ATL: The Movie, The City, The Way Of Life
First off, R.I.P. to rapper Proof (nee DeShaun Holton) from the Detroit group, D-12 who was killed at an afterhours spot in Detroit last nght. It is not a good year for Detroit on the rap front…at all. (via Allhiphop.com)
*****
“…straight up pimp, if you want me you can find me in the A…” - Big Boi, “Kryptonite”, Purple Ribbon All-Stars, Vol. 2
I went to see the movie ATL starring everybody’s favorite dopeboy, T.I., last night. I really enjoyed the movie and I’d recommend it to everybody. Is it cinematic perfection? No. But I go for entertainment. I was entertained.
Two thumbs up. And a pinky toe.
While watching the movie, I got a whole bunch of random movie, Atlanta, and life thoughts. So I figured, I’d share them. Also, there is a “twist” in the movie. I won’t share it here but I will say that it becomes quite obvious at one point AND for me, it was a relief in SO many ways.
Let us begin, shall we? Yes, let’s.
-I really miss Atlanta. From the opening scenes of the movie I found myself really missing being there. When the song “Georgia” by Ludacris and Field Mob came on, I almost shed a tear. Then I realized I went to the movies by myself and a bunch of teenage pseudo-thugs would probably begin laughing at me. So my pride caught me. Thank goodness. Bottom line, I really miss Atlanta.
-I thought that the movie did a good job of representing Atlanta. And especially the Southside of Atlanta. Yeah, they took some liberties with the actual location of some things but hey, it’s a movie. That area of Atlanta really looks like that. And Jason Weaver cleary doesn’t get enough acting roles. One time for SouthWest Atlanta AKA The SWATS.
-Lauren London is fine. She made one fine smurfin’ hoodrat too. But her accent irritated me to high Hell. I cringed listening to her talk. My mother’s entire side of the family is from the West side of Atlanta. All those places you hear T.I. talking about on his songs…yeah, that’s my momm’a side, Bankhead, Bowen Homes, and Adamsville.
I am the Adamsvillain.
“…I got that shit from Simpson Road/Adamsville, Bowen Homes, Center Hill, Zone 4…” - T.I. , “Ride Wit’ Me”, King
Don’t NOBODY on my momma’nem side talk like she did. I NEVER cringe listening to my family members. She made me cringe.
Big ups to Adamsville.
-I have a personal story to share. One of my boys, The Great, called me the other day to talk about the movie. I hadn’t seen it so we strayed away from the movie, but he did have a question for me.
The Great: Yo, is Mechanicsville a real neighborhood?
Peyton Place Panama: Yeah…dude, are you serious?
The Great: Yeah, I thought they were trying to make it like it was Adamsville or something.
Peyton Place Panama: Seriously, you’re joking right?
The Great: *silence* No, why you asking?
Just like in ATL, we get a “twist” in the story right here. Waaaaaaaaaait for it…
Waaiiiiiiiiit for it…
Peyton Place Panama: Nigga, BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN MECHANICSVILLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Great: WHAT???!?!!!
Peyton Place Panama: Dude, you fuckin’ live in Mechanicsville. Well close enough. You know the corner of Pryor Road and Abernathy…that’s Mechanicsville. Nigga, there’s a fuckin’ sign right there that says…Mechanicsville. You drive by that shit like everyday and you have never ONCE noticed it????
The Great: Wait…you’re surely right!!! Oh shit…I sure do!
In the two days since we have had this conversation, he called me yesterday morning to tell me he saw the sign, and texted me this morning to tell me that he was “driving thru Mechanicsville. Est. 1893″.
Further, he’s been living in Atlanta for the past 9 years now and actually in the vicinity of Mechanicsville for like 2. I’d like to offer my congratulations to the Least Observant Negro In History.
Mechanicsville, Atlanta, Georgia for those that don’t know, don’t show, or just don’t care about what happens in the hood is located in South West Atlanta south of I-20, west of the 75/85 connector and borders the railroad on the south and west. Sheesh…negroes.
