Idlewild is an Entertaining Mess

Idlewild arrives as a bit of a curiosity, especially in light of the talent behind it. The principal draws are the two members of hip-hop super duo Outkast, Andre “3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, extremely talented musical artists but not particularly known for their acting chops. Accomplished music video director Bryan Barber is a largely unknown quantity in his first theatrical outing as writer/director. The rest of the cast is peppered with familiar faces, but none so powerful or prominent to carry the film on their own.

And then there’s the concept of the film. This is no hip-hop autobiography like 8 Mile or a shameless attempt by its stars to cash acting paychecks in any available project (I’m looking at you, LL Cool J). Instead, it’s a wholly unexpected trip to the Deep South circa the Prohibition era, complete with its fashion, pastimes, and music. Surprisingly, it’s not really a musical, although many musical performances are included. Instead, it attempts to throw in a little pinch of everything including romance, gangster life, comedy, “a star is born” story, action, coming of age, and drama. 

It’s almost as if Barber wants to create his own catch-all category, the musical rom/com/dram. The weight of these genre collisions drags the production down a notch and occasionally causes some plot whiplash, but ultimately adds up to an enjoyable mess.

Benjamin and Patton play lifelong friends who have traveled distinctly different paths throughout their lives but still maintain one constant that ties them together: music. Fittingly, that arrangement neatly parallels the real-life relationship of the stars as they have increasingly grown apart and followed different interests as their careers have progressed, fueling ongoing speculation that Outkast doesn’t really exist anymore as they’re both operating on their own at this point. It’s a telling sign that the stars barely appear on screen together as they both follow independent story arcs throughout the film.