A showcase for some very promising talents

Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States
8 December 2013

Melodrama is easy; it's real-life that is hard - to depict on screen, that is.

The low-budget independent comedy/drama "Gimme the Loot" proves that when you have a talented director and cast to work with - even with limited resources - it can be done.The movie features two streetwise kids, Malcolm and Sophia, who scrape by on grifting and scamming in a world full of grifters and scammers, with time out for the occasional drug sale or corner store heist just to keep life interesting. Their greatest kicks, however, lie in getting their spray paint cans out and emblazoning a wall with their artwork. They're clearly a product of the environment in which they've been raised.

Sophia, in particular, takes no guff from the equally streetwise people who try to do to her what she does to others. She knows the rules of the streets better than any of them, and she's not about to let anyone else get the upper hand over her. Malcolm seems to be a bit more of a novice when it comes to mastering the territory, but his innate charm, goofy, disarming smile, and lanky awkwardness are crucial elements in his getting what he wants from others. Malcolm and Sophia are platonic best friends from way back, but they banter and bicker and complete one another like an old married couple.

"Gimme the Loot'"s greatest triumph lies in making two characters, who should by all rights be fairly loathsome based on what they do, wholly likable and appealing to the audience. This is due in no smart measure to the extraordinarily engaging performances by Ty Hickson and Tatiana Washington whose relaxed naturalism gives the film that air of freshness and authenticity so crucial to making it work. It's the verisimilitude that draws us in and the believability that keeps us there.

The same goes for its neophyte writer/director, Adam Leon, who deftly captures the idiosyncrasies and rhythms of the New York City neighborhood in which it all takes place.The movie also makes some subtle observations about race and class in Malcolm's encounters with a white college girl who clearly wants to be a part of the 'hood culture, yet can't help but convey an air of superiority to both him and it."Gimme the Loot" doesn't have much of a "plot" in the conventional sense of that term. The movie merely chronicles a few days in the lives of these two very specific individuals. No big drama. No epiphanies or soul-shattering events. Just life as it is.