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30 years ago (wow!) back in High School, I was a big fan of Bernard Malamud and read most of his works in Modern American Literature Class. But I didn't read The Tenants. So I looked forward to seeing The Tenants especially since my Cuzzin, Snoop Dogg is in it.

The Tenants is an excellent though simple story transformed into a very good screenplay. The problem, however, is the director. This movie feels like it was directed by a film student. It's directed in what I would call a "matter of fact" style which fails to develop a relationship between the characters. In fact, the characters seem just to be reciting lines. Despite that, the screenplay carries this movie well and it was certainly a movie I wanted to go back to and watch to the end on DVD.

When I first heard of this movie, and of course the fact that Snoop Dogg had a role in it, I didn't think much of it. But it made me curious; Snoop and a serious role...

I hope it wasn't the intention to make us curious because Snoop Dogg was in it, I hope it was just a try for a serious play. And serious it was.

Without spoiling a thing; I had a hard time imagining Snoop as the 'novellist', Willie. I know Snoop as Snoop Dogg, the famous and maybe a bit extraordinary, but very genius, rapper/MC.

Leaving Snoop Doggs intentions in the middle; the story was crap. I could not relate to it, I could not identify with it and it made Afro-American people look like a bunch of racists, which was NOT a good thing. I know where the story was about, I know the intentions, but to me, these intentions did not come out right... Only the end was really worth watching!

I think all of you should see it, not because of it's brilliance, but because of it's rareness. It's not your ordinary Drama, it feels real.

Tenants Two writers struggle to complete their books in an all but empty apartment house. They at first help each other and then slowly the tension between them begins to build.

This is based upon a Bernard Malamud novel and unfortunately everyone speaks as though they are in that novel. Very little of the dialog is natural, its purple and brimming with shades of meaning. Its as if a college English major with a head full of pretensions wrote the script. It's awful and I found myself instantly immune to anything the film had to say, which is a shame since the film is populated with great performances from top to bottom. Snoop Dog on down are fine form, unfortunately none of them can over come the falseness of the words and the premise.

I can't really recommend this movie. While not really bad, its very preachy and pretentious to the point of making you want to walk away. I lost interest less then a third of the way in and had to struggle to get to the end. If you're interested I'd try it on cable, but I wouldn't lay out good money to see it.

I ended up watching The Tenants with my close friends who rented the movie solely based on Snoop Dogg's appearance (a passionate fetish of theirs) on the cover. Understandably, I did not expect much. I thought the movie would include the typical array of Snoop Dogg related behavior and imagery often seen in cliché rap videos. However, my generalization was for the most part wrong. Unfortunately, this didn't make the movie any better.

Most would describe the movie as a dark serious drama, whereas I would describe it as a dark seriously drawn out boring drama flick. The film tells a story of two struggling writers (Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg) who are trying to create their own separate masterpieces. Their polar opposite lifestyles end up forming an unlikely but highly complex and neurotic friendship. This friendship moves throughout the entire movie like a wild roller-coaster - most of which is contributed by Snoop's character - reminiscent of someone with a severe case of split personality disorder. And although the movie is a drama, the acting - which has a morbid and serious tone - from Snoop and company was more comical than anything else.

I wouldn't recommend this movie for those who are attention impaired because this one has a lot of dialogue and a lot more dialogue after that. There are some mediocre conflicts, but even they are mostly bogged down with more dialogue. The end, however, jumped at me with a sudden surprise. It was a little bit twisted, somewhat unexpected and a perfect way to wrap up a movie that needed to end. While watching the ending credits I couldn't help but picture the director thinking, "Oh God, how the hell do I end this snoozer." By the way, the director laid out carefully planted hints and subtleties leading to the climax - all of which are more visible than Waldo in a crowded street of midgets wearing nothing but black sweaters.

As a man who enjoys the raw power and honesty of a Snoop Dogg performance, this movie was perfect for me. My friends and I rented the movie solely because Snoop Dogg was on the cover, and Snoop did not disappoint. The movie is filled with Snoop intensive scenes where he is afforded the opportunity to display his dominant personality.

Despite Snoop Dogg's immaculate performance, other actors within the movie, as well as the story itself contained some unattractive qualities. Regarding the lead actor, Dylan McDermott's portrayal of Harry Lesser was too dramatic and unrealistic. I cannot find that kind of depression and seriousness in my real life experiences. The depressive nature of his character may in fact be the fault of the author and not the actor. At many times, the characters of The Tenants would act irrationally and contrary to real life behavior.

Overall, the story and the actions taken by the characters were not as believable as I would have liked them to be. Nevertheless, I have yet to see a bad Snoop Dogg performance in any of his films. I stand by my initial instincts to rent the movie because he was on the cover.