Classic Rewatch is IAHHM’s take on hip hop and Black culture films worth revisiting. This is an informed review based on the film’s record, critical reception and legacy.
Thirty years ago this month, four women from LA got tired of being broke, disrespected and ignored, and decided to do something about it. Set It Off opened in U.S. theaters on Nov. 6, 1996, after premiering at Mann’s Chinese Theatre two days earlier, per Wikipedia. Three decades later, it’s still the movie people quote, parody and refuse to let anybody remake.
The Basics
- Director: F. Gary Gray
- Writers: Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford (story by Bufford)
- Cast: Jada Pinkett (Stony), Queen Latifah (Cleo), Vivica A. Fox (Frankie), Kimberly Elise (T.T.) in her film debut, plus Blair Underwood and John C. McGinley
- Hip hop cameos: Dr. Dre as Black Sam and WC as Darnell
- Runtime: About two hours, rated R
- Box office: $41.5 million worldwide on a $9 million budget
What It’s About
Frankie loses her bank teller job after a robbery she had nothing to do with. She ends up cleaning offices with her best friends: Stony, who’s trying to get her little brother into college; Cleo, who’s down for whatever; and T.T., a single mom who can’t afford childcare. When the system keeps taking from them, they start taking from the banks. It works until it doesn’t.
What the Critics Said
Set It Off sits at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes from 37 reviews, with an 89% audience score, per Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s consensus admits the plot isn’t new but credits the leads for turning it into a satisfying, socially aware heist film. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A.
Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars and wrote that he walked in expecting a routine action movie and came out caring deeply about these women, per RogerEbert.com. Not everybody was sold: Gene Siskel gave it a thumbs down. The New York Times’ Stephen Holden called it messy but never short on empathy for its robbers.
IAHHM’s Take
The heist stuff is fun, but that’s not why this movie lasts. It lasts because the first act makes the money make sense. Every one of these women gets a reason, and every reason is something real people in real neighborhoods were dealing with in 1996 and are still dealing with now: being profiled at work, being underpaid, losing family to police violence, losing a kid to a system that doesn’t care why.
Queen Latifah is the engine. Cleo is loud, loyal and fearless, and Latifah plays her with zero apologies, including Cleo’s relationship with her girlfriend Ursula, which was rare for a mainstream 90s film. Jada Pinkett carries the heart of the movie as Stony, and Kimberly Elise breaks yours as T.T. Vivica A. Fox’s final standoff is the scene everybody still recreates online.
Is it perfect? No. The setup drags in spots, some of the plotting is convenient, and the tonal swings from comedy to tragedy can be jarring. But the ending still hits like a gut punch, and the chemistry between the four leads is something you can’t fake.
That Soundtrack, Though
The Set It Off soundtrack was a monster. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, went platinum within weeks of the movie’s release, and spun off seven charting singles. Organized Noize, DJ U-Neek and DJ Rectangle handled production. The lineup included En Vogue’s Don’t Let Go (Love), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Days of Our Livez, the title track from Organized Noize featuring Queen Latifah, plus Busta Rhymes, Goodie Mob, MC Lyte and the Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan collab Missing You, per Wikipedia. If you only know one song from this era of soundtracks, it’s probably on this one.
The Legacy
New Line called it its biggest film of 1996. Time put it on its list of the 25 best heist movies in 2017. The score’s climactic song, Up Against the Wind, became a viral sound years later. And when sequel and remake talk comes up, the cast keeps shutting it down: Jada Pinkett Smith has said she won’t do it without Vivica, Queen and Kimberly, and Fox has said a classic should be left alone.
Where to Watch
At the time of writing, Set It Off is listed as free to stream on Pluto TV in the U.S. and available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV, per Reelgood. Streaming lineups change, so double-check before you press play.
The Verdict
IAHHM Verdict: 4 out of 5. A little messy, fully classic. Set It Off is a heist movie with a conscience, four career-defining performances and one of the hardest soundtracks of the 90s.
Watch it if… you love Dead Presidents, Menace II Society or Waiting to Exhale, you want to show somebody younger where all those Cleo and Frankie memes come from, or you just need an excuse to run that En Vogue record back.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Set It Off (film)
- Rotten Tomatoes: Set It Off
- RogerEbert.com: Set It Off review
- Pluto TV: Set It Off
- Reelgood: Where to Watch Set It Off
