User reviews

I had pretty low expectations for "The Players Club". It was directed by Ice Cube, who I never knew had been behind the camera, and it's the only movie he ever made, suggesting that it wasn't particularly successful.

My expectations were well and truly surpassed. "The Players Club" does get off to a rough start. It has a generally amateurish feel to the shots and edits, or perhaps just a low budget feel. Also the pacing seems strange - quite a lot seems to happen very quickly, and I felt the need to come up for breath.

But I persevered. There's just so much to like about "The Players Club". It's got a great ensemble cast, many entertaining characters, and quite a few unexpected twists and turns.

I say check it out.

"An Ice Cube film"…Wow, that's already big enough. Not that Ice Cube is the biggest celebrity of the planet, but he is an actor I appreciate; too much. He is honest, simple; pure. He is a rapper, a musician who writes songs for films, and is good at it, besides being a low profile artist. Plus, he is a very good actor who does what he pleases and likes to and never disappoints. With the production company he has, he could have the highest ego, but he continues on doing his job.

In 1998, he got his chance to direct his movie; his first and only up to date. He wouldn't do the stupid gangster films the other rappers do because he takes the job seriously; so seriously he wrote his own neighborhood and people story, which is unexpectedly touching in its most impressive moments. He had done that type of film before, with independent man John Singleton, among others in that film I regret not seeing yet, "Boyz N' the Hood". Whether he got inspiration from there or not, I don't care, but the screenplay is his.

In his tale, where he also allows a role for him, we meet Diana (a powerful and gripping performance by Lisa Raye), a young girl and aspiring journalist with a lot of problems that drive her towards working on a strippers club, to get money and become Diamond. In Dollar Bill's (original Bernie Mac) club, "The players club", she is not the typical stripper, dancing with all the others; she has a special number, and some clients. Every day she deals with cousin Ebony (Monica Calhoun), who lives with her and has more than two times her problems; her unfaithful boyfriend and the different people in the club, including DJ Blue (a calm portrayal by Jamie Foxx), who likes her.

Like in any other story, these are not the only ones in Cube's vision…There are lots of them and each of them has their own thing that relates to another thing. However, Cube always keeps the story focused in its center point. His gift as a director (because he could have sucked) comes with the importance he gives to the camera. He has a desperate need to show things as real as possible, even if it is a fiction story, so his camera moves like eyes most of the times, like afraid of watching what's waiting on the other side, so the impact is harder when we seed alongside the camera. It is a very effective technique.

What is also captivating and remarkable, is how much of him we can see in the film. Like directors of the league of Scorsese or Oliver Stone, Ice Cube tries to makes us see what he sees. There are a few scenes with enormous violence; glasses that break, shootings, people hurt…We feel it, and it is hard to watch. I was thinking about Spike Lee, and how personal his movies are. I was shocked with the ending of "Do the right thing", but I understood it was just Spike Lee expressing himself.

I don't know what exactly the message Lee wanted to give was, I don't know what was going through his mind at the time, just as I didn't know what was Ice Cube thinking, so he could end up showing "The players club" in flames during the first frames of his movie.

Fair B quality movie depicting slice of black American strip club life in southern USA.Story is good social commentary on said lifestyle's evils and dangers but the movie suffers from a rushed directorial style and lackluster performances even by pro actors who have displayed better in the past.This was probabably caused by lack of directorial discipline on Ice Cube's part due to budget constraints.You can realy tell the veteran actors were not paid properly and just cruised along as a favor for Cube.Too bad for the movie's story was a good idea,setting up for great drama,action,comedy,sex,social commentary and entertainment much like the winning formula of SHOWGIRLS.I vote for a proper remake of this one!But as of now,avoid this movie unless you really want a peek into that lifestyle or are a big fan of any of the lead actors.Do not expect much sex scenes though for the focus on this one is social commentary......

