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One of the saving graces we have during this time of pandemic, quarantine and uncertainty is the immense library of Black films we have streaming. Netflix has made a concerted effort to give us as much Black streaming excellence as humanly possible.
One such film they gave us to jumpstart April is Player’s Club. The 1998 film is a hood classic and features some of Black Hollywood’s biggest stars from Jamie Foxx, Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac and more. It is also the writing and directing debut from Ice Cube that introduced the world to LisaRaye.
We know you love the film and want to revisit. We do too. However, before you do, check out these facts about the movie that you probably didn’t know.
1. Movie Reunion – It seemed like Black movies like this in the 90s all used the same handful of actors, so there was definitely overlap. Ice Cube, Bernie Mac, AJ Johnson, Tiny Lister, Faizon Love and Ronn Riser all appeared in Friday together.
Monica Calhoun and Terrence Howard had previously appeared in The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992) respectively as Rebbie and Jackie Jackson. They also starred together in The Best Man and Best Man Holiday movies.
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2.There are a few scenes cut from the cable TV versions: Dollar Bill getting the shotgun put in his mouth by one of St. Louis’s men, Dollar Bill being discovered in the trunk by the cops after they take in a couple of St. Louis’s henchmen and Diamond’s father shooting the gun in front of Blue.
3. There’s a moment early in the movie when Ronnie is walking Diamond out of the dressing room. If you pay attention you can see one of the crew member’s heads reflected in the mirror. This is a pretty common movie mishap.
4. The bazooka at the end of the movie is one of the funniest mishaps as you can see right through it and the line it’s attached to. We’re going to let it slide, though. By this point, it doesn’t matter. The movie has you sucked in.
5. Posthumous cookout invitee Roger Ebert loved the movie: “Rich with colorful dialogue and characters, it’s sometimes ungainly but never boring, and there’s a core of truth in its portrait of exotic dancers.” He gave the flick three stars. Amazing.
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6. Ronnie from Player’s Club, played by Chrystale Wilson, starred in a reality show on Centric called From The Bottom Up. In it she revealed that she did time in jail for attempted murder. She shot a man who she claimed grab her in an altercation after a car crash.
7. LisaRaye explained that the way she got her role was after appearing in the Tupac video, “Toss It Up.” She said that she approached the director and explained that she was an actress and boom, that’s how she got invited to be in Player’s Club.
