Guys were peeling the No Limit decals off their cars in my school parking lot. By 1999, it simply wasn’t cool to like No Limit. The label’s reputation seemed to change overnight. When No Limit crashed, nearly everything crashed with it. Rather, it was the collapse of No Limit – a fate brought on by overambition more than incompetence – that banished I Got the Hook-Up to the bargain bin. Its $10.3 million gross more than doubled its budget and resulted in the distribution of five more films, the most notable of which likely being the Gary Busey-starring Hot Boyz, itself a staple of the bargain bin. It truly was a valiant effort, this film, and it’s important (should you find discussions of I Got the Hook-Up to be important) to note that the movie itself was not a failure. And not only does he populate the cast with No Limit rappers, he frontloads the soundtrack with their songs. I mean, this is the same guy who turned the strained cries of his toilet-screams into a catchphrase – by the way, P’s signature “uhhhhhh” literally begins and ends the film. Say what you will about Master P, but dude was a masterful brand strategist. Oh, and don’t forget I Got the Hook-Up was: It’s impossible to discuss I Got the Hook-Up without discussing No Limit, as Master P always ensured his content was indistinguishable from his brand. Mystikal smokes angel dust, and it’s so goddamned stupid. Also, keep an eye out for Joe Estevez, the F-list brother of Martin Sheen that’s currently enjoying a late career resurgence (if you wanna call it that – I do) on Tim Heidecker’s Decker.Ī true loyalist, Master P even found a place for No Limit rappers Mystikal and Mia X in the cast.
does a reliably admirable job of crossing his eyes menacingly, and old-timers John Witherspoon and Helen Martin bring the dirty every bit as delightfully as Betty White would a decade later. The aforementioned Tommy “Tiny” Lister, Jr.
In fact, I Got the Hook-Up rounds out its supporting cast with a host of the genre’s best character actors. I’ve seen a lot of movies, and nothing in anything is funnier than the way Johnson says “bubbles” in the below clip. Luckily, AJ Johnson is the complete opposite, a proto-Kevin Hart whose every word cartwheels from his mouth in reckless abandon. He is a Sarlacc to his co-stars, a bottomless, spike-throated maw that feasts on presence and charisma.
#I GOT THE HOOK UP MOVIE#
This isn’t a stoner comedy, but I implore you: watch this movie stoned. I was sober when I watched this, and I still can’t tell you what the fuck happens in the third act. Seemingly important characters drift into the ether, plotlines devolve into quizzical shrugs, and white FBI agents turn out to be black dudes wearing white guy masks. You can feel the writers detonating difficult scenes with dynamite, freeing themselves from the corners they’ve written themselves into by tearing down every wall in sight. It’s a fine setup, but executed with the grace of a coked-out “Tiny” Lister. Black’s scheme, however, soon draws unwanted attention from the FBI and a local crime syndicate. With the help of loudmouthed cohort Blue (AJ Johnson) and love interest Lorraine (Gretchen Palmer), Black is able to score big bucks selling them under the table.
#I GOT THE HOOK UP PORTABLE#
Master P plays Black, a small-time hustler who cons his way into a surplus of cellphones – this was in 1998, FYI, when portable phones were a luxury, not a necessity there’s even an underlying attitude that cellphones were just a passing fad, which is fascinating in retrospect. This was how I spent the money I made jockeying a register at McDonald’s.
Oh Jesus, this was a long time ago, so used VHS tapes were probably running $5.99 or thereabouts.
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