SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: TUPAC RESURRECTION

"TUPAC RESURRECTION"
(2003) (Tupac Shakur) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Moderate	Heavy	Mild	*Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Minor	Minor	Extreme	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Extreme	Mild	Heavy	*Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Documentary: A look at the rise to fame of rap star Tupac Shakur, his repeated run-ins with the law, and his murder, all narrated by the rapper himself.

PLOT:: Culled from interviews with the late rapper Tupac Shakur, director Lauren Lazin takes the rapper's voice and has him narrate a look back at his promising yet troubled rise to fame, his repeated run-ins with the law, and finally his murder.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of the late rapper, it's a good bet they will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong language and images of drugs, violence and sex.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: TUPAC SHAKUR appears as himself in archival footage and photographs as a hugely successful rapper who helps create "gangsta rap," uses strong profanity, smokes, uses drugs, drinks and has repeated run-ins with the law as well as others who wound and eventually kill him.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated documentary. Profanity consists of at least 29 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue and lyrics in rap songs are present, some men fake sexual acts with sex dolls on stage, a man briefly licks a woman's bare breast, and some women are seen in revealing attire.

We hear accounts of people being shot and wounded or killed, see footage of people striking others along with some violence from other movies, and hear of an alleged sexual assault. Some of that material has bloody results and various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes.

Various characters smoke and/or drink, while others do drugs, and drug paraphernalia and related comments are seen and/or heard. Other imitative behavior is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashing lights on the screen, some of that occurs in a music video.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We see some "forties" (large bottles of malt liquor) on the street and then see a man drinking from a brown paper bag.
We see a bottle of liquor on the street.
Tupac states that he smoked weed and hung out with drug dealers. We see a photo of him holding a joint.
Tupac states that his mom was addicted to crack and we then see a woman smoking the drug.
We see drug dealers selling drugs on the street, along with littered paraphernalia on the street, and Tupac admits he tried to sell drugs for two weeks, but wasn't any good at that (but remained friends with others in the drug trade).
We see drug paraphernalia in a music video.
We see a person wearing a gas mask filled with what's presumably drug smoke coming from a tube leading into the mask.
There's talk of getting drunk.
There's crack use in a music video.
We see a photo of champagne being consumed.
We see miscellaneous people drinking.
There's some brief footage of pot smoking and talk of a guy with some "weed."
Tupac talks of being "deep in the weed" after being shot.
We see photos of Tupac with beer and then champagne.
We see drinking (including some "forties") and smoking in a music video.

BLOOD/GORE: We see a black and white still image of a dead man.
We see a fight scene from the movie "Juice" that ends in a shooting with some blood on the victim's shirt.
We see some covered bodies being removed from what's apparently a murder scene.
We see archival footage of bombs being dropped in Vietnam and then of wounded and dead soldiers who are bloody.
We see a photo of Tupac with a bruised and swollen face after the police allegedly beat him up.
We see various statues of Christ with traditional blood on them.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Tupac states that the police are the enemy in his music videos.
We hear that Tupac was arrested 12 times.
Tupac purposefully and repeatedly spits at a camera following him.
We hear that Tupac was sentenced to 15 days in jail for battery.
We hear that Tupac was arrested and charged with sexually attacking a fan in a hotel room (a charge he denies).
Those who shot and wounded and then later killed Tupac obviously have bad attitudes.
We hear that Suge Knight is a feared and powerful record mogul, as well as a known criminal.
We see a written quote by Tupac about Quincy Jones regarding the latter "sticking his d*ck in white women."

FRIGHTENING SCENES: It's possible material listed under "Violence" might be unsettling or tense to some viewers.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns: Used off camera to shoot, wound and/or kill people (we hear the recreated sounds), while also seen in footage from other movies and music videos.
Knife: Held on another person in footage from another movie.
We see a photo of Tupac as a boy aiming a toy gun at the camera.
We see a photo of Tupac with a gun in his waistband.
We see archival footage of bombs being dropped in Vietnam and then of wounded and dead soldiers who are bloody.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "F*cked up," "I'm gonna f*ck you up," "(I don't) Give a f*ck," "F*ck that," "Shut the f*ck up," "Oh sh*t," "I mean that sh*t," "Niggas," "Screw us around," "Hell no," What sounded like "fag," "Be-atch" (bitch), and "Pissed off."
Tupac has various tattoos on his body, as do others, while we then see Tupac getting another tattoo.
Tupac's mother has a stud in her nostril, as does Tupac.
We see graffiti on various buildings.
We see various photos of Tupac giving "the finger.
We see a photo of Tupac with a gun in his waistband.
Tupac purposefully and repeatedly spits at a camera following him.

JUMP SCENES: The sudden sound of a gunshot might startle some viewers.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There's some suspenseful music from another movie.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): Some songs have lyrics that we couldn't hear or understand, thus meaning they might possess additional objectionable material.
Various rap songs have many uses of the "f" word and other expletives, and some talk about gangsters and uses the term "niggas." One repeatedly uses the "f" word sexually, as in "I f*cked your wife" while another has the lyrics "do me baby" and "do the humpty hump" and another mentions something about putting a "twist in her hips," while a song has a lyric about grabbing an AK (assault rifle).

PROFANITY: At least 29 "f" words (10 used with "mother," 4 used sexually), 20 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck" and "ding-a-ling"), 6 damns, 5 hells, 2 asses, 3 uses of "Oh my God" and 2 of "G-damn."

SEX/NUDITY: Tupac says that his first time on stage created a feeling better than sex or money.
Tupac says that there should be classes for all sorts of things in life, including sex education.
We see footage of Tupac and another man faking sexual acts with full-sized sex dolls on stage during a performance (including shots of thrusting against a doll from behind and another with a guy on top doing the same -- all clothed).
We see some photos of scantily clad women.
Tupac states that Janet Jackson's people repeatedly requested he take an AIDS test before his love scene with her in a movie. He then says that if really was going to have sex with her, he'd take the test several times, but since that wasn't going to happen, he didn't.
We see a written quote by Tupac about Quincy Jones regarding the latter "sticking his d*ck in white women."
We see various shots of scantily clad women in a music video.
We briefly see footage of a man holding and licking a woman's breast and then pulling her shirt back down over it.
We see footage of Tupac and another man in a bathroom with a woman (whose face is blurred out), lowering her dress strap. She puts it back up and the men tell the cameraman he must leave.
There's talk about promiscuity and Tupac talks about women who sleep with a lot of guys.
We see a woman shaking her rear in a thong bottom.
Tupac talks about enjoying sex with no emotional connection. He then comments on having a fantasy of having sex with everyone in a room.
We hear that Tupac was arrested and charged with sexually attacking a fan in a hotel room (a charge he denies). There's talk of sodomy and reports that Tupac had consensual sex with this woman before the alleged attack. Tupac then says that she performed oral sex on him on the dance floor and that despite what men say about being strong, "When it happens, it goes down." Later, there's talk of no semen being found and no signs of anal entry.
A rap song repeatedly uses the "f" word sexually, as in "I f*cked your wife."

SMOKING: Tupac smokes at least 10 times while others also smoke (seen in photos and footage).

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: We hear that Tupac's mother was pregnant with him while she was in prison.
Tupac states that his real father was a gangster who was never around to raise him. He also says that his mom couldn't teach him how to be a man.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The historical accuracy of this documentary and the life and behavior of Tupac Shakur.
Rap music and artists.
We hear that Tupac's mom was a member of the Black Panthers.
We see some archival footage of police beating some black people.
We hear that Tupac's mother was pregnant with him while she was in prison.
Tupac states that his real father was a gangster who was never around to raise him. He also says that his mom couldn't teach him how to be a man.
Tupac states that the police are the enemy in his music videos.
Tupac states that his "thug life" motto was not about thugs in the traditional sense of being a criminal, but rather being an underdog.
We see that Tupac had protests against him from all sides (conservative, blacks, etc.).
Whether Tupac and other artists exploit women in their music videos.
We hear that Tupac was arrested and charged with sexually attacking a fan in a hotel room (a charge he denies). There's talk of sodomy and reports that Tupac had consensual sex with this woman before the alleged attack.

VIOLENCE: We see some archival footage of police beating some black people.
We see some covered bodies being removed from what's apparently a murder scene.
We see archival footage of bombs being dropped in Vietnam and then of wounded and dead soldiers who are bloody.
We see a photo of Tupac with a bruised and swollen face after the police allegedly beat him up.
We see archival footage of police kicking and hitting Rodney King.
We see real footage of people fighting on the street.
We see images from the movie "Juice" showing guns being held and a knife to Tupac's nose. We then see a fight scene from the movie that ends in a shooting with some blood on the victim's shirt.
We hear that Tupac was arrested and charged with sexually attacking a fan in a hotel room (a charge he denies).
We hear sounds of gunshots and then see reports that Tupac and others were shot (and hear that Tupac was shot 5 times, including twice in the head).
We see a shooting in a music video.
We see surveillance footage of Tupac and another man beating a person in a casino.
We hear that Tupac was shot several times and that he later died from these wounds.

Reviewed October 28, 2003 / Posted November 14, 2003

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