Film strong on plot, weak on acting

behind the scenes.

However, Master P’s relationship with the spotlight has seen few hits and quite a few misses.

The latter came in the form of Hot Boyz in 1999. The film, which airs on Showtime this weekend, tanked. But it also made P and his cast Enemy No 1 to the Cash Money Records camp which had a rap group called Hot Boyz, which included Juvenile and a teenaged Lil Wayne.

Back to the movie. Master P not only sat in the director’s chair, but wrote the screen- play. He also cast so-so rappers who turned out to be lack-lustre actors.

In Hot Boyz, Silkk The Shocker plays Kool, a young man who has a black belt in karate, is in love with a ’hood beauty and, surprise, surprise, has dreams of making it big as a rapper. Who would have guessed?

Kool is forced to abandon his dreams when his girlfriend is wrongfully jailed for murder. He then decides to prove her innocence, but will he fix things in time?

Master P’s buddy, Snoop Dogg, stars as Kool’s friend and a ghetto kid trying to get into a little trouble.

He shares the honours of being a part of the “boys on the corner” stereotype with P’s little brother, C-murder and Mystikal.

So what’s good about this film? Surprisingly, quite a bit. The plot is strong. Being a director wasn’t meant to last for Master P, but he can still plough his millions back into his Better Black Television projects. Plus, he’s kind of like the black Billy Ray Cyrus as he has a son who not only makes music tweens endure, I mean enjoy, but his son, Romeo (ex-lil Romeo), has a hit sitcom with the under-18s so he’s sorted for life.