Unremarkable but ambitious story from writer-director Ice Cube. A young woman recalls her emotionally wrenching experiences while working at a raunchy black strip club, specifically having to appease the sleazy customers, her skirmishes with reprehensible rivals, and wild parties on the side, all while maintaining her dignity as she strived for a better life. Intriguing story is accompanied by a talented cast, powerful moments, and some fine performances, but too often resorts to familiar plot twists and lame stereotypes. Not a bad piece of work for first-time director Cube, but would've benefited from more creativity. **

This isn't the greatest movie in the world, but it is a definitely a hood classic. If you watch this movie for any reason at all, do it because of Bernie Mac. Dolla Bill is one of the funniest, most entertaining characters I've ever seen. So many great one-liners. "If I raise out this chair, its gone be trouble.....trouble." The movie actually could have been about him. That would have probably been a better movie.

The movie is star studded. The cast of Friday is pretty much in the movie. Lisa Rae is very beautiful and she carries the movie pretty well. Bernie Mac is still the stand out, but I think Diamond's story is pretty entertaining. I was entertained the whole movie despite the flaws. Ice Cube is an excellent writer. I think he could have directed more movies and he would have gotten better. I try to support artists instead of putting them down.

Check it out.

I was bitterly disappointed in this film. It's one of the worst-made movies I've ever seen. I'm a great fan of Cube as a hip-hop artist; he should stick to that and not attempt to make movies. The plot was absurd, the acting terrible, and the dialogue was wooden and artificial. Save your 99 cents and rent something else.

Lisa Raye is trying to survive and make a legitimate start despite having to work in a exotic dancing club environment....She is trying to make a legitimate start and there are folks that are trying to cut her down...I'm sure there are folks out there who can truly relate to this story. Ice Cube actually proves to be quite a adapt writer and director and I feel he did a good job and addressed a story that many can relate to particularly these days.......

This was a good movie I did enjoy the story it was very.

Not Ice Cube. Not bad. Especially being his debut directing film. The message of this movie kinda gets far viewed but I do think Ice Cube's goal was to create a sort of internal conflict with in the viewer. There is also some realism in some of the scenes that I really respect. I'm sure Ice Cube did some extensive research for this movie. But I like I said it's better than what I expected now a days it will be kinda hard to turn on the TV and not fine some dirty ass strippers from Atlanta fighting each other. Y'all can thank Ice Cube for that.

The TV guide described THE PLAYERS CLUB as " Gritty drama about an aspiring journalist who takes a job in a strip club to make ends meet " which had me thinking I'd be watching something like STRIPTEASE without any of the campness but I found myself being more and more puzzled at what sort of film Ice Cube was trying to make here . It might be gritty but only because characters say things like " Ah'm thru wid chew you motherf--kin' ho " while the drama elements never come to the fore . In fact there's little in the way of character focus . The aspiring journalist Diane Armstrong gets a job at the strip club but the story centres around other character subplots for a couple of minutes that don't really lead anywhere and one can't help thinking the character of Diane is used to set up the story just so writer/director Ice Cube can use the location to play a soundtrack that is composed of mainly Ice Cube tracks . Oh yes this is a very cynical ploy of selling a few records and left me thinking this was the only function of the movie which apart from the beautiful Lisa Raye who spends much of the movie either topless or dressed in a bikini is mainly a waste of time

Get ready to view this lifestyle first hand from the eyes of a stripper. In that industry, it's important to have confidence, aspirations, and guidance. It's easy to get addicted to the fast money that you become too comfortable like Diamond cousin, Ebony. The popular quote "Make the money don't let the money make you," by Diana Armstrong always stuck with me. After watching this film, I followed Lisa Raye artistry ever since.

A classic that stands the test of time. Nice scenery, comedy, drama......it's all here.

I'm not to sure if this was supposed to be serious, or a comedy… There was a lot of funny stuff in it. But, there were also a lot of things that seemed to me were supposed to be scary.

It is a story about an innocent girl who is working as a stripper trying to put herself through school, and all the drama and headaches that comes along with her job. Not a bad story. It has some heartfelt events. The dialog wasn't very good at all. The acting was hit or miss. The way Ice Cube told the story was pretty flawed. Things were pretty misplaced, which makes it hard to follow at times.

