Stars: Big Boi, Andre 3000, Macy Gray, Terrence Howard, Patti Labelle, Ving Rhames, Faizon Love, Cicely Tyson, Ben Vereen, Paula Jai Parker, Cedric The Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Antwan Patton

Director: Bryan Barber

Summary: Rooster is the lead singer at a raucous, classy all-black club called Church in Prohibition-era Virginia. Percival, his best friend, is the piano player at the club and the shy son of a funeral parlour owner. A beautiful singer comes to town and Percival finds himself falling in love--much to his terror, as he's afraid to leave the small community of Idlewild for Chicago, her next stop.

Andre 3000 and Big Boi of the hip-hop duo Outkast star in this uproarious period piece, a comedy-drama-musical-action film set in Prohibition-era Virginia. Patton plays Rooster, the lead singer at a raucous, classy all-black club called Church. Benjamin plays Percival, his best friend, who is the piano player at the club and the shy son of a funeral parlour owner (played by Ben Vereen). Terrence Howard (HUSTLE AND FLOW) provides the menace as Trumpy, a vicious underling of Rooster's bootlegger father (Ving Rhames). Meanwhile, a beautiful singer (Paula Patton) comes to town and Percival finds himself falling in love--much to his terror, as he's afraid to leave the small community of Idlewild for Chicago, her next stop. As Rooster prepares for a showdown with Trumpy, Percival faces his fears, the band heats up, and the guns and songs come out for a big final night at the Church. This is clearly a labour of love for writer/director Bryan Barber and the Outkast crew: a colour-saturated adrenalin rush with witty dialogue, loving attention to period detail, boisterous and athletic dancing, and lots of eye-popping digital animation.

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The eclectic, pell-mell energy of hip-hop maestros Outkast gives a jolt to Idlewild, their first movie as a team (both have acted independent of each other: Andre Benjamin, a.k.a. Andre 3000, has previously appeared in Four Brothers and Be Cool, and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton was in ATL). Young bootlegger Rooster (Patton) and undertaker's son Percival (Benjamin) are best friends from childhood, but adult life has become woefully complex: Rooster's wife despises his life at the nightclub Church, Percival is stuck taking care of his depressed father, and an ambitious gangster (Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow, Crash) kills Rooster's mentor (Ving Rhames, Rosewood) to take over the gangster's bootlegging operation. The arrival of a high-handed cabaret singer (Paula Patton, Hitch) may help Rooster save Church, but when she and Percival fall in love, troubles multiply. Idlewild's musical numbers are packed with dynamic spectacle--not surprising, given that director Bryan Barber previously directed music videos for Outkast. Unfortunately, Barber's script is lackluster, taking some particularly cliche turns toward the end. Still, there are plenty of pop-out performances--singer Macy Gray turns up the heat in the opening number--that put Idlewild a step above such pop-star-driven flicks as Under the Cherry Moon and Glitter. --Bret Fetzer

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive menu
Year:	2006
Release Date:	February 26, 2007
Runtime:	116 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8247152
Keywords:	Music, Film, English, Performing, Musicals, Arts, Outkast, Idlewild
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts