Deadly Rhapsody (2001)
Directed by Don Abernathy
Written by Don Abernathy, Fred Pittman
Starring Glenn Plummer, Fred Williamson, Freda Payne, Ice T, M.C Hammer, Tone Loc
Release Date March 15th, 2001
Published November 10th, 2002
We have heard of troubled productions before. Films like Waterworld, Batman & Robin and Titanic among many others. However I have never seen a production completely botched from the first frame that was shot all the way to its release. The film Deadly Rhapsody is a complete mess. It's likely you have never heard of this movie. If there is any justice in the world you never will. Take this review as a warning in case this movie ever does see the light of day.
This pathetic production stars Glenn Plummer (South Central, Speed) as Roughneck, a fresh from jail parolee looking to reconnect with his mother (Freda Payne), his Uncle (Fred "The Hammer" Williamson) and his brother who remains unknown. Roughneck also has a score to settle with an ex-friend who got him sent to jail named Jelly, no clue who played this guy either.
None of this plot description means anything because the script direction and overall production of Deadly Rhapsody is something only Ed Wood could appreciate. Scenes are out of frame, there are numerous meaningless scenes of people driving, walking and opening doors. There are numerous unnecessary closeups, gratuitous nudity, and characters introduced at random. In one scene, as Plummer's character is talking to his love interest, the camera begins to just drift away and for a solid minute we stare at empty space while characters are talking.
The film looks as if it were shot on a home video camera by a twelve year old with A.D.D. Despite this ridiculousness the film still attracted recognizable stars including Plummer, Williamson, Freda Payne, Ice T, MC Hammer and Tone Loc. It's as if these stars were tricked into making this movie thinking they were just rehearsing in front of a video camera. The film reminded me of Steve Martin's Bowfinger, especially in Hammer's brief scene where he looks like he's being accosted by film cameras.
The most offensive thing about this film is not just its botched production but also the film being released at all. Deadly Rhapsody is a straight to video cheapie slapped together with recognizable African-American actors to take advantage of an urban market who producers cynically believe will watch anything with a black face on the cover box.
Let us all come together and communally hope that this film is canned forever. And if my review has sparked a need to see this movie just to see how bad it really is, you have to trust me, you don't want to see this.
