Juice (film)

Juice
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ernest R. Dickerson
Produced by	David Heyman Gerard Brown James Bigwood Neal H. Moritz Peter Frankfurt Preston L. Holmes Ralph McDaniels
Written by	Ernest R. Dickerson Gerard Brown
Starring	Omar Epps Tupac Shakur Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins Khalil Kain Samuel L. Jackson Cindy Herron Queen Latifah Vincent Laresca
Music by	Gary G-Wiz
Cinematography	Larry Banks
Editing by	Brunilda Torres Sam Pollard
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures Fox Video (UK) (VHS)
Release date(s)	January 17, 1992 (U.S.) 28 August 1992 (U.K.)
Running time	100 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
Box office	$20,146,880

Juice is a 1992 American crime drama film that stars rapper Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. Additional cast members include Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins, Khalil Kain, Samuel L. Jackson, and features cameo appearances by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Special Ed, Ed Lover, Doctor Dré, Flex Alexander, Fab Five Freddy, and Treach. The film was directed by cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson who has directed and written other Hollywood films such as Surviving the Game and Bulletproof as well as some television series such as ER and The Wire.

The film touches on the lives of four black youths growing up in Harlem. It follows the day to day activities in the young men's lives starting out as innocent mischief but growing more serious as time passes by. It also focuses on the struggles that these young men must go through everyday as well such as police, harassment, and their families.

The film was shot on location in New York City mainly in the Harlem area.

Plot

Bishop (Shakur), Q (Epps), Raheem (Kain) and Steel (Hopkins), who refer to themselves as "The Wrecking Crew," are four friends growing up in Harlem. They regularly skip school, instead spending their days at a neighborhood arcade and also a record store where they steal LPs. Generally, they are harassed daily by the police or a Puerto Rican gang led by a boy named Radames. One day, an aggravated Bishop becomes tired of the harassment by police and gang members and decides that the group must go on to do bigger things in order to win respect. Q, however, is unsure if he wants to become involved in a life of crime. One Saturday night, under Bishop's persistence, the friends decide to rob a local bodega. Q is at first hesitant to go through with the robbery, unsure whether it will be a success; he also fears it will affect his chances of participating in a DJ competition in which he has yearned to compete for years. After being pressured by his fellow crew members he decides to join in. During the heist, an enraged Bishop shoots the bodega owner, Fernando Quiles, in the head, killing him.

After fleeing the scene, the four gather in an abandoned building where they argue over the evening's events. Q, Raheem and Steel become angry at Bishop for killing Quiles, and Raheem demands that Bishop give the gun to him; Bishop resists, and a struggle ensues between the two, ending when Bishop shoots Raheem. Panicked, Bishop, Q and Steel run to another building, where Bishop threatens to kill Q and Steel if they reveal to anybody that Bishop murdered Raheem.

Later on, Q and Steel realize that Bishop is beginning to break down and is becoming addicted to the thrill of killing. They agree to give Bishop as wide a berth as possible. However, while attending Raheem's funeral, the two see Bishop there. Bishop goes as far as to hug Raheem's mother and promise to find his killer. Q and Steel are mostly generally able to avoid Bishop, but he finds them and confronts them one at a time, questioning their loyalty.

After a scuffle, Bishop kills gang leader Radames; in order to cover his tracks, Bishop begins planning to frame Q for the murders of Quiles, Raheem and Radames. Fearful of Bishop, Q resorts to finding a gun of his own for protection. Meanwhile, Bishop meets Steel and leads him to an empty alley, where he shoots him, accusing him of disloyalty. Steel survives the initial attack and is able to make it to the hospital, where he informs Q's girlfriend Yolanda (Cindy Herron) that he has been framed by Bishop. Fed up with both the tension and troubles guns have brought upon him, Q throws his gun into the river and decides to confront Bishop unarmed. Q and Bishop meet up, where a scuffle and chase ensues. Q is shot once in the arm during the chase, and he is subsequently chased into a building where a party is being held. Bishop begins firing into a group of party-goers in an attempt to hit Q, but Q escapes unharmed. Bishop also loses his weapon in the commotion. Bishop leaves the scene with Q following him. Q eventually finds Bishop on the roof of a high-rise building, and the two become engaged in a physical confrontation. Bishop eventually falls off the ledge, but is caught by Q. Bishop begs Q not to let go, but Q eventually loses his grip and Bishop falls to his death.

As Q is leaving the rooftop, a crowd from the party gathers to see what happened. One of the people in the crowd turns to Q and says, "Yo, you got the juice now, man." Q turns to look at him, shakes his head and walks away. The film ends with a flashback clip of the four friends together in happier times.

