Musical biopics are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, The Notiorious B.I.G., Edith Piaf, Bobby Darin, and Bob Dylan have all gotten the treatment since 2004.
If “Straight Outta Compton” seems a little different…well, it’s not. It has all the hallmarks: a rough, low-income upbringing, social stimatization, musical geniuses being told they are too different, post-fame legal troubles threatening to derail their fame.
But biopics aren’t about their subjects, or their originality, they’re about the time in which they are made. One thing that links the eras of Cash and Charles and Hendrix with those of N.W.A. is the turbulent times.
If there is anything the early 90s were, it’s turbulent. Race was as big an issue as it had been since Johnny Walked the Line and Ray sang about the Mess Around. And there were no bigger villains (or anti-heroes) than NWA, whose lyrics were incendiary and in your face, whether they were screaming “Fuck Tha Police” or waxing poetic about their downtrodden neighborhood.
They captured the voice of a generation, and making the biggest pop culture pariahs of the early 90s makes for fascinating cinema.
Of course, that “Straight Outta Compton” was made with the full blessing and involvement of the surviving members of the band means something, but still this movie should be interesting if not a great piece of art.
