[Metroactive Movies]   Rapping Rudy: Eminem makes his break for
big-screen stardom in '8 Mile.'  Eminem Domain  Eminem can't rap
his way out of this formulaic film  By Todd Inoue  IF YOU
BELIEVE the hype surrounding Eminem, you'd think a movie about
his life would be about smacking bitches and popping caps--an
ignorant, oft-repeated refrain dismissing all hip-hop music.
Behind all the controversy, Eminem is an extremely hot rapper
with a talent for freestyling--rhyming off the top of the head--
who fought through a difficult home life to achieve success. It
is this side of his life he chooses to expose in 8 Mile.  The
movie is loosely based on Eminem's life--mostly the whole
trailer-park upbringing and his proximity to 8 Mile, the Detroit
divide that separates the depressed white and black
neighborhoods. It's a formulaic film for sure (underdog going
for stardom) that borrows elements from Purple Rain and Rudy.
Set in 1995 Detroit, Eminem plays Jimmy Smith (MC name: Bunny
Rabbit), a kid with dreams of rap star