THE SYNOPSIS Los Angeles. The urban jungle. Life is to be taken one day at a time. At least that’s the philosophy of parolee O2 (Gibson)--who’s re-entered society a straight arrow. Between his security guard job and the visits with his young son, Junior (Hall), O2 has a shot at redemption. Until... The fateful day he gets carjacked in South Central with Junior still in the backseat! And it only happened because he was approached by the very sultry street hustler Coco (Good)--who may or may not be part of the carjacking scheme. Either way, he convinces her to help him find Junior in return for cash (so that she may leave the city and start a new life...you know, the standard hooker-or-hustler with a heart-of-gold slant). Through the aid of O2’s shady, hoodlum cousin Lucky (Tate)--our protagonists learn that Junior is being held by Lucky’s boss Meat (The Game)--a sadistic and villainous gangbanger. Junior stays alive if Meat gets $100,000 in 24 hours. Oh yeah, almost forgot: O2 and Meat have history...you know, bad history. Over the course of 24 hours, O2 and Coco devise a scheme to rob the banks where Meat is storing his money, while eluding the police, trying to find Junior. and having time for a romantic interlude. But what about Lucky? Is his loyalty to his boss or his own blood? Either way, things get very bloody as Meat goes down. Blood wins over crime as Lucky sacrifices his life so that our heroes may get away and start a new life South of the Border. THE CRITIQUE Watching WAIST DEEP makes me want to stay the hell away from Los Angeles! They should play this one on a triple bill with Falling Down (1993) & Heat (1995) in an attempt to divert any potential immigration to the City Of Angels... OK: enough domestic policy ramblings on my behalf! Time to get busy wit dis review! Although not an instant classic, there is enough melodrama in WAIST DEEP to keep the viewer interested in the stripped-down plot (co-written by the director; more on that later). Props must go to a decent cast, headlined by an actor who grows on me movie after movie: Tyrese Gibson. This young man anchors the movie with his smoldering presence, model-good looks and solid acting chops. As O2, he kinda reminds me of a young Robert Mitchum-meets-Sidney Poitier in-the-making. Maybe a stretch, but that’s how I feel... The rest of the cast is fine, with actress Megan Good showing off the goods while another young actor that I enjoy watching, Larenz Tate (recently featured in last year’s Oscar©-winning picture, Crash) is better as the torn cousin/small-time hood. The villainous character played by the rather scary The Game is effective. Behind the lens, it’s nice to see actor-turned-director-but-still-an-actor Vondie Curtis-Hall rebound from the disastrous 2001 bomb Glitter (he also directed Gridlock’d and several TV shows). VCH does a solid helming job on a script he co-wrote with another reaper of urban tales, Darin Scott (scribe of such flicks as Tales From The Hood & Caught Up). While shades of racial stratification appear in WAIST DEEP, it never gets in the way of a good ass-whoopin’! Also worthy of some props is the solid, industrial widescreen lensing by cinematographer Shane Hurlbut (The Greatest Game Ever Played/Into The Deep/Drumline)--which nicely-encapsulates the grittiness of the subject material. Best thing about the movie, easily. Other tech credits--like sharp editing, appropriately-spartan production design and the Terence Blanchard score are da bomb. For the record, Blanchard is Spike Lee’s usual music man--having scored most of his pictures. Terence also scored Glitter for VCH...if anyone’s keeping score. THE BOTTOM LINE Yo dawgs! This movie’s dope! Seriously, WAIST DEEP is a slicked-up B-movie that delivers on what it promises: thrills and chills. Although it won’t possess the staying power of an urban classic like Boyz N The Hood (1991), this one carries itself with an air of confi-dence. Entertaining in viewing, but stylishly-corny in substance--this one’s bound to bust a cap or two at the box office. CAST: Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate, The Game & H. Hunter Hall CREDITS: Director: Vondie Curtis Hall; Screenwriters: Vondie Curtis Hall & Darin Scott; Story: Michael Mahern; Producer: Preston Holmes; Director of Photography: Shane Hurlbut; Production Designer: Warren A. Young; Costume Designer: Marie France; Editor: Terilyn A. Shropshire; Music: Terence Blanchard & Denaun Porter AC/AL/SV 2006 97m ENGLISH