For those who wonder if
reggaetón is on the decline, here's a sign: in Taxco, a quaint colonial town in the Guerrerense hills of Mexico, the two kinds of music I heard echoing in the narrow cobblestone streets were, you guessed it, bachata and reggaetón.
And now, thanks to the talents of a certain green-lighting Puerto Rican
"from the block," we get not only a short-of-mark
salsa biopic, but what I think is the first Hollywood-released reggaetón movie,
Feel the Noise. Lord help us all.
Not that the genre shouldn't spawn its own movies. Heck, if someone makes the equivalent of
Wild Style or even
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, thass alright.
Here's the (does it matter?) plot, according to the preview on
Cinema Blend:
After a run-in with local thugs, aspiring Harlem rapper Rob (Omarion Grandberry) flees to a place and father (Giancarlo Esposito) he never knew, and finds his salvation in Reggaeton, a spicy blend of hip-hop, reggae and Latin beats. Puerto Rico, the spiritual home of Reggaeton, inspires Rob and his half-brother Javi (Victor Rasuk) to pursue their dream of becoming Reggaeton stars. Together with a dancer named C.C., they learn what it means to stay true to themselves and each other, while overcoming obstacles in love, greed and pride, all culminating in an explosive performance at New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade.
The site gives the movie 2/5 in its "excite-o-meter," but I dunno, it might just not suck.
The preview, which you can see
here, shows a couple of things I like: a Puerto Rico that looks real-ish, Puerto Rican people of different hues, and a female character who seems to do more than sleep with our hero.
Halfie Giancarlo Esposito, at the top of the bill as the father, has been Latino in some
good,
middling and
bad projects. Omarion, I am sorry to say, I don't know at all, but
Black Voices says:
Well, not straying too far from his job, Omarion gets to sing, and rap and dance again in his first solo lead role in 'Feel The Noise.
Not a ringing endorsement, but
if Justin Timberlake can act, anything's possible.
Other cast members worth noting are always-game Malik Yoba, yummy Victor Rasuk (who has
not disappointed, er, acting-wise, yeah, acting-wise, after his post-
"Victor Vargas" growth spurt) and ex-Fugee Pras.
Andrés Levin is doing the soundtrack (guess he can't get enough J.Lo).
Release is scheduled for Oct. 5. Expect it on the sidewalks of 181st St. sometime at 3 pm Oct. 1st.
Also, reggaetón daddy
Tego Calderón, who has a part in the John Singleton-backed Latin flick
"Illegal Tender," has a new album coming out next week, "El Abayarde Contraataca."
Beyond the Curtains says that it's "a return to the lean production and tight lyrics that made the Puerto Rican rapper famous in the first place." Even when he sings pop, Tego is compelling, so I for one am happy he's got more stuff coming.
["Feel the Noise" trailer image via Yahoo; Tego via reggaeton.co.uk]
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