8 Mile

By EWAN MCDONALD

(Herald Rating: * * *)

Elvis, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Cliff Richard, even Britney Spears and Mariah Carey tried it and failed. So what makes Eminem (aka Slim Shady, aka Marshall Mathers III) think he can jump from hip-hop star to movie star?

Well, hold on to your saggy pants and hood, because the white boy who made it in a black man's world on disc has managed a creditable debut in this carefully cleaned-up movie version of his life story.

Whether he could do it in any other film, when he had to act rather than simply act out his on-stage character, is still up for debate.Eminem has the advantages of a script handwritten for him, rap's version of Rocky or A Star is Born; a good director — Curtis Hanson, best-known for LA Confidential; and a handpicked supporting cast that includes Kim Basinger, who worked with Hanson on LA Confidential.

It's 1995. After splitting with his girl, Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith (Eminem) returns to the trailer that his mother (Basinger) shares with her nasty boyfriend, who happens to be Jimmy's former classmate, and his younger sister.

Jimmy yearns to be a rapper. He enters a local competition but his nerves get the better of him. What's ahead? Years in the Detroit factory where he earns the minimum wage. There is a nice irony here. If they had made this flick 20 years ago, he would have been a black kid working in the GM plant and dreaming of being signed to Motown.

Eminem spends a lot of the movie raging against the system and trying to beat the odds. He gets a new girlfriend (Brittany Murphy), has a final bash at the rap competition, and sorts out Mum's boyfriend, all with the support and assistance of his friend, Fortune (Mekhi Phifer).

Those who have some knowledge of Eminem's tabloid lifestyle may be intrigued to see that Jimmy Smith is not in the least homophobic, does have difficulties with his mother's lifestyle, and there is a screenwriter's get-out clause for his misogyny.

All in all, it's a good vehicle for Eminem. More importantly in America's entertainment industry, 8 Mile stands up for America's forgotten youngsters and their lack of hope, their sense of exclusion. Chances are, George and his cronies won't hear the message because of the language it's delivered in.

The DVD

* The Rap Battles: American Idol, the Hiphop Show. Director Curtis Hanson stages a contest to calm restless extras during long days of shooting. The prize: three extras will earn the right to battle Eminem in some scenes leading up to the final battle in the film. More than 130 tried out, trimmed to 20 semifinalists who staged a battle with 15 seconds each to impress the director and the crowd. The winners do get to battle Eminem; unfortunately his voice was going after three days of battling so Hanson got him to mime his parts.

* Superman Music: Video Everything your mother and father hate about rap: porn star Gina Lynn does a striptease, Eminem moons the camera, then writhes around amid 70-odd oiled lingerie models. Defenders of Eminem may enjoy the chance to sample his lyrics in the, ah, raw.

* The Making of 8 Mile: Rare footage of the media-shy artist outside his carefully cultivated tough-guy persona. "Could this rational, often sensitive-sounding young man be the same thug who threatened to beat up a puppet during last year's MTV Music Video Awards?" asked an American critic. His PR staff will get back to you on that.

* The Music of 8 Mile: Track listing from the two soundtrack albums.

* Cast and crew notes, theatrical trailer, lightweight production notes, Total Axess DVD-ROM extras promising more information from a "secret location" on the web. There are no commentary tracks.