1. Headline   1. Headline  Video: ‘Notorious’  By Film critic
msnbc.com contributor updated 1/16/2009 9:54:23 AM ET
2009-01-16T14:54:23  It’s always a somewhat dicey proposition to
expect a Hollywood biopic to give you anything close to the
unvarnished truth. The chances of honesty diminish when any of
the subjects of the film are still alive. (“Charlie Wilson’s
War,” for instance, had to jump through hoops to vindicate
characters who are not only still with us but also rich enough
to hire a team of lawyers.)  “Notorious,” the life story of
legendary rapper Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, may
have one of the most stacked decks of any recent cinematic
biography; two of the main figures in Wallace’s life — his
mother, Voletta Wallace, and his producer, Sean Combs — aren’t
just characters in the movie. They’re also producers.  So as you
can imagine, “Notorious” presents Mrs. Wallace (played by Angela
Bassett) as hard-working, honest, courageous and loving, and
Combs (Derek Luke) as driven, ambitious, int