Juice (1992)
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Four friends in Harlem navigate the dangerous path of seeking respect through crime and violence.
The story
Roland Bishop, Quincy "Q" Powell, Raheem Porter, and Eric "Steel" Thurman are four teenage African-American friends growing up together in Harlem. They regularly skip school, spending their days hanging out at Steel's apartment, a neighborhood arcade, and a record store where they steal LPs for Q's DJ interests. They are also harassed daily by the police and a Puerto Rican gang led by Radames. Fed up with the harassment, Bishop decides the group must do bigger things to win respect. However, Q is unsure about becoming involved in a life of crime, but eventually feels pressured by his friends to participate in a robbery.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Roland Bishop, Quincy "Q" Powell, Raheem Porter, and Eric "Steel" Thurman are four teenage African-American friends in Harlem who skip school to hang out at an apartment, an arcade, and a record store. Harassed by police and a local gang, Bishop pushes the group into a convenience store robbery. During the heist, Bishop fatally shoots the owner, Fernando Quiles. Following the robbery, a struggle occurs where Bishop shoots and kills Raheem. Bishop then threatens Q and Steel, lying to detectives that Radames killed Raheem. As Bishop becomes addicted to the thrill of killing, Q and Steel try to distance themselves. Bishop eventually kills Radames and attempts to frame Q. After Bishop shoots and wounds Steel, Q confronts Bishop unarmed. A chase ensues, ending in a party where Bishop fires into a crowd. Q manages to disarm Bishop and pursues him to a rooftop. In a physical altercation, Bishop falls off the ledge; Q catches him but eventually loses his grip, causing Bishop to fall to his death. The film ends with a flashback to happier times and a reveal that Q continued his musical career.
- First release year
- 1992
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ernest R. Dickerson
- Writers
- Gerard Brown · screenplay; Ernest R. Dickerson · screenplay; Ernest R. Dickerson · story
- Cast and characters
- Omar Epps · Roland Bishop; Tupac Shakur · Quincy "Q" Powell; Jermaine Hopkins · Raheem Porter; Khalil Kain · Eric "Steel" Thurman
- Genres
- crime thriller; drama
- Themes
- Respect; Crime; Loyalty; Violence
- Tone and mood
- Tense; Provocative; Nightmare-like
- Premise and plot tags
- Crime Drama; Hood Film; Coming-of-age
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews, with praise for its depiction of self-control and its status as a tense morality play.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · review count: 33; Metacritic · score: 60 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The film marked the first acting roles for Epps, Kain, and Shakur.; The late rapper Juice Wrld also got his name from the movie.; Daryl Mitchell, Treach, Money-B, and Donald Faison had auditioned for the role of Roland Bishop.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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