This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Don't be wrong, I'm a great fan of Snoop Dogg and most of the other rappers that appear in the movie, but the simple fact is just that THE CAN'T ACT. on top of that is that the story and whole plotline sucks major. the acting is bad and the story is bad + it's very unrealistic. this movies makes it look like it is very easy to get in the drug game and everybody can become a gangster. don't spoil your money on this movie.
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Alkoholiks17 February 2002
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Hot Boyz is the sad and tragic tale of Kool (Tha Shocker) and his homies (not something gay as you might reasonably expect). Kool is an aspiring rapper who is probably still aspiring because he can't come up with a better name for himself than Kool. He and girlfriend LaShawna (Crutchfield) are in love, despite the protestations of her mother, who disapproves of Kool's homie-ing ways. One night while walking down a dark alley (always a bad idea, especially in the 'hood), LaShawna witnesses a murder and is then accused of it and thrown in jail. It turns out she stumbled into a network of fully corrupt cops like Officer Mack (Huff) to pretty corrupt cops like Det. Tully (Busey) to not-that-corrupt cops like Officer Roberts (Howell). While fighting for LaShawna's release, Tully convinces Kool to infiltrate the criminal organization run by Saint (Powell). But when things take a turn for the worst, Kool and his homeboys C-Dawg (Snoop Dogg, stretching), Moe (Master P), Remo (C-Murder), Tyrel (Mystikal), and Pee Wee (Johnson) suddenly become crime lords in their own right. Will all this gangsta-ism lead to a bad end for Kool and/or the gang? Also Jeff Speakman is Kool's Kenpo teacher. Kool takes Kenpo lessons.
Here is your classic example of what we call the "homie movie", but because it's also a PM movie, it has C. Thomas Howell, Gary Busey, Brent Huff and Jeff Speakman in non-homie roles. And also a bunch of shooting, car chases, and other PM hallmarks. In between most scenes there is an aerial shot of L.A. while some No Limit rapper lays down his popping' fresh rhymes. And behind scenes of C. Thomas Howell or Gary Busey talking, there are yet more rap beats. And of course, during any chase scenes, more rapping can be heard. Pretty much every homie movie cliché is out in force: barbecue parties (where Snoop doles out potato salad), bouncing cars, basketball games, evil whiteys (especially cops), and young ghetto-dwellers dreaming of escaping using the time-honored methods of drugs and violence. I guess it's what you'd call "Master P's Theatre"(groan).
Sure, you feel every aspect of its low-budget, but certain personalities shine through. Clifton Powell and Shireen Crutchfield stand out as the baddie and Kool's inexplicably devoted girlfriend, respectively. And you've got to respect Snoop - he remains one mellow cat at ALL times, whether hangin' with his homeboys or shooting a bunch of people in a (wildly extended) shootout. For this reason, he comes off as highly naturalistic, especially compared to his screen-mates such as Mr. Tha Shocker, who is clearly trying, but in a way that suggests a child trying to fit their little feet into their parents' shoes. As for the fan favorites, Howell doesn't do all that much, Huff is one-dimensionally evil, Speakman's role is largely unnecessary to the plot (although it was welcome and we wished there was more of him) and Busey is Busey. Busey is no stranger to the 'hood, having also been in Down 'n Dirty (2001) and On the Edge (2002).
It almost goes without saying, but Scarface (1983) seems to be a natural jumping-off point, at least for the second half of the movie, where the "Hot Boyz" are born and form their own criminal empire. When Kool earns his black belt, Master Keaton (Speakman) says to him "now you're a man", and later, Saint congratulates him on going from a boy to a man. The movie also could have been called "Bar MitzvahZ".