-I don’t know what its like in other cities, but going to the skating rink really is a big deal in Atlanta. I used to live on MLK before I moved to DC and about a year before I graduated, they opened up the Cascade Family Skating Center which is prominently displayed in the movie on MLK Blvd. That place is ALWAYS jumpin’ on the weekends. When my cousin, who is now like 15 and going to Douglass (or Doug for the locals), would get in trouble her punishment would be that she couldn’t go to Cascade. Her world would end that weekend, literally. It’s really as packed as they show in the movie and it’s really as live as they show in the movie.
In undergrad, my boy Barry used to work at Sparkle in Riverdale. Like clockwork, every weekend we’d be up in there trying to look good and snag some chicks because on Sunday nights…that’s where the chicks were. Though I said that gangsta’s don’t roller-skate, there sure are a bunch of niggas on skates doing tricks that look like they’ll rob you as soon as you walk out. If you’re in Atlanta and you want to see some real local fun…go to the skating rink, and if you’re not afraid to be on MLK Blvd. at midnight, go to Cascade.
-I thought that the group of friends really came off well. They seemed like real friends who could joke with eachother and understood that everybody was trying to make it. Nobody was trying to hold anybody back or judge anybody for being who they were. They had the prep boy who was trying to make it out the hood, the uber-ghetto negro who just loved being an uber-ghetto negro (Jason Weaver…get him more ghetto parts STAT), Rashad (T.I.) who is like any other regular cat in the hood who’ just living trying to do something with himself and his family, and the NY transplant who reminds everybody that he’s from NY at every turn.
Niggas from NY really do that too. It’s like there’s NY, then the rest of the world. They even had a good little convo about that at the requisite ATL stop, Waffle House.
I can’t not do this, so bear with me.
Can we please have a moment of silence for the infamous North Avenue IHOP?
*silence*
If you never experienced it, your life is missing something. You betta know dat.
-Big Boi from Outkast is a show stealer. He pulled off being a dopeboy so well it was almost frightening. He was a little too cool-and-callous. Funny as hell in the most frightening way possible.
-In the beginning scenes of the movie, Rashad, his brother Ant, and his Uncle are cleaning up a Value Village which just HAS to be the one on Metropolitan Parkway. That conjured up memories from February 2005 when I was in Atlanta and the cashier at Value Village got all uppity with me cuz I didnt know that at Value Village, the cashiers don’t remove the hangers themselves…the customers do. So just like in February 2005…
…I’d like to send an Extra Special Fuck You out to the Value Village on Metropolitan Parkway for having the nerve to be bougie…at Value Village on Metropolitan Parkway also know in Atlanta as, “the track.” Not to be confused with the “trap”. The trap has the dopeboys, the track has the hoes.
-Shoutouts to Spelman College getting mentioned in the movie. Needless to say, Spelman holds a special place in my heart and will always be my favorite place on Earth. Extra special shoutouts to Packard Hall, though I’m an Abby and HH man myself.
-Speaking of famous Atlanta landmarks, I love how Eddie’s Gold Teeth makes it up in the movie. Grills have always been popular in Atlanta, but it seems like Eddie’s has gotten way more popular in the last few years. It is also one of the longest running search queries to this site. Every month, no less than 5 people do searches for Eddie’s Gold Teeth and end up on my site. Hell, I didn’t even know where it was until I realized so many people were searching for it and I was informed that it’s at Greenbriar Mall, which is my favorite mall in Atlanta, with Cumberland coming in second. You need shoes, some bomb chinese food, or some good This Is It!! ribs??? Greenbriar is your spot.
-There is one scene in the movie that is hilariously funny. Let’s just say Lost in Translation takes on a whole new meaning when involving a nigga from Atlanta. It is also a scene that SO many people who venture to Atlanta from other places can relate too. In college, me and my boy Johnny Kwest would go to the Checkers on MLK (Adamsville beeyotch!) and I would intentionally let JK do the ordering because he could NEVER understand what the Checkers employees were saying. You can’t create comedy like that, it just has to fall into your lap. I’d have to translate all the time. Nothing is funnier than hearing this:
Checker’s Worker: ‘Sup shawty…whajaogjaodihjaoi…knowhumtalkin’bout?
