Monday, July 21, 2008

InstaRapFlix 10: Slip N Slide - Memorial Day Weekend

I've only watched a handful of Netflix's colorful array of hip-hop instant view DVDs, and they've just added a bunch more! I've really gotta get cracking on these. Well, unfortunately Netflix didn't think to add this one in time for the titular holiday, but I decided to go with this now, anyway, since it's one of the new ones: Slip N Slide: Memorial Day Weekend (Netflix rating: 2 stars).

Now, it occurs to me that if you're reading this and not a Netflix user, you're missing out on the handy write-ups from other Netflix users, so I'll quote you a bit. The top reviewer, who gave this DVD 1 star, warns us not to, "waste your time watching unless you like to hear constant cursing and seeing ashy naked women with bullet holes in their thighs prance around, plus the rappers with nasty gold teeth sounding like they need to go back to kindergarten." Another viewer described this DVD as, "long and boring," which is interesting, since it only clocks in at 55 minutes. And the film itself only lasts for the first 40 - that's 40 minutes including the opening and closing credits - with the last 15 just tacking on the full versions of some of the music videos they showed portions of previously in the film.

So unsurprisingly, Memorial Day Weekend is really just a shameless promo piece with Trick Daddy and Trina taking turns complimenting each other, broken up with shots of fans praising them both, music video segments, a little live performance and yeah, a lot of bikini bottoms (and very brief nudity*). There are brief appearances by his dad, brother, producer and others (Kid Capri, JT Money, Busta Rhymes and more), but the clips are so short - often less than a single sentence - they're just completely pointless. Other celebs touted on the cover as being featured in this doc, like R. Kelly, Fat Joe and Ed Lover, are only briefly glimpsed at a celebrity basketball game they cover for about a minute or two, and don't say even a single word to the camera. :P

There was one notably interesting part, though - Society, who was signed to Slip-N-Slide but never came out, is interviewed. He talks for about a minute and a half, and seems pretty proud to be a part of S-N-S, and genuinely involved with the team (focusing on his involvement in Trick Daddy's "America" video). I was hoping he'd turn up in this doc, but assumed he wouldn't. So that was a pleasant surprise. It's a shame they never put any of his material out.

Every once in a while this hints at the interesting doc it could have been if anyone involved was interested in actually exploring the subject at any depth. But as it is, it's just a slick advertisement for a concert you'd already missed when the DVD was released, and a couple of CDs. I felt like, after this commercial, the actual full-length film they were hyping would follow... but of course the hype was all there was.


*If anyone's picking this up for shock or pornographic reasons, they're going home extra disappointed.

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