Life Is Hot in Cracktown

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.

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.

With this being the FIRST movie review i've done, i couldn't have picked a harder movie to summarize.. If you've seen Buddy Giovinazzo's 1986 street slime suicide epic "Combat Shock", than you'll know what to expect.. A perfectly made film thats downbeat and depressing, a Drama that can pass for horror And characters that you are supposed to hate, but can't.. The only difference here is that instead of the gritty 80's look this film has a nice pop-polished feel (and more characters to feel bad for)

The movie basically follows four groups of characters in their day to day struggles in a drug/hooker infested neighborhood (Not unlike Hollywood). There's Marybeth (Kerry Washington) and Benny (Desmond Harrington) who roam the streets looking for johns. Marybeth is a Transsexual who's trying to save money for her sex change by giving head to old filthy tricks and at the same time supporting her loser boyfriends (bennys) drug habit. Benny's trade is a burglar, but his drug problem and age has made it difficult to pull anything off without F**king it up. Then There's Willy (Ridge Canipe) A pre-teen who, like all kids in these neighborhoods has no future. He wakes up to cockroachs running across his face, hangs out with the Junkie outside his welfare building (Brandon Routh), Has a crush on a local hooker named "Melody" (Elena Franklin) who's roughly the same age as he is.. He also has to watch after his little sister while his Mom (Illeana Douglas) and her abusive boyfriend smoke rock.. Romeo (Evan Ross) is the neighborhood punk who roams the streets terrorizing people, extorting and brutally beating down the elderly for their welfare checks, raping, robbing, killing.. People may think his character is an exaggeration of a street punk, but there are HUNDREDS of "Romeos" in every city.. The kids that were number one on the football team 2 years ago, now sell crack and aspire to live out the "Scarface" life. Then There's the people in the neighborhood who are trying to make a life for themselves, but they are too naive to realise that it will NEVER happen.. Manny (Victor Rasuk) works two jobs.. A Day job at the local Liquor Store and a Security job at the welfare apartments (were Willy Resides). He and his wife Concetta (Shannyn Sossamon) live in squalor and have a newborn son who NEVER STOPS CRYING (Kinda reminiscent of Frankies 'Agent Orange" Baby in "Combat Shock"). Of all the people in the neighborhood (that we see) he is the only one trying to make a better life for himself and his family, but in the end not even THREE jobs can help. (you just have to LEAVE!!)

Of the four of us that went to the film i think i was the only one who really loved it.. My Girlfriend (who's favorite film is "Bloodsucking Freaks")said that it was too dark. My two other friends liked it, and one friend actually sparked his stem about half way through.. The truth is, we all grew up in a neighborhood just like the one shown in the film. Its hard to watch "Hollywood" almost Glorify and Exploit this reality for rich snobby dick heads to watch and try to analyze.. (Its basically Hollywood Exploiting ITSELF!) I've been in willy's shoes and the reality is that no matter how innocent he seems in the film, eventually he will grow up to be a junkie, thief or dealer (or all three) Some people finally realise that it would be easier to just LEAVE the neighborhood and move to the suburbs. You'd still have to struggle, BUT after everything you've already dealt with, moving would be a walk in the park. HOPEFULLY some Crackheads out there will see this film and realise that they should NEVER have kids! Maybe they will see that this life is a vicious cycle that they will pass on to their kids and they'll grow up to be our future addicts and hookers OR WORSE, They'll become the future "Romeos". Too many kids in the city end up like him. In a neighborhood full of druggies you realise that the only REAL job out there is to actually supply these drugs to these losers. When your Mom and Dad cant pay the rent and your able to hustle $1000 A DAY selling crack and heroin you feel like a success. Thats the trap. Only 1 in 10 will be able to stay off the drugs they sell, and only 1 in 10 will save that money and move to Riverside and get a job selling DVD's and VHS tapes on Amazon :) Anyways, this is my first movie review to a movie that still doesn't have a review. (now i'll try to sound like everyone else) The movie had GREAT direction, excellent acting from an excellent ensemble cast and it will give you a realistic look into the streets! I heard somebody say this film was like "Short Cuts on Drugs". That sums it up nice, except there isn't some stupid earthquake. Unlike "Short Cuts" this movie has a realistic ending. Good job Buddy G!! Hopefully you'll adapt some of your other books to film. Then you'll have my SECOND review ever!

(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!