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.

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!!!

(2009) Life Is Hot In Cracktown DRAMA

Somewhat of a raw documentary drama style film based on the stories told through Buddy Giovinazzo's novel of the same name who also wrote and directed it. The film although not for everyone since anyone can see something like this on some documentary channel or another about pushers and low life's, but the thing is that the film does have an ending if not a satisfying one, but have to go through all the retro tape to go there which just 'states' the characters without viewers able to identify with any of them until at least after the first hour! There's also a realistic feel to the characters since it's centered on the poor side of town portraying a particular neighborhood unnoticed and often ignored by civilized residents and hard not to look. Style is similar to (1995) Kids and Bully of (2001)

A previous reviewer said this was a terrible movie, blah, blah, blah. I found it to be a hard look at what drugs do to people and that its not just one type of person. The first scene was a girl getting raped which is very disturbing. I think this sets a disgusted mood from the get go. I do not think it was needed much, but it is powerfully disturbing. The movies character selection is good, unlike what the other reviewer said. I disagree with everything from that previous viewer. That person must not be from the streets or knows much of anything about drugs. If your into seeing movies like 'Kids' this is comparable. I have no issue with the violence, but the showing of the entire rape is not needed. Crack kills and its not just for Wall Street f'ups!