Review of Waist Deep (2006) by Dalton H — 05 Sep 2008

Waist Deep is the type of film that an actor receives on the tail-end of his career, where he doesn't care what he stars in as long as he takes the paycheck, not unlike Robert DeNiro. While Tyrese Gibson certainly lacks the pedigree of the Oscar winner, it's a path that both are facing in their careers. Unlike DeNiro, however, whose paycheck taking includes Analyze This, Meet the Fockers and Hide & Seek, Tyrese paycheck taking has led him to arrogantly awful Waist Deep. If this is the best Tyrese can come up with he might as well throw in the towel now. Same could be said for writer-director Vondie Curtis-Hall, who with co-writer Darin Scott, craft a story that's as braindead and stupid as its oft-terrible peers. Of course, considering Curtis-Hall's other known directing credit is the Mariah Carey mega-disaster Glitter, it should come as no surprise that this film is neither compelling nor interesting.

It starts off as a kidnapping drama when O2(Tyrese), recently released from prison on parole, has a run in with gangsters whose leader is the preposterously named "Meat"(honestly who comes up with these names?), who kidnap his son and is forced to team up with a hooker named CoCo(a bland Meagan Good) to get him back. With a ransom in place, the two devise various ways to get the cash, including robbing various vicinities without any trouble from the law. There are hollow comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde, but where that duo's love for each other culminated in an outrageous crime spree, O2 and Coco's relationship is fueled mainly by lust and greed, as the search for his son soon falls to the wayside until the conclusion. The falsity of it all is what crushes Waist Deep in the end: the errant lack of logic in every situation and its stark artificiality leaves the viewer wondering why they put themselves through this hollow mess.