Waist Deep in shit

"Waist Deep" is a piece of crap. It's the kind of piece of crap that unfortunately could only come out of America. The film was directed by Vondie-Curtis Hall who, if you don't remember, directed a little Mariah Carey vehicle a couple years back called "Glitter." If this isn't reason enough to steer clear of this film, I don't know what else is. \nFormer model turned actor/musician Tyrese Gibson stars as Otis or O2 on the streets (you see, when Otis was younger "hood rats" used to call him O2 because he would float around the streets like oxygen. This film is chock full of important back-story tidbits like this). One day while driving his son "Little Man" or Otis Jr. home from school his car is jacked by some tough, inked-up gangstas who then drive off with his son in the back seat. From then on it is a race against the clock set up by a creepy drug runner/former partner named Meat (played exquisitely by the rapper known simply as The Game) who wants 100 grand for Little Man's life. O2 seeks aid from a pseudo hooker/men's suit dealer named Coco (Meagan Good) and his weed fiend cousin Lucky (Larenz Tate). In order to raise the money O2 and Coco start successfully robbing upscale banks all around L.A. Never mind the role of the po-po in this film. The L.A.P.D. can't handle the power of Oxygen.\nThis is the plot in a nutshell. The story is lame but does have some high points that should be noted. The character of Meat is a pretty wicked villain. In one scene while in his drug catacomb/warehouse where drug minions work in small metal cages and there are lots of plasma screens around, Meat cuts a gangsta's hand off with a machete for being late with a payment. This was the best scene in the film and helps set the stage for an over-the-top shootout at the end where Meat eats it in a cool firefight under a bridge. Wicked? Yes. Enough to keep an audience interested? No.\nThe real problem with "Waist Deep" is it can't decide whether to just be straight action or try its hand at drama. Tyrese is about as good an actor as my dog trying to pretend he didn't just scrounge around in the trash. And with the ridiculously overly dramatic tagline "His son. His life. His freedom. He's taking them all back," it's hard to tell whether or not Mr. Curtis Hall wasn't lost somewhere between gangsta action flicks and Lifetime original movies. \n"Waist Deep" does however have everything you might expect from a typical modern gangsta film. Rapper turned actor. Check. Lots of cool-ass steel plated hand gats. Check. Bags of Benjamins. Check. Fleets of Hummers and Impalas. Check. Cameo by Russell Simmons' wife Kimora Lee. Check. This said, unless you absolutely yearn to see Tyrese take on a drug kingpin and get his freak on with a hot chick with boisterous lips, I would seek out another film to wet your appetite. I hear the Al Gore environmental PowerPoint presentation film is quite good.