What happens when you mix it up?<BR>&nbsp;

What happens when you mix it up?

Documentary filmmaker Sam, (Brooke Shields), is shooting a video about the fascination young white kids have for black music and lifestyles; accompanied by her precociously gay husband, Terry, (Robert Downey Jr.), Sam gains access to the apartment of high-flyer Rich Bower, played by an actor (?) Called simply Power; Rich is involved in both legitimate and shady enterprises, and his pad is the venue for an endless party where celebrities like Mike Tyson mix with besotted white teenagers. When a shady cop, Ben Stiller, attempts to blackmail Rich`s best friend, Dean, (Allan Houston), into betraying Rich, Dean`s girl, Greta, (Claudia Schiffer), organises a double-cross, with fatal results... Toback explores the world where black and white cultures clash, with a great deal of savage humour - the thriller plot seems a bit tacked on. There are some powerful performances, with Brooke Sheilds and Robert Downey Jr outstanding as the very odd married couple; and there`s an eye-popping cameo from Mike Tyson, playing himself. A very strange, but surprisingly gripping and effective film, which certainly won`t be to everybody`s taste.Margaret`s comment:What is this thing called hip-hop? Is it the music that arises from a culture of zen or agony? Because some of the lyrics in our next film that I was actually able to access went like - `to be a king you have to kill a king` ... or `if you really want this pussy you can have it`... James Toback`s film Black and White dives in where others would not dare... It`s the rich kids like Charlie (Bijou Phillips) who consort with the black hip-hop scene that fascinate independent documentary filmmaker Sam (Brooke Shields) and her husband Terry (Robert Downey Jr.) who`s rampantly gay. All of them are drawn into the world of Rich (Power) a man from the world of crime who`s trying to turn the ship around into becoming a hip-hop entrepreneur. His mate from the `hood is Dean (Allan Houston) who`s tempted to throw a basketball game for a bribe from undercover cop Ben Stiller. Dean`s girlfriend is Greta (Claudia Schiffer) who`s doing her Ph. D. in the anthropology of race. The film`s a kaleidescope of music, people and jargon. The coup de grace is Mike Tyson playing himself...This film seems all very hip and in reading about the film - I couldn`t claim to have come to this conclusion by myself - the message that`s meant to come through is `be yourself - be all you can be`. Deep. Very deep. Ben Stiller`s improvisation shows, Claudia Schiffer is stiff, no-one else, including Elijah Wood who`s a very fine actor has a chance to do much, there`s too much else going on. The one who fascinated me was Charlie - a terrific performance from Bijou Phillips - it`s a shame the film didn`t stick with her longer. The fascination in the film is really Mike Tyson who has the best line `I`ve made too many mistakes for a man to be known for his wisdom`. There`s something uncomfortable for me in seeing a star made of a man convicted for rape and banned for ear eating. But maybe I`m just becoming too tight-assed for my own good.