Joseph Kahn's new film, BODIED, feels like the truest cinematic expression of where we are culturally in 2018. I know that sounds like a strange statement to make about a film that focuses on the world of competitive rap battles but it's true.
The story concerns Adam Merkin (Calum Worthy from AMERICAN VANDAL), a college student studying poetry who is looking to write a master's thesis on the rap battling. He ends up befriending a local star of that scene, Behn Grymm (yes, that is a FANTASTIC FOUR reference) played by Jackie Long (ATL). Behn jokingly pushes Adam into an impromptu battle with a low-level challenger and surprisingly Adam decimates the verbal challenge and it isn't long before Adam is sucked completely into the world of battle rap turning his life upside down.
So, what makes BODIED different from a film like 8 MILE or really from any film about an unlikely underdog who succeeds at a competition? More importantly, what makes the film so culturally relevant? The answer is deceptively simple:
It's brutally honest about the world of the film and the characters in it.
Rap battling is based almost exclusively around insulting your opponent... just in lyrically interesting ways. Any searching online for videos of rap battles will show just how "un-woke" the narratives of it are. Homophobia/Transphobia, racism, misogyny, and many other forms of ugly thinking are on display - wrapped up in lyrically beautiful rhymes but they are still jokes designed to appeal to the worst parts of ourselves and the film addresses this head on.
Adam befriends a culturally diverse group of battle rappers who lament the casual racism and troll-like humor but still participate. BODIED is about that contradiction. It also delves into the idea that the personas of the performers are often that of violent hardened thugs but when scores are settled... it's done through rhyming. That concept at its core ridiculous yet the battles are entertaining and at times thrilling. BODIED effortlessly keeps all these conflicting ideas balanced. It's a stunning achievement.
As Adam finds success, he runs afoul of culturally sensitive people who point out his cultural appropriation and how harmful the ideas presented in rap battling can be ...and the film does not present these people as villains or crusaders. It shows the musicians and the activists as both right yet veering into being sanctimonious without much effort.
No one is presented as right or wrong in the film. It's simply characters making appropriate choices for themselves and then dealing with the fallout.
Don't think that just because BODIED deals with heavy subject matters in nuanced ways that the film is a drag. It's not. The film is often uproariously funny and with Kahn's stylish direction the film crackles with energy.
BODIED is loud, profane, and eager to offend... well everyone but if you look past the bluster - you'll find it has a lot of interesting things to say about all the subjects it appears to be tearing down.
It just happens to be a wonderful bonus that BODIED is also one of the most entertaining films of the year.
- Matthew Essary
(aka "Wheels")