Cast

Actor	Role
Tupac Shakur	Roland Bishop
Khalil Kain	Raheem Porter
Omar Epps	Quincy 'Q' Powell
Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins	Eric 'Steel' Thurman
Cindy Herron	Yolo
Vincent Laresca	Radames
Samuel L. Jackson	Trip
Queen Latifah	Ruffhouse M.C.
Bruklin Harris	Keesha
Roderick "DJ Majesty" Wiggins	Battle DJ (Middle Finger)

Reception

Overall, the film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 85% "fresh" rating. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, praising how the film is, "one of those stories with the quality of a nightmare, in which foolish young men try to out-macho one another until they get trapped in a violent situation which will forever alter their lives.". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" grading, based on how it depicts four young characters who try to gain complete self-control over their surroundings.

The film is an inflammatory morality play shot through with rage and despair. Like Boyz N the Hood and Straight Out of Brooklyn, it asks: When every aspect of your environment is defined by violence, is it possible to avoid getting sucked into the maelstrom?

Dickerson also received praised for his directorial skills: hc

Coming out from behind Spike Lee's camera, Ernest Dickerson has instantly arrived at the forefront of the new wave of black directors. His film aims for the gut, and hits it.

Characters

• Omar Epps as Quincy "Q" Powell. A member of The Wrecking Crew and the most sensible of the four. Unlike his friends, he knows right from wrong. He tries out for a DJ audition and makes it, followed by a robbing he was not aware of until last minute. When Bishop kills Raheem, Q is horrified as he and Bishop have been friends since second grade. At the climax of the movie, he is the only one untouched by Bishop and demands that he meets him to settle things, as Bishop has framed him for the killings of characters throughout the movie.
• Tupac Shakur as Roland Bishop, the main antagonist of the film. A member of The Wrecking Crew and the most violent of the four. He is usually seen smoking. He wants mostly respect, as he and his friends are regularly harassed by authorities. After killing a convenience store owner named Quiles, he starts to spiral into darkness, first by killing Raheem, and then gang leader Radames. He quickly realizes that he must kill the witnesses to his crimes, who just so happen to be the remaining members of his crew. After he kills Radames, he attempts to kill Steel, but Steel survives. At the climax of the movie, Bishop confronts Q which ensues in a chase between the two. In the end, after a fight on the roof, Q grabs Bishop after he almost falls, but is unable to hold him.
• Khalil Kain as Raheem Porter. A member of The Wrecking Crew and presumably the leader. He usually takes it upon himself to protect his friends, as depicted earlier in the movie, when he breaks up a potential fight between them and Radames, and when he stops Bishop from taking part in a friend's robbery which resulted in the friend's death. After robbing Quiles's store with his friends, he declares they must get rid of the gun, but is killed by Bishop after trying to take the gun from him.
• Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins as Eric "Steel" Thurman. A member of The Wrecking Crew and the most sensitive of the four. He is usually ridiculed because of his weight, usually called "Big Chops" by Bishop. After the death of Raheem at Bishop's hands, he and Q decide to stay as far away from him as possible, but Bishop sees him in the hallway in his building. Steel makes a phone call from Trips's store asking Q for help, but Bishop finds out and shoots him in the back alley. Steel narrowly survives the shot and makes it to the hospital where he tells Q's girlfriend that Q is being framed by Bishop.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Trip, the local store owner. The Wrecking Crew is usually seen in his store either playing video games, smoking, or just talking. Bishop lies to him, framing Q for the murders throughout the movie. Trip plays a role in the final showdown, as Q asks Trip to let Bishop know Q wants to see him.

Advertisement changes

DVD cover (without pistol).

In the original artwork for the promotional poster of the movie, Tupac Shakur, who portrayed one of the leads in the film, was shown prominently while holding a pistol (see film poster, above). This stirred up controversy at the time; some feared the advertisements might lead to violence, while others felt the issue itself showed a large double-standard towards young black youth, and hip hop culture as a whole, with other films of the time being advertised with even more violent content. Either way, Paramount was eventually swayed, and the gun was airbrushed out of all of the advertisements and promotional artwork for the film, including the covers of its VHS and DVD releases.

Release on DVD & HD

• In 2001 it was released on DVD.
• In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcasted on MGM HD.

Soundtrack

Year	Title	Chart positions		Certifications (sales thresholds)
		U.S.	U.S. R&B
1991	Juice Released: December 31, 1991 Label: MCA	17	3	US: Gold

External links

• Juice at AllRovi
• Juice at the Internet Movie Database
• Juice at Rotten Tomatoes
• Juice at Box Office Mojo