Johnny Kwest: Ummm…Uhhhhh…*turning to me* What in the FUCK did he just say????!!??
Peyton Place Panama: He just asked if you wanted a banana milkshake.
JK: No shit???
PPP: Yep.
JK: I don’t know how in the hell you can understand that shit. *turning back* Naw nigga…give me 2 .99 cent spicy chicken sandwiches.
CW: Ok…weljsaljfoidoajfodajoijfijadodjofojo…
JK: Shit…sure. *driving around to the front*
Also, I’d like to send an extra special fuck you out to Checker’s in Washington, DC for NEVER having $. 99 spicy chicken sandwiches when in Atlanta, them hoes are ALWAYS $ .99.
-This movie is also home to one of the WORST sex scenes ever in a movie, if it was even supposed to be that. Trust me on this one. You’re kids don’t have to close their eyes.
Since this is getting long…
-Overall, it’s a good movie with some laughs, some heartwarming moments, some life lessons, some fine ass women (synonymous with Atlanta), some hoodrats (synoymous with Atlanta), and a bunch of dudes trying to figure out life. Well worth the entertainment…
“…you can find me in the A…A….A….”
Boy stop!
April 11th, 2006 12:23
*wondering how you go to Checkers and NOT get a banana milkshake*
I cram to understand.
April 11th, 2006 12:28
I was actually once stranded in Mechanicsville one Saturday night with my then white girlfriend. Her car had been towed from Compound to a lot in the area. We spent hours looking for an ATM while encountering a number of crackheads and dopeboys. How did we escape robbery, violence and empending death? I walked around looking like a crazy ass pimp/crack dealer dragging around his doped-out white girl who couldn’t find his stash. I’m not gonna lie, I was scared as hell. But it just goes to show, crazy will save your life!
April 11th, 2006 12:48
Wow Panama, you got me in tears almost from reminiscing, lol. I actually saw the movie (read: was dragged to the movie by a friend) when it came out. Like you, I enjoyed it, though not as much. I’d give it about a C+, it was entertaining, but not memorable (like I hardly remember any of it), but definitely somethng the whole fam can enjoy and that’s a good thing for a change. Now some observations on the movie and your post… *Warning, this’ll be long like your post :)*
–Ahem, as a Cascadian, I gotta say one major problem I had with the movie was its making it seem like the “south side” was all ghettofabulous. Like their only mention of Cascade was the RollerRink side…but everybody in the A knows there are TWO sides of Cascade: Cascade (Elizabeth Baptist, Applebees, etc) and Ca-cade, lol, (the Kroger Center/ Abernathy side). So that was kind-of misleading. I digress…
–I guess I’m the second “Least Observant Negro in History” lol cuz I surely thought Mechanicsville was an aka for Adamsville like your friend. I knew I had heard of it somewhere, maybe in a song or something, but I had never seen a sign or anything, I’ll have to check that out…
–Man, that IHOP, I almost cried when you mentioned that…sweet memories…
–Now, I’m the same age as you, but I thought GoldnGlide in Decatur was the spot back in the day (circa ‘98), not Cascade…then again maybe I was just out of the loop (shrug)…
–You’ve GOT to be kidding–no way can Greenbriar aka Blackbriar be your favorite mall! lol And Cumberland used to be mine, but they’ve been renovating for like a year and it just ain’t the same…
Anyway, great post buuudddy…
T
April 11th, 2006 13:22
Awwww…I haven’t even finished reading this and I am feeling you TOTALLY. I did a 4eva I love Atlanta post myself a few days ago. *sigh* Going back to finish reading….I’m all stuffed up and sniffling now!!
April 11th, 2006 13:36
Haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m a Campbelltononian myself. Both Campbellton and Cascade have the welfare and the fair well sides them.
How come I’ve never paid attention to Mechanicsville and here I thought I was knowledgeable of all things ATL.
Panama, I now know that you are a baby ’cause you’re talking about Cascade Family Skating Rink. You don’t now nothing ’bout Jellybeans before it became the AKA Community Center.
