New Jersey Drive

The hood movie craze was one of the best in my opinion.  There was plenty of drama and crazy heartbreaking shit to go around.  The things that happened in those pictures were real for the most part too.  And such a large population of folks had to deal with the violence, corruption, gangbanging and etc. every day.  That material is perfect for any kind of art while raising awareness for what’s going on.  Of course, these films also glorify the hood lifestyle to a certain extent so it cuts both ways.

I think we can all pretty much agree that among hood movies there are the big three (not to be confused with The Big 3): Boyz n the Hood, Juice and Menace II Society.  Menace is my personal favorite but they’re all good.  New Jersey Drive is a second tier hood flick.  It’s got the vibe but not the best script.

Jason Petty (get it?  Do you?  Are you sure?  It’s really not obvious what his last name is alluding to oh wait it is) is a young black man trying to survive on the streets of Newark, NJ.  He and his friends like to steal cars and go for joyrides.  The cops always seem to be right on their ass though and when they hit the siren these kids attempt to escape.  Most of the time they get away but sometimes shit gets real and someone gets killed.

The cops are portrayed as such evil fuckin’ pricks.  Almost every time they’ll use excessive force and even go as far as to start shooting at people for no reason.  All of the cops are white too.  So this film definitely has an agenda.

Everyone in this does a good job, especially the lead (Shannon Corley (The Substitute)).  You get the sense that he’s kinda smart, like all protagonists in hood movies, but can’t seem to distance himself from illegal shit or escape his environment.  Jason is less of a victim than say Tre from Boyz or Q from Juice however.  No matter how many times he gets busted or beat up he still goes out there and steals cars ‘n shit.  It takes a long time for him to learn from his mistakes so it’s hard to feel as sorry for him as I normally would.

One of the best sequences is when Jason and his pal Midget (Gabriel Casseus (Black Dog)) are just hanging out drinking 40’s.  The main villain cop, Roscoe (Saul Stein (Open Water)), comes by in his cruiser and starts giving them a hard time.  So Midget throws his 40 at the car which leads to everyone scrambling to flee the scene.  The next few parts would be a little convoluted to explain so I’ll just say that it involves some more 40’s and more cops.  It’s great because it’s funny and sad at the same time.

Nick Gomez writes and directs and he does ok I guess.  There isn’t a lot of style to this piece but it’s clear and straightforward which I appreciate.  He went on to become a TV guy even directing a couple of episodes of Oz and The Sopranos.  Spike Lee produced this and you can certainly feel his influence.  The anti-white streak that runs through the picture is prominent and, well, kinda racist but it actually didn’t bother me a whole lot.

The usual hood movie tropes make their appearance here too like a dead fuckin’ serious narration by the main character, a drive by shooting, retaliation, 40’s, weed, some rough dudes playing cards, getting rounded up by the cops, being interrogated by the cops, being harassed by the cops, etc.  The only real unique element is that this takes place in Newark instead of New York City or Los Angeles.  It doesn’t feel different in that regard but they tried a different setting.

NJ Drive is an enjoyable hood film but suffers from a couple of problems.  I already mentioned that Jason could be a little more redeeming, but the main one is that it’s repetitive.  These guys steal cars and run from the cops over and over again.  I could see an argument that this mirrors real life with young black men being stopped by the cops and racially profiled all the time.  In that sense I get it.  It’s a vicious cycle that’s incredibly hard to break.  But still, they could’ve done the steal-a-car-run-from-the-cops scene one less time I think.

I guess I liked it.  It’s definitely not a bad a film.  The title is way too plain though.  It gets lamer the more I think about it too.  Whatever, if you feel like going for a New Jersey drive in the hood then check it out.