This film, which documents the plight of a has-been rapper, owes its effectiveness to the utterly charismatic personality of Fatlip. From the first scene, his captivating performance and charm carry the audience, and Jonze is careful not to get in the way of allowing Fatlip's personality to speak for itself. Through the performer's lyrics and on-screen conversations, Jonze provides a revealing look at the rapper's insight into the entertainment industry, his personal life and what he's lost in the process. A profoundly touching and honest look at an endearing performer, "What's Up, Fatlip" is a soulful documentary worth owning.
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pauldahn14 January 2005
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Horst_In_Translation31 October 2015"What's Up, Fatlip?" is a short film from 15 years ago written and directed by recent Oscar winner Spike Jonze. It was released in 2003 according to IMDb, but the time stamp at the end of this slightly over 30-minute long documentary says 2000, so there was probably some time in-between. In this one, Jonze gives us an insight into the life of Fatlip, an African American rap musician. I may be a bit biased as this is not my preferred genre at all, but even the non-music parts I did not find too interesting. I did not know Fatlip before this film and I have no interest in further research about him now that I watched. For Jonze, it was a trip back to the roots as he obviously started as a music video director. This is, of course, not a music video, but a music documentary, but still. Anyway, not a particularly good watch and only very few memorable moments. Not recommended.
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the_eel8 September 2004half hour documentary filmed by spike jonze during the making of the music video also called "whats' up, fatlip?". consists of hand-held mini dv footage(or some other poor quality format) of Fatlips' monologues. He is a very charismatic person, who can certainly tell a story. His ex-bandmates say that he really is crazy, and some scenes make you wonder about his sanity, especially being talked into walking around LA in a trench coat and diaper while sipping liquor and mumbling incoherently. Fatlip talks repeatedly about being at the end of his career and the lack of financial success he has had, without sounding too bitter. Which is an interesting side to the music industry I hadn't really thought about, as everyone looks well off on cribs. A personal highlight was him telling the story that inspired his lyrics on 'oh sh!t' off bizarre ride II. a throughly enjoyable disposable documentary.