But we don't think you're supposed to think about it all that much, just get your own group of "Hot Boyz" together, pour out a 40 for your dead homiez, and pop in the DVD. If this is your thing at all, you'll be in homie heaven. -
andreas-stahl-434-60933527 February 2013because the movie tells us something that happened in real life, until as the black van appears at the funeral. the saddest scene is the girl dying during his visit in the prison hospital. The action movie part is the pursuit after the funeral shooting with some well done accident scenes. i guess that parts of the plot were taken from real stories, but in fact that the shootout scene resulted in a car pursuit with dozens of damaged vehicles is rather unlikely, because it would be more likely that the protagonist was injured by the shooting driver of the black van.
the biggest mistake of this movie is after the officer says, "you could get 20years in prison"-"shut up you'v got enough trouble" - the protagonist is talking to his friends instead of sitting in prison. before downrating it too much think about movies like the terminator series - those movies have only good ratings due to their special effects and not for a plot constructed with logics, i'm sure. -
bullions272 August 2002This is vindictive Master P at his ugliest (and that's bad). The main hero we are led to believe is a HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY acted black man, aspiring to do good, and knows kung-fu, living in a life of white oppression (you know, like all cops are crooked and idiots and all gangstas living the real life... whatever). Eventually, the good man is pushed to his limits because his girlfriend is framed for murder for no explicable reason. Seriously, this sort of plot is getting old and extremely TIRING. Countless rappers appear along the way in cameos contributing nothing except a possible song in the soundtrack, and eventually everything is resolved in a less than thrilling shoot-out between cops, crooked cops, good black guy, and gangstas.
2/10 -
nickman109125 July 2001Bought this DVD sight unseen, and I wasn't disappointed. The action was good, the direction was straightforward, and the acting was good for the most part. AJ Johnson, C Thomas Howell, Snoop & Gary Busey were all fine, but Clifton Powell as Saint was definitely the highlight, a good actor who never seems to get the spotlight. The only downside was Silkk as Kool; his acting was wooden at best. All in all though, definitely a decent little flick.
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Jynne11 November 2003With such names as Gary Busey, C. Thomas Howell & Jeff Speakman you would think that it would be a halfway decent movie, with at least interesting characters & a lot of action, but NO--not by a long shot. If you're a Jeff Speakman fan, don't rent this movie - he isn't in it very much. I found myself fast forwarding to the scenes with him, & once I passed the last one, I didn't care how the movie ended, I just wanted it to be over! :-(
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bronsonskull7226 July 2003Terrible movie about a bunch of ghetto guys lead by Sillk The Shocker who become crime lords in this boring and obnoxious actioner which has tons of bad songs and not enough action. All three B. movie Icons such as C. Thomas Howell,Jeff Speakman and Gary Busey go through the motions and have only been recruited to raise the notoriety level that this clunker would not have already had.
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This movie started out as a piece about racial injustice and corruption in the American criminal justice system. It seemed a noble effort to highlight a serious topic while utilizing an "urban" tone by casting rap artists. And, by noble effort, I mean a piece of poorly written, confusing, and nonsensical dreck.
Spoilers within:
I think the director/writer wanted to make a movie about rappers shooting up clubs and murdering countless innocent bystanders, banging chicks and swimming in bling Scrooge McDuck style. But, then, the producer said, "You know, we need a sad story to give your main character motivation to turn into an awesome gangster. People will love him if they know he has a heart wrenching past behind his murderous and asinine antics."
That's where you get the first half and a bit of this awful film. Stupidly named Kool is hooked up with a hot high school grad with a promising future. (Did you know Kool is Silkk the Shocker? Bet you didn't, not the way they plastered it all over the credits.) He's painfully uncool despite his recent ascension to a black belt in some vague martial art that comes in handy about one time in the film. Having him be a black belt in this movie is like giving the Terminator awesome flower arranging skills and having terrible scenes with his flower arranging mentor. Kool being a black belt has no bearing on the plot.
LaShawna's, Kool's girlfriend, mother hates him because he's a want-to-be rapper and he hangs out with Snoop Dogg or something. Despite this, LaShawna makes sweet love to Kool and then he lets her walk home in the ghetto at night. On her walk of shame home, LaShawna comes across a man being shot and attempts to help him. The man is a cop and is being shot by another cop for some reason. I think it's because he has to play victim to the white devil corrupt cops, but I'm not sure. LaShawna panics when the police arrive and she runs home. She is promptly arrested and booked for murder despite the fact that she is the least likely candidate to have committed the murder other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, now, for some reason, Kool must hook up with the King of Insanity, Gary Busey, and through corrupt means catch a slightly menacing neighborhood Mack Daddy to clear LaShawna. I like how this was a black-and-white case. LaShawna was there so they charged her right away even though the lead detective knew pretty well she wasn't involved at all. Kool uses his martial arts skills here to impress Mack Daddy and eventually tricks Mack Daddy into being arrested. However, the other corrupt white devil detective gets access to LaShawna and beats the fetus out her. Oh, I didn't mention she was pregnant!?! She doesn't mention this to her baby daddy either until she's on her death bed. Excuse me while I stifle a sardonic giggle. Why no one wondered why she was practically dead after talking to Detective White Devil still puzzles me. And on the day she was supposed to get out of jail too! What a tragedy.
