Seeing that I was lucky enough to have been born and raised in Atlanta, it seemed fitting that I should see the new appropriately-titled movie, ATL. The ad campaign heralds ATL as "the new American story." Previews for the movie show a film about drugs and poverty, but in actuality -- while those were key parts of the film -- the movie is more of a coming-of-age tale and a comedy.
I was genuinely surprised by ATL. I expected to see a new decade's take on urban dramas such as Boyz N The Hood. While some aspects were similar, ATL remains unique and entertaining.
ATL was the film directorial debut for famed music video director Chris Robinson, produced by Will Smith and loosely based on the lives of Tionne Watkins and Dallas Austin. The story follows Rashad Swann, played by the very sexy Tip "T.I." Harris, and his life in a poor South Atlanta neighborhood. It's surprising that Harris plays Rashad, who stays out of drugs and tries to stop his brother from entering the business, considering Harris himself was a dope-boy and incarcerated for selling drugs.
Rashad is a high school senior and an orphan who despite living with his Uncle George must be the man of the house and take care of his troublesome little brother, Ant. When Ant becomes involved with a drug dealer, Rashad must try to save his already broken family and put aside his dreams of drawing to support his family and their cleaning business.
The best scenes in the movie are when Rashad and his friends are hanging out. His friends include Benjamin, whom everyone calls "Esquire" because he goes to a private school and dreams of an Ivy League education, Teddy who is "so Atlanta he's never been outside 285" and specializes in dazzling grillz, and Brooklyn, obviously so called because of his hometown and his resentment for Atlanta's culture. Rashad's brother Ant has a problem with running his mouth and an extreme desire to be wealthy; later, he causes trouble when he becomes a dope-boy to get money.
The boys provide the most humor in the film. Their lunches at the Waffle House (a staple in every Atlanta high school experience whether you're from College Park or the suburbs of Dunwoody) never fail to amuse. In one especially humorous scene, the guys discuss the differences in slang between the North and the South. Brooklyn complains about Southerners saying "shorty" at the end of every sentence exclaiming, "I don't know why you're calling me Shorty! I'm taller than all of you!" To which Rashad responds, "Why do you call everyone "Son?" You are not my father!"
Rashad and his friends leave the stress of home and their impending graduation behind when they go to the local roller rink, Cascade, every Sunday night to show off their skills. Even though the skate rink is supposed to be a sanctuary from their troubles, there's still drama in their inner sanctum. Not only does tribulation come in the form of provocative New-New and her friends Veda and Star, but the neighborhood drug dealer Marcus hangs around creating problems between Rashad and his brother.
Rashad's budding relationship with New-New offers a good romantic subplot. Their relationship furthers the theme of wealth and class stratification. New-New's real name is Erin; she's a girl from Sandy Springs (an extremely wealthy part of town) who wants to be part of the neighborhood her now-bourgeois and discriminating father grew up in.
Yet undeniably, Marcus is the source of the most dangerous problems for Rashad. Antwan "Big Boi" Patton plays the violent drug dealer who puts Ant to work. I have to say while Harris, better known as rapper T.I., is very convincing and talented as an actor, it is hard to see Big Boi of OutKast as a seriously dangerous man when in real life, he routinely performs songs with lyrics like, "I wanna see ya support bra / not support you."
ATL is much more than the advertisements claim. The characters are entertaining and well developed. Harris proves his acting abilities. The depiction of life in the poor side of town and the wealthy suburbs are not overly preachy, but well thought-out observations on society. Not to mention it actually makes roller skating look cool and has an amazing soundtrack. On the whole, ATL provides a humorous coming-of-age tale that is appealing to more than just hip-hop fans and Atlanta residents.
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