Hoodlum (1997)

Laurence Fishburne as "Bumpy Johnson"
Tim Roth as "Dutch Schultz"
Chi McBride as "Illinois Gordon"
Andy Garcia as "Lucky Luciano"
Vanessa Williams as "Francine Hughes"
Cicely Tyson as "Madame Queen"
Clarence Williams III as "Bub Hewlett"

Written by Chris Brancato
Directed by Bill Duke

A movie like "Hoodlum" is too slick to be true, which leaves one wondering as to exactly how true it is. Based on true-life Depression-era gangland figures, "Hoodlum" is a dark, stylish crime thriller that serves mainly for entertainment value. It looks pretty, and boasts fine performances from an ideal cast, but it's hard for me to rank it on the level of, say..."GoodFellas."

Laurence Fishburne stars here as Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, just out of prison and back on the streets of 1930s Harlem. He reconnects with his cousin Illinois (Chi McBride, of TV's "Boston Public"), who makes a living working for the local (yet profitable) numbers racket run by Stephanie St. Claire, better known as "Madame Queen." Known well enough around Harlem, Bumpy joins Illinois in working for the Queen, and convinces her to allow him to join her crew of bodyguards for a sit-down with Dutch Schultz, a dangerous rival trying to muscle in on the Queen's action. As Bumpy's influence grows, he begins to react in kind against Dutch's violent overtures. And as the enmity between the two men grows, bodies start to pile up.

However, the ensuing war truly heats up when Madame Queen (who is dissatisfied with Bumpy's increasingly violent tactics) is arrested, leaving him to take full control over the Queen's racket. The war, however, threatens to destroy everything Bumpy holds dear.

With a write-up like this, "Hoodlum" sounds pretty good, right? Well, to be honest, it is a prety solid flick with great production values. The entire movie screams "expensive," from the sets, to the costumes, to the cast.

Make no mistake, the cast is well worth the money. Though Fishburne and Roth share very little screen time together, they are still quite superb. Fishburne is at full intensity as Bumpy, portraying the gangster as a passionate warrior in danger of losing his soul in battle. Roth, however, has fun playing the psychotic Dutch. Here, he steals the show.

The rest of the cast shines in supporting roles, including Andy Garcia as Lucky Luciano, Vanessa Williams as Bumpy's girlfriend Francine, Clarence Williams III as Hewlett, one of Dutch's enforcers, and Cicely Tyson as the Queen. Special mention goes to Chi McBride for handling the transition from comic relief to grieving figure quite well.

However, great production values and an excellent cast can only take you so far. A good movie needs a wonderful script to become a great movie. "Hoodlum" seems shorter on story than style, and while the movie manages to keep an explosive air about it, it remains fairly predictable.

The ending is another aspect with which I must take issue. While I don't want to give away any more spoilers, I will say that the ending gives me cause to wonder just how fictionalized is the end of the film. Worse, it's anticlimactic, and deflates the movie's overall impact.

Even so, I would say that "Hoodlum" makes a satisfying rental, but it misses that special something that would place it on "The Godfather"'s level. It just seems to "by the numbers" to be any more than a good movie.

11.11.01