Detective White Devil decides that killing a girl who knew absolutely nothing about his crime was not enough, so he decides to perform a drive-by AT HER FUNERAL and shoot up her family and friends. At her funeral! I mean, there are bad cops, and then there are BAD cops. Kool steals a hearse and a boring chase scene ensues ending with a crispy Detective White Devil when his van explodes. (What? No making bacon jokes? A joke like that might have saved this movie. Maybe.) End of movie, right? WRONG! Now we are treated to Kool and his gang of Hot Boyz (the z makes it edgy, you know) getting his revenge on the world by shooting up casino goers and stealing stuff.( I'm almost convinced that the cub/casino shooting scene is ripped straight from another C. Thomas Howell paycheck called "The Sweeper.") Everyone is looking for the gang, yet, no wonders why Kool can suddenly afford a mansion. Anyway, his gang gets cornered and they all die in an epic (read: boring) shootout. And Kool crashes his car into the water and escapes with his life. He is convicted and sentenced for his mayhem and murder, but is released after five years on a technicality. I guess you are supposed to feel triumphant for him because he stuck it to the man and did not have to do any time for his egregious transgressions. But, really, five years!?!
This was an awful movie with no direction, little or no acting, and a poor story. You'd be better off putting your balls in a vice rather than watch this. At least putting your balls in a vice wouldn't be as painful.
The two stars are for Gary Busey's queer little yell while he's doing dishes and his love of girl scout cookies. You know what I'm talking about. -
heilborn14 March 2001This is an interesting look at society from a rapper's point of view. Acting is just passable, direction is spotty, and camera work is often curious. Some of the angles used do not seem to be used for any particular purpose. The plot seems a bit forced, unnatural, and even unrealistic--but that's my point of view, not the rapper's.
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twanster-9765517 November 2020For HIPHOP fans and fans of these particular rappers it's worth watching. Good plot, decent acting and it moves along at a good pace. Sure its not a Hollywood blockbuster but its full of A-listing rappers. If you enjoy simple action/hood movies then this is for you.
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Field7826 January 2018I love to take time and effort to praise movies, but sometimes I just can't help having to write a negative review about a bad film, just to get it out of my system. Even if I've seen it nearly 20 years ago. Hot Boyz was probably one of those films that came in the slipstream of a long string of successful ghetto movies, started by Boyz 'n the Hood and Menace II Society. And boy does it show that inspiration was getting thin by that time. This movie is a testament to the lack of talent of almost everyone who was involved (save for some exceptions).
The 90s and 00s were also the age where so many movies were released that we got a direct-to-video/dvd segment as a result, and it's not hard to see that this movie ended up somewhere on the bottom shelf of the video store. Musicians who make the jump to movies are very often cast solely on their instant recognizability, and rappers are often bumped to actors to give the movie a bit of street cred and realism. Unfortunately, the biggest issue with that is that most of them can't act. If it's just one bad actor within an ensemble cast of fine thespians, you'll get away with it, but when an entire movie is written, directed and performed by rappers, it's not hard to see what can go wrong. Don't get me wrong, there are countless movies made on the streets by non-professional casts and crews that turned out raw, gritty and great, but Hot Boyz clearly wasn't one of them. In fact, the only reason why I remember this B-movie-in-the-worst-meaning-of-the-word at all is because of how horribly bad it was.
The story itself is pretty basic: a young man from the ghetto wants to become a rapper, but the promise of easy money lures him into a life of crime, despite the best efforts of the people around him. The biggest basic problem is that the script is badly written, and is full of clichés and hammy dialogue. The drama is unintentionally funny, and some scenes are so cringe-worthy that it is hard to discern what is worse: the writing, acting or direction. Silkk Tha Shocker as the leading man is sadly the worst actor of the cast with his monotonous and non-charismatic performance, although the rest of the actors seem to do their best to keep up. Samuel L. Jackson once said that he doesn't want to appear in movies with rappers solely to lend them some credibility, but it seems like this is exactly the reason for Gary Busey and C. Thomas Howell to be in this movie. Jeff Speakman has a brief role as a wise master, probably because he enjoyed some B-movie success in those days, and it enabled the makers to feature some martial arts for no reason. Snoop Dogg is also in it, but I fortunately don't remember him as particularly bad (his laid-back attitude is one of the reasons why I can never get mad at him).
