F. Scott's turning over in his grave

There's a lot of pressure involved in remaking a film. There's probably an even greater pressure when trying to remake a film based off what has been called one of the best American novels of all time. \nIn the film "G," director Christopher Scott Cherot has taken F. Scott Fitzgerald's well-known novel "The Great Gatsby" and re-imagined it with a modern spin. "G," an independent film produced in 2002 and now playing at Kerasotes West, is most simply described as what happens when hip-hop meets the Hamptons. The film begins with Summer G (Richard T. Jones) stumbling along the shore bloody and obviously worn out. Suddenly, it cuts to a group of people gathering for what seems to be a funeral. The audience is then hurled to the beginning and there begins the unraveling of the events that set up the tragic ending. \nThe film is the story of Summer G, the creator of a powerful hip-hop empire, and his obsession with winning back his college girlfriend Sky. Sky (Chenoa Maxwell) left Summer in college for a more dependable social climber Chip Hightower (Blair Underwood). Ten years later Summer has built his empire all for Sky and his first aggressive step toward getting her back is to move down the street from her and her husband Chip in the Hamptons. When Sky's cousin Tre (Andre Royo) comes to town to visit his 'cuz and interview Summer for an article he's writing for a hip-hop magazine, the perfect world they thought existed begins to crumble. \nLike something out of a 1950s melodrama or last week's episode of "Days of our Lives," "G" is a mixture of jealousy, lies and deceit all in the name of love. It's unfortunate Cherot's innovative approach on such an old story is unable to hold its own. The story's original switch of races and comment on class roles is an interesting one, and there are definitely elements of entertainment. With ravishing parties, the film offers some funny events. Yet, while the film tries to speak to today's audience with modern situations, it ends up over-dramatizing the relationships and thus undercutting the interesting new twist on a classic story. Overall, "G" is a notable attempt but probably best kept for the mini-series.