Gridlock’d – Review

It’s New Years Eve. Alexander “Stretch” Roland, Ezekiel “Spoon” Whitmore and Cookie are die hard friends, band mates and partiers, celebrating the day in style. Stretch and Spoon are blow and heroin regulars, but it’s their way too hot friend Cookie’s first try on the needle. As the men talk, Stretch states he is thinking about a penis implant. Spoon is uncertain about this plan. Cookie has no comment. Spoon tries to wake her up, but then the pair realizes that she may be in seriously bad shape, and overdosing.

They get her in the tub and splash water on her face, looking to rouse their friend, and then get to a pay phone to call an ambulance. They put Spoon on hold. The pair then try to hoof it on their own, dragging their friend along, finally reaching the hospital. Dealing with insurance however is a whole new ballgame…

Since it’s a new year, and the pair almost lost their friend, they decide that it’s time: they are going to quit heroin. Then starts their upward hill battle against bureaucracy in a desperate attempt to get some help kicking their habits. What may seem like a simple choice is suddenly compounded by an inability to break through the walls and land a spot in rehab. The more the pair tries, the more absurd the story gets, in a scarily realistic way.

The dramatic story is told mostly with comedy and slight exaggeration, however the struggle against the government, insurance, paperwork, and rehab availability limits. The acting is great, both serious when it needs to be and dropping the right comedic beats otherwise. Roth and Shakur wind up making a compelling pair of friends and have solid chemistry.

The movie drops a few flashbacks to flesh out the characters, and the short runtime does not overstay its welcome. The mix of funny and serious is well balanced, despite the topics at hand. There aren’t thaaat many films which I can directly compare to this either. Overall, the quality is there, and the story is good enough. What’s there to think about? Just do it!