If there is one positive thing to mention, it would be the crazy car chase that the movie opens with. It looks pretty spectacular, but it also makes it painfully clear that the most talented people working on this movie were part of the stunt team. The other thing that comes to mind is the comic relief from one of the supporting characters who has a stammer, which is of course a cheap trick to score some giggles, but at times, it worked. But not nearly enough.
Normally I'd be closing by saying that this movie should be avoided at all costs, but it seems there is no need. Time hasn't been kind to this unmemorable piece of amateur filming, and it has probably never reached a large audience anyway. It now remains merely as a reminder for me that there are much better movies in this genre. Come to think of it, Boyz n The Hood is on Netflix. I've been avoiding that movie for far too long, and it's about time that I gave it a shot (edit: and it was great). -
dee.reid9 October 2000SPOILER ALERT I just got done watching Hot Boyz after renting from the video store and I must say that I was quite impressed. It has a great cast from most of the No Limit rappers like Silkk the Shocker, Snoop Dogg, Mystikal and C-Murder. Back to the movie. It starts out with a guy getting chased by at least 20 police cars. Then Kool (Silkk the Shocker) start narrating about the film. It turns out that Kool's girlfriend Lashawna was arrested for the murder of an L.A. police officer when she was actually the witness. Kool is mad about this and talks to a another cop (Gary Busey) about trying to get her out of jail. He tells him the only way to get her out is to find the drug dealer who ordered the hit on the cop that was killed. Kool reluctantly agrees to go and find the drug dealer. While this is going on Lashawna is beaten to death in jail by another cop who actually ordered the hit on the now dead cop. Kool is outraged about this and calls together his friends and all of them together form the Hot Boyz who go around stealing drugs and money and selling it. As I said before Hot Boyz is and ok film and so I give it a 3 and half out of 5.
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Diagnosis Pete5 February 2002This flick has the potential of a classic with Gary Busey and Snoop Dogg, but I ended up wondering why was the film made. The script is terrible, and characters don't develop, they only have one emotion or goal, with the lead character Kool (Vyshonne Miller) becoming hell-bent on revenge for the death of his girlfriend, ITS HEART BREAKING STUFF.
However it's worth watching just to see Busey's double take when a prostitute undresses in front of him (Plus it has nothing to do with the plot). Oh and I was in hysterics when MC Hammer look-alike Saint fell into the sea, what a stunner. Busey should know better than make this tat. -
Master P is a 6-year-old boy. He really has a serious psychological problem. Obviously he is trying to emulate certain film generes, like John Woo, Steven Segal or Ice T. Unfortunately, his fantasy realm of reverse-racism mutates itself into this extended music video. This is beyond stupidity. There is so much racism in this piece, at some points, it doesn't even make sense and it becomes comedic. White cops conspiring to implicate a group of blacks in a ring of corruption and blackmail. Half an hour into it, after his sophisticated girlfriend is killed by cops in prison, all white people are "evil" and it's up to "Kool" to set up his gangsta organization: "Hot Boyz Inc." Snoop D-O-Double-G is a main character, if that's any indication of what you're watching. UUUUNNNGGGGHHH!!!! It's like they made a movie for the sole purpose of spending time partying, smoking weed and hanging out with hoes. I don't know how they got Gary Busey to participate in this monstrosity of wasted celluloid. No amount of baseball caps turned backwards can save this piece of stuff from stinking crap so much.
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Evolution-X16 April 2013Let me just start off by saying that I had the misfortune of watching this movie a while back because this was included in a four DVD pack that I bought at Walmart for five dollars. I will say that even paying $1.25 in a four pack is considered a waste because this movie is so freaking bad that I will never get an hour and a half back because I watched it. I might even use it as a means of torture on someone to punish the person.
