The L.A. Riot Spectacular

5
2005 1 hr 20 min Comedy

The controversial satire The LA Riot Spectacular plays for mordent laughs the events that consumed L.A. in 1992, after the police officers on trial for beating motorist Rodney King were found innocent. The city was engulfed by a massive riot, but the film plays these moments for laughs. In addition to recreating some of the images seen on television, the film skewers a variety of figures including the police, the media, and the citizens of the city.

  • Cast:
    Snoop Dogg , T.K. Carter , Charles S. Dutton , Emilio Estevez , George Hamilton , Charles Durning , Christopher McDonald

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Reviews

Perry Kate
2005/04/25

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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Ensofter
2005/04/26

Overrated and overhyped

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Limerculer
2005/04/27

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

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Dirtylogy
2005/04/28

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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bozo2bozo2
2005/04/29

It's weak and obvious, with only modest production values, a ham-handed script, and labored humor. If the director and writer were sophomores in high school, I'd give them very high marks, but they're not. There are some good actors here, although it's a challenge to see that. So what's wrong with it? Satire is supposed to give the viewer a dose of reality and then, with subtlety and taste, twist it. This movie takes the most obvious idea and walks with it... oh... so... slowly. You get it. You GET IT. But it just keeps going. It's like any of a thousand of bad Saturday Night Live skits, where in the first twenty seconds all comedic juice has been squeezed out of that lemon... but no: you've got another ten minutes. And then a commercial.I'd suggest that if you get it for free (for god's sake, don't spend any money on it), you watch it long enough to figure out that it's not worth the time you spent; after, you'll wonder why you wasted that half-hour of your life.

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Jake Schmidt
2005/04/30

The true story of the L.A. Riots has been a tale nobody had the right to tell, until now. The producers take a hard and truthful look at the human dynamics and social turmoil that is Los Angeles, then throw in a dark humor that ends up speaking the truth for all of us. No matter what social or ethnic group you are from, you'll feel a twinge of pain, a bit of righteousness, and a healthy amount of sadness at the condition we all share: Apathy mixed with fear. I watched this film with an active duty veteran policeman from LAPD, and he reminded me of one of those "bobble head dolls" you see in people's back windshields: He had a perpetual smile on his face but his head was either swinging side to side or bobbling up and down. Even when Snoop Dog starts chanting "F*** the Police, F*** the Police" it's easy to understand his (and many Angeleno's) frustration at the huge barrier in communication that divides L.A. government and it's people. This film speaks to that frustration, and keeps the question's alive.

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dd-216
2005/05/01

Attention celluloid connoisseurs, here's a movie that has that rare blend of outrageous comedy, biting satire, art with substance and spot-on social criticism. This film will have you chuckling and howling, then…thinking…a tad disturbed, but will inevitably leave you with more insight behind what fuels urban decadence. Spoofing the beating of Rodney King by the LAPD, this wickedly witty work exposes many of the root causes and perpetuation of these unfortunate, yet all-too-common incidents in society. Treating people like impersonal objects, distrust, misunderstanding, turf protection and crass commercialism all contribute to the frayed edges, short fuses and lethal disrespect of social intolerance. This movie doesn't just poke fun at racism, the media, political correctness and stereotyping, it throws stiff jabs and roundhouse kicks at the whole shithouse…and damn, it's funny! It also has the courage to face head on, deep human issues with a twinkle in the eye and tongue-in-cheek…everybody's guilty, yet everybody's cool.It's a short film, less than an hour-and-a-half, but generates more substance per minute than bloated mainstream blockbusters. It warrants repeated viewing. The production values are not lacking despite a modest film budget and the dialogue is rich in subtlety, revealing the writer's depth of understanding of what makes society tick and what makes society sick. I found this refreshing while viewing it and even more so afterwards. Most films that deal with race related issues tend to be unconvincing due to shallowness in either the writing, directing or acting, or all the above.Though I've enjoyed the serious intent of films like "Dangerous Minds," "Boyz In the Hood," and "Blackboard Jungle," they never quite convinced me that they had a finger on the pulse of what goes down in the 'hood.' "The L.A. Riot Spectacular," from its comedic perspective, hits much closer to home. It's a hip flick that switches gears seamlessly between highbrow and homeboy in the proper vernacular and with real authority.The actors do a fine job bringing their obnoxious, yet endearing characters to life. As the story progresses, they undergo transformations and one can't help but laugh at and empathize with their follies. I particularly enjoyed Charles Dutton, as Mayor Bradley and it was fun seeing Ronnie Cox as Police Chief Gates. But I found the whole cast amusing with memorable performances by: TK Carter, who plays victim-turned-opportunist, Rodney King; Snoop Dogg lends a likable narration and entertainment presence; Emilio Estevez, still has the best snicker in Hollywood as Officer Powell along with Christopher McDonald as Officer Kuhn. George Hamilton achieves comedic transcendence when he morphs from flaky underdog to ominous overcat. Other notable caricatures were achieved by the actors who portrayed; the lucky slime who filmed the infamous beating on video, the dejected-but-lovable Mexican, the hard-luck-but-good-attitude Korean couple, the impossibly narrow Aryan father and son, the naive-but-mindlessly-dangerous gangstas, the sensational TV news couple with their shameless gall and of course, a blood-sucking lawyer.Good art asks questions but some art reveals answers and tells you where your feet are. So to writer/director Marc Klasfeld, thanks for the hard work and awesome job! Keep jabbing away. This film will find its audience and make people guffaw for years to come and maybe someday we will, "all get along."

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jbw242
2005/05/02

As an avid movie fanatic I'd have to say that I have not laughed so hard in a long time. I saw this film with three friends at the Tribeca Film Festival and we all agreed that it was one of the funniest movies we've seen in years. Immediately after walking out of the theater and the entire evening afterward we could not stop thinking about the countless hilarious parts of this film. But at the same time the film does portray the seriousness of the riots that occurred in LA in the early 90s. The all-star cast, some of whom took on quite controversial roles, was fantastic. And along with the excellent editing between the actual video clips from the riots and the shots filmed for the movie, it made one great film. I can't wait for Rockhard Films to find a distributor for this film, because I have to see this movies again. The second I left the theater I wanted to watch it all over again. So if you are listening distribution companies...Pick Up This Film...Please!

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