that I'm literally watching it right now on B.E.T. All that hype for nothing. Lmfao. Guess this is one rip-off that ain't getting no love. Tyson Beckford acting career seems to continue to go downhill. Second flop in the same year. First one being Addicted. Which was yet another ripoff. That one copied 50 shades of Grey. That one didn't even get released on blu ray. Just DVD. Wtf. That's the first time I ever, ever, ever heard of that happening. Even the movie The Interview, which was to be released in theaters but was banned or something due to the way it portrayed Korea, was released on Netflix but still got a blu ray release as well.