Wasn't a bad flick. Something I would recommend solely for entertainment purposes, and only if you like cheesy "being bullied" type movies. 95% of the characters were either being bullied by someone, bullying someone else, or both

This is basically a black, very superior version of "Striptease" and "Showgirls." It's not as sexy as "Showgirls," but what I really looked for was a better plot. This had one. LisaRaye gave an impressive debut performance as a college student trying to make ends meet. Bernie Mac can make the most dramatic piece of dialogue into stand-up comedy with his extraordinary vocal strength and stamina. I was very impressed with Ice Cube, his writing-directing debut, because, honestly, I didn't know he was capable. I like how he staged the scenes and built suspense. The great thing about it is that there is a considerable amount of violence, but no one is killed. For once, a black film where everyone lives. Another thing, this movie has the best, most vicious catfight I have ever seen.

by Dane Youssef

YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY IN THE STRIPPING GAME. And in the film industry.

But movies on the stripping game don't seem to. They never seem to be well-made, or much fun. Why? What's going on here? The characters and plot are so non-existent, they fall under the category of pornos without sex.

And who wants to see that?

Such on the form as "Showgirls" made one wish the makers had followed pornography by example and not tried to have plot.

Good readers, take a deeep breath of relief that "The Players Club" has slightly higher-quality of strip than glitzy dives like "Showgirls" and "Striptease." Not quite the British Oscar contender level of "The Full Monty"... but not quite a "Striptease."

Written and directed by old-school rap superstar Ice Cube, "The Players Club" is a posh, yet harsh feature dealing with women needing big money really fast and giving themselves over to this way in order to get it. Stripping changes who you are all over. Inside-and-out, Diana says.

But hey--everybody needs money. Everyone wants more. Even if you're Trump, every single dollar... just isn't enough. We've all heard of the girl who turns trick in order as last resort. There are women who get into stripping 'cause they want worship, adoration. To control every man in the room--and her career.

But there are those who just need to make mad money mad fast. When we meet Diana (LisaRaye), she's just had a fight with father over college. He throws her out. She leans on a guy for support. He gives her more than that. He gives her a child. Then he leaves her.

Single black woman raises baby on her own, no means. Such a sad, familiar story.

To make ends meet, she gets at a shoe-store job. Some strippers come in and tell her there are ways of making more money--much, much more. In high demand. You're in charge of your career, your clientèle, yourself. Diana, you're suddenly in charge of life.

The "The Players Club," a ritzy men's club it Atlanta. The place is always hopping like a horny-toad on hop with the kind of people you'd like to know.

"Players" has a lot of the gimmicks as "Striptease." One can only wonder... did The Ice see that movie... just before he wrote up this?

A lot is pretty warmed-over. But despite blaxploitation roots and intentions, "The Players Club" boasts an A-list cast and production values, thanks to the powerful status name of The Ice Cube and New Line.

Bernie Mac gives in his plum of the "Players Club" owner "Dollar" Bill. A eccentric cartoon who dresses like a pimp, promotes himself like Don King with that philosophical wisdom that one picks up on the street, from the school of hard knocks. Business, yet ghetto.

John Amos and Faizon Love are a pair of sorta dirty-cops who frequent. They got that Amos and Andy-shtick with Amos playing it straight and Love going for laughs.

Oscar-winner Foxx of "Ray" fame got his start in the biz as stand-up and here as Blue, it might've served him (and the freakin' movie) better had he done some of his act. You'd think the DJ at a strip club wouldn't be important (Bill even tells Blue that to his face at one point), but he proves to be the very thing that Diana needs--even pulling it all together in the final act.

Looking at all this, I kept waiting for Pam Grier to pop up in some cameo (where she at least keep her clothes on).

"Players Club" does make a lot of its characters colorful and eccentric while keeping a lot of them fairly human. Cube tries to juggle, not making it a specific genre--but a "life film." His movie is comedy, drama, a thriller, and action flick...

As a filmmaker, Ice dons the indie hat here--as screenwriter, executive producer, director and bit-player.

Though at times, Cube's stuff feels tired, underdeveloped. He's credited also as exec producer, which I think means he green-lit his own project. It pays to have an objective eye. Could Cube's old director from "Boyz 'N' The Hood" Singelton have come down to give former "Doughboy" some sage advice?

