Amazon.com video review:
It's no wonder Caught Up only garnered haphazard
theatrical
release in 1998. Director Darin Scott, who is credited with screenplay
nods
for Tales from the Hood and Sprung, tosses
everything--including the
kitchen sink--into this noir rip-off that borrows liberally from
Chinatown
and Bound but lacks the intelligent gravity and grace of the
first
classic or the stylish, tongue-in-cheek fun of the second. Starring
Bokeem
Woodbine
as Darryl, an ex-con who wants to go straight but who keeps finding
himself
in
unlucky circumstances, Caught Up has laughable dialogue and
terrible
bug-eyed
over-emoting that tries to pass for acting, and wastes the laconic
beauty of
One False Move costar Cynda Williams, as a femme fatale named
Vanessa
Dietrich (honest!). Vanessa wraps Darryl around her little finger and
embroils
him in a voodoo-esque drug plot that will have the viewer rolling on
the
floor
in disbelief. Had Caught Up played its convoluted plot for
laughs,
it may
have at least been a camp parody on the genre, but as it is, it doesn't
avoid
a single cinematic cliché. Caught
Up is a
goofy mess of contradictions and implausibility. --Paula Nechak
Amazon.com video review:
It's no wonder Caught Up only
garnered haphazard theatrical release in 1998. Director Darin Scott,
who is credited with screenplay nods for Tales from the Hood
and Sprung, tosses everything--including the kitchen sink--into
this noir rip-off that borrows liberally from Chinatown and
Bound but lacks the intelligent gravity and grace of the former
and the stylish, tongue-in-cheek fun of the latter. Starring Bokeem
Woodbine as Darryl, an ex-con who wants to go straight but who keeps
finding himself in unlucky circumstances, Caught Up has
laughable dialogue and terrible bug-eyed over-emoting that tries to
pass for acting and wastes the laconic beauty of One False Move
costar Cynda Williams, who plays a femme fatale named Vanessa Dietrich
(honest!). Vanessa wraps Darryl around her little finger and embroils
him in a voodoo-esque drug plot that will have the viewer rolling on
the floor in disbelief. Had Caught Up played its convoluted
plot for laughs, it may have at least been a camp parody on the genre,
but as it is, it doesn't avoid a single cinematic cliché. The DVD
comes with a slew of music videos, the radio and TV spot, as well as a
director's commentary track. But don't be fooled by all the
goodies--they're simply a smokescreen to nudge the audience into
thinking the film is important and worthy. Caught Up is a goofy
mess of contradictions and implausibility. --Paula Nechak
