Marci X is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin, written by Paul Rudnick, and starring Lisa Kudrow as Jewish-American Princess Marci Feld, who has to take control of a hip-hop record label, as well as the controversial rapper Dr. S, played by Damon Wayans. The film was released on August 22, 2003, by Paramount Pictures. It received negative reviews and was a box office flop, grossing $1.7 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.
Plot
Marci Feld, a spoiled Jewish-American princess, is forced to take control of her father Ben's hardcore rap label Felony Assault when he suffers a stress-induced heart attack due to the controversy surrounding the label's release of "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by Dr. S. To rescue her father's plummeting stock, Marci attempts to tone down the rapper's bad-boy image. Over time, the unlikely pair falls in love just as conservative senator Mary Ellen Spinkle vows to banish Dr. S and his offensive lyrics from the airwaves forever.
Cast
Production
In September 2000, the
Paul Rudnick scripted
Marci X, a fish-out-of-water comedy following a Jewish American Princess who is forced to take control of a hard-core hip-hop record label and address the controversy of one of its label's artists, was one of the
Scott Rudin produced films fast-tracked into production in order to have releasable product on hand in the event of possible strikes by the writers and actors guilds.
The following month it was announced
Lisa Kudrow was in talks to star in the film.
Chris Rock was offered the role of Dr. S, but turned it down as he did not like the script.
Reception
Box office
Marci X earned $872,950 in its opening weekend, ranking #18 in the North American box office from 1,200 venues.
The film grossed $1,648,818 at the North American box office, and $26,888 overseas for a worldwide total of $1,675,706. Based on a $20 million budget, the film was a box office bomb.
Critical response
Wesley Morris of
The Boston Globe felt the film had "no idea what to make of black people or hip-hop culture", noting how Rudnick's script is filled with "half-hearted structuring" and is "exasperating in its enervated, politically toothless jabs." He concluded that
Marci X is "just clueless and sad, seemingly having missed the point that hip-hop is no longer a novelty to be slapped on the cheek with a white glove."
of
The A.V. Club also criticized Rudnick's scripting of the film for being "a series of skit ideas strung together", and felt that Wayans was "woefully miscast as a charismatic thug." He concluded by calling it "the year's most misguided culture-clash comedy."
s Marjorie Baumgarten felt the premise was filled with "possibilities for good culture-clash humor à la
Rock 'n' Roll High School," but played everything straightforward, saying that it "exudes the familiar stench of stale comedy routinely tossed into theatres by the studios in the dog days of August when no one's really looking anyway."
Ed Gonzalez from
Slant Magazine wrote that: "
Marci X is a sketch comedy that misses more than it hits. And not unlike
Danny DeVito's
Death to Smoochy, the worst thing that can be said about it is that it's a good decade too late."
of the
San Francisco Chronicle called it "a dishonest satire that manages to be (disingenuously) contemptuous of white people and (unintentionally) condescending toward black people, without ever being funny."
The film received some positive reviews. Armond White praised the film's satire of its subject matter, saying it "sarcastically tackles hip hop sanctimony at a time in which it should be ripe for debunking." He also gave note of the performances of Wayans and Kudrow, saying that "Both these experienced comic performers understand that comedy respects no sacred cows. They are merciless in their satirical routines out of respect for the truth of human behavior."
External links