Despite it's blaxploitation roots, "Club" mostly tries to sidestep a lot of opportunities to make the whole thing really, really campy, going for the "so bad, it's good" laughs that helped the earlier "white-stripper" movies get some viewers. But there is some camp here and there--all unintentional, I'm sure. Cube ain't Spike Lee.

He doesn't make all the women into the kind of creatures they seem to be in their act. He doesn't make all their customers into crazed rioting monkeys. Oh, no. No, no. The Ice has more respect for this than all that. And doesn't just fall back on the easy crutch of just peddling shots of naked flesh from near beginning-to-end.

I wished Cube's partner-in-crime Chris Tucker from "Friday" had popped- up. Tucker is on-par with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as comic presence. Such talent, he's can bring even the deadest scene to life. Ol' Smokey made "Friday" a must-see, he could've made this all the better.

There are times when Cube doesn't capture energy he needs to. As director, he seems to be just recording. The camera is on auto-pilot rather than capturing mood.

No classic, no AFI's 100 Best, no one's absolute fave of all time--no. Still worth seeing.

And blaxploitation is still alive, still thriving... somewhere in this world. Not thriving like the stripping game, or the world's oldest profession.

But yeah, it's there...

--A Believer in Big, Bad Black Cinema, Dane Youssef

As actors go,Lisa Rae SHOULD! she absolutely CAN'T ACT! no matter WHAT the genre is, comedy, drama, horror, etc. As for this tragic attempt at a dramatic movie, all I can say is NOOOOOO and WHY?!

1 of the funniest fight scene I've ever seen, and an all time horrible acting performance from Lisa raye in the lead role. Bernie Mac was funny like always and Jamie Fox in a early role.

This was by far, the worst movie I was ever conned into watching. This movie is degrading to such classics as Baller Blockin', The Monkey Hustle, and I'm Gonna Get You Sucka. It makes our people appear as if we were pale. This was obviously an attempt by the man to keep us down. I do suppose, in the end, we all have to dance to the man's music. Shout out to my wardies, Tre-B and Mookie. Check out that new janx from State Property ... "Still Public Enemy No. 1 Mixtape" You will then have a better understanding of what we actually endure. You see, da thang is this...The acting was awful...you could tell that it was not written by those of blessed with color. Anyways, Check me out wardie...im out.

This film shines some light on some of the struggles women face in the world of stripping and was ahead of its time. Only problems were the transitions from the comedic to serious parts were a bit rough and some clumsy dialogue, but overall it's all good.

I honestly didn't know what to expect from "another stripper movie." But all in all I was quite impressed. Ice Cube has always been one of my favorite rappers, and once he got into acting he was one of my favorite actors. Players Club definitely shows that Cube also has the potential to write and direct more great films. Though I wouldn't call this a comedy/drama, there are definitely some very funny scenes, especially those involving Jamie Foxx. Definitely worth checking out.

Cliche, garbage script. Horrible acting. I'm guessing some people are embarrassed that they had anything to do with this film.

This movie is straight pimp. Guns, chicks, chicks with guns, hoes, players, white cops getting spanked by black chicks who carry guns, deals, dopes, drive-bys, cripples and just about everything you want in a movie. Pure visceral fun. If you aren't down for the thrill of this movie go rent a Jimmy Stewart flick and bring your Wonderbread.

This movie i have seen five times and i currently just watched it. I cant help but watch this movie whenever it on. I love how it shows a good stripper against all odds working through her struggles to survive through all the obstacles. The movie also show true life of black woman and how violent they are but also shows how there are good sides to them that they actually do care but how it comes out late. Also Fenk Murphy is in it and whenever i see his goofy face i cant help but laugh. This movie is also funny because it has Jamie Foxx in it he always finds away to be funny in serious situations. The ending to this movie is perfect also make money don't let it make you

Dear Reader, I think the movie Players Club had a good story line. The situation that Diana was in can be related to many young women's situation in today's world. So many women in search for independence like Diana have used Strip Clubs as a means to an end. However many ignorant individuals think that all strippers are whores and forget that maybe this job is a temporary position for some of these women. I think Lisa Raye did a good acting job and I hope Hollywood considers her for other roles. Ice Cube should be applauded for an exciting movie.