Also, I must mention this: I first watched this at the age of 14 on UPN. I enjoyed the movie back then but now that I'm older, I am A LOT wiser and know A LOT better. I can't even begin to say how bad this movie is. The plot made no sense whatsoever. I refuse to believe that a girl would go to jail for being at a murder scene and not being questioned once about who murdered a cop. Second, how did the crooked cop know who she was? The guy didn't even beat her that badly enough to die. Also, how did the cop know it was that girl's funeral he decided to shoot up? Let's not forget the drastic change in plot midway. It goes from being a drama about a guy trying to get his girlfriend out of jail to a story about rising up the ranks in the crime world.
I have watched movies in the past where a lot of the cast consisted of rappers or a portion of the cast were rappers. "Thicker Than Water" with Mack 10 and Fat Joe comes to mind. Granted the movie is low budget and the acting is bad, but it had a decent plot. It was enjoyable for what it is. I have seen bits and pieces of "State Property." The acting was bad, but I haven't seen the whole thing to give my take.
This movie, on the other hand, suffered from bad writing, bad direction, many errors, horrible acting (Especially from Silkk The Shocker). The only thing I liked out of it was the music in the background and even I thought that the music was out of place during the final shootout.
Unless you are masochist, never watch this movie. However, this could be a great form of torture or punishment to use on someone. -
kevin_robbins24 January 2022Hot Boyz (2000) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a young man looking to get out of the hood and settle down with his girlfriend, have kids and start a family. When she is framed for murder he will need to spring into action to find evidence to clear her name and get his goals back on track.
This movie is directed by Master P (No Tomorrow) and stars Gary Busey (Gingerbread Man), Silkk the Shocker (Undisputed), Snoop Dogg (Training Day), Pamella D'Pella (Ted & Venus), Shireen Crutchfield (House Party 3) and C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders).
This film has a fantastic soundtrack, it's probably the best thing going for it. The storyline was a bit cliché and felt like an excuse to get as many rappers as possible in a movie. The opening car chase was cheesy and the car chases overall were fairly poorly done. The scenarios the main character encountered were crazy and far fetched creating little entertainment value.
Overall, this is a bad movie with few redeeming qualities and absolutely no repeat viewing value. I would score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it. -
xxdogg1xx7 December 1999This movie is actually quite good. It is entertaining and in my opinion is better than Foolish and I Got the Hook Up. This is the one No Limit Film that should have been released in theaters. Despite the movies man character bein Silkk, C-Murder does some really good acting in the movie and in my opionion is the best actor in the film. Most of the No Limit Rappers make cameos in the film. The movie centers around Hustler trying to make things right in the wrong way, he later fixes things up the right way with help from some special friends. Of all the NO Limit Films out right now this one is by far the best, almost reminds me of Menace II Society.
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If you love the music of The No Limit Soldiers than you`ll probably love this movie alot. And it`s really great, Silkk The Shocker really surprised me with his acting skills. Great directing and great action sequences makes this movie to go real high in my favorite action-movie list.
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castrotiffany3 January 2007This movie was so romantic and sweet and he would do anything for his girl to be with him this is where guys should start taking notes.... this movie was also very sad when you find out that LaShana died and what he does is out of desperate measures and to YOU who didn't like you have your opinion and heres mine the movie is a good movie and anything is possible in this movie ... this movie also had some very cute people in it and thats all that needs to be said. And they made the cutest couple and the movie is very realistic there are cops who are"dirty" and this movies shows what they do and how they take advantage of their authorities. but overall this movie is romantic sweet and in a sort of way it keeps you on your toes.
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R-1110 August 2000Trust me, don't waste your time. This film is rubbish. Weak story line, full of lame cliches, every other word either Nig**r or F@*k, not one single redeeming factor. Just as bad as 'Ride' though in a different way.
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mucahidb29 March 2003If someone says that this movie is good, they lie. This movie is one of the dumb movies i've ever seen. And believe I've seen many movies in my life. If you look at the cast you would expect a great movie, but no, they all f*cked it up. Fans of Jeff Speakmann would be very dissapointed. Jeff has a tiny roll in this movies and he hardley fights. And oh man the guy has become a fat karate guy. If you want to see a real getto movie you should watch Menace 2 society. The only thing this movie is good for is to throw it away.
Mark: -1/10