Gridlock'd

Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall

Overview

This gritty urban comedy focuses on three heroin addicts, one of whom must be rushed to a hospital after an overdose. As the condition of Cookie remains to be foretold, the other two try desperately to get into a rehabilitation clinic but face a never-ending wall of red tape.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/05/2002
UPC:	0025192266928
Original Release:	1997
Rating:	R
Source:	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Full Frame, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tupac Shakur	Spoon
Tim Roth	Stretch
Thandie Newton	Cookie
Charles Fleischer	Mr. Woodson
Howard Hesseman	Blind Man
James Pickens Jr.	Supervisor
John Sayles	Cop 1
Eric Payne	Cop 2
Tom Wright	Koolaid
Tom Towles	D-Reper's Henchman
James Shanta	Patrolman No. 1
Jim O'Malley	Patrolman No. 2
George Poulos	Chuck
Debbie Zaricor	Clerk
Mik Scriba	Officer No. 1
Lucy Liu	Cee-Cee
Richmond Arquette	Resident Doctor
Billie Neal	Medicaid Woman No.1
Debra Wilson	Medicaid Woman No. 2
Rusty Schwimmer	Nurse
Elizabeth Pena	Admissions Person
Joey Dente	Vendor
Darryl Jones	Panhandler
Jasen Govine	Medicaid Security Guard
Tim Truby	Man With Directions
Venessia Valentino	Woman in ER
Ron Cummins	Man in ER
Bradley Jordan Spencer	Paramedic No. 1
Rory J. Shoaf	Paramedic No. 2
Tracy Vilar	Screaming Woman
Roslyn McKinney	Female Clerk
Roderick Garr	Welfare Security Guard
William Long Jr.	Right Wing TV Show Host
Mark Ericson	Bill the Anchorman
Tonia Rowe	Woman on TV
Lynn Blades	Alexia Cruz
Kasi Lemmons	Mary
Henry Hunter Hall	Jesus,D-Reper
Elizabth Anne Dickinson	admissions Perons
Jasen Covine	medical sectetary
Mark Ericsom	Bill, anchor man
Stewart Copeland	Composer

Technical Credits

Vondie Hall

Vondie Curtis-Hall	Director
Tom Bender	Special Effects
Greg W. Davidson	Special Effects
Ted Field	Executive Producer
Erica Huggins	Producer
Damian Jones	Producer
Scott Kroopf	Executive Producer
Gregory C. Landerer	Special Effects
Julius LeFlore	Stunts
Robi Reed-Humes	Casting
Russell Simmons	Executive Producer
Paul Webster	Producer
Vondie Hall	Screenwriter
Greg Landerer	Special Effects
Stan Lathan	Executive Producer
Joseph DiVitale	Sound Editor
Donald L. Warner Jr.	Sound Editor
Steve Nelson	Sound Editor
Roland Thai	Sound Editor
Richard Yawn	Sound Editor
Jeff Seitz	Sound Mixer
Stephen Krause	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Vondie Curtis-Hall's corrosive film about two strung-out jazz musicians attempting to kick their heroin habit has some fascinating insights into that process but is thrown off course by its uncertain tone. Late rap idol Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth star as the musicians who decide to kick heroin after witnessing the overdose of a singer friend Thandie Newton. The director attempts to crossbreed a horrific vision of the lives of these two characters with a gallows humor about their predicament, but the dramatic scenes of suffering are so wrenching, and so well-played that laughter is often impossible. Much of the film is taken up with the characters' futile attempt to get help from various drug-treatment facilities, and their bizarre debate about whether they should stab each other in order to be admitted to a Detroit hospital drug program is a satiric high point. The surprise of the film is the charismatic performance of Shakur, who was murdered after the film was made. He and Roth have a terrific rapport, and for their work alone the film is worth seeing. But for anyone who has witnessed the ravages of heroin addiction, and the threat of violence that lurks in its shadow, the wisdom of introducing a comic note is at least debatable.