April 11th, 2006 14:12
Kudos!! Great post!!
Man, that IHOP on North Ave was my shyt! It’s now called the Disco Diner or some BS like that. And for anyone that don’t know, ALL of the neighborhoods in the A have a weekend during the summer. There’s an Adamsville weekend, Mechanicsville, etc. It’s kinda like a big block party that everyone come out to with their families and kick it. I love Atlanta.
April 11th, 2006 14:34
@T: Rest assured that Greenbriar is my favorite mall in Atlanta. Though I will say that I used to like it more when I was younger. There was just something about going to look for hoodrats at the mall that made it a great place to be. Now I just go for cheap sunglasses and bomb-ass cookies. And for This Is It!
As far as GoldNGlide…well Cascade Family Skating Center wasn’t even open back then. I feel like it opened in like 2000 or 2001. Like I said, we were down at Sparkle in Riverdale or maybe Skatetown in College Park. There used to be parties there all the time if my memory serves correct.
@Beloved: I do indeed remember Jellybean, much like I remember the MBK and the televised club scenes which always seemed a little bit problematic for me. Between there and the flea market on Headland Greenbriar is just a wonderful place to be ghetto. And the fact that folks really haven’t heard of Mechanicsville means to me that some of y’all ain’t heard of Peoplestown or Pittsburgh (ATL). I know everybody knows where Adamsville and Center Hill is…or Reynoldstown and Kirkwood.
Are we going to have to have an ATL neighborhood refresher course up in here??
Quick quick..somebody tell me where Hollywood Courts is?? Or where The Bluff is located in Atlanta…and by The Bluff I mean the ghetto bluff.
And also…Cascade and Campbellton both do have their nice parts…why in the blue Hell doesn’t MLK get to have its nice part…unless you count the nice lush upper-lower middle class neighborhoods between Ashby (it will never be Lowery BLVD to me) and Washington High School and West Lake Road.
April 11th, 2006 14:54
Panama, maybe you need to visit your spot again cuz MLK IS on the come-up, maybe you haven’t seen the new townhomes over by Holmes train station and other new homes down the street…you probably won’t recognize it in a couple of years, just like parts of Ben Hill are unrecognizable now, like I found 300,000 homes over there a couple of weeks ago, almost blew me away! The “hood” is no longer the hood, lol, gentrification at its finest…
T
April 11th, 2006 14:54
I meant to say $300,000, lol, my bad
April 11th, 2006 15:01
@T: New “luxury” apartments in the hood does not undo the ghettoness of MLK because it all just looks out of place. Granted the houses on Burton Road seem “nice” but you go 2 minutes up the street and its Kuwait circa 91. They still have the mini-mall/tshirt booth at the check-cashing place across from the mcdonald’s and gas station on the corner of Hightower (it will always be Hightower) and MLK. And the carwash my grandma would never let us go to is still up right?
I see what they’re trying to do with MLK but they need some MAJOR renovations. AND all that stuff is inside 285…you go into the Adamsville side and its still Wayfield Foods and chinese-run black hair shops. And the bomb as Checker’s.
Now, I will say that area of MLK looks better than it used too…kinda. But it’s still not exactly a desirable zip code. 30311 bitches!!!!
April 11th, 2006 15:47
Well I’ve only been to ATL once and it was back in the Spring of ‘95 when I visited my girl who was at Emory.
Shot out to NYC, Brooklyn, Prospect Heights, Eastern Parkwayyyyyyyyyy represent because yeah there’s NYC and then there’s everyone else.
April 12th, 2006 10:58
I love Atlanta, matter fact people im leaving tonight to go to Savannah then to my sisters house in Atl.
I loved the movie too, it thought it had a good feeling to it. Def. a DVD must have.
I have to side with Honest too. Big shout outs to BK, East NY, Brownsville, the hood! lol
April 12th, 2006 10:58
i saw the movie and thought it was pretty good too. i was like damn, atliens are SO SERIOUS about their rollerskating lol.
April 12th, 2006 10:59
I love Atlanta, matter fact people im leaving tonight to go to Savannah then to my sisters house in Atl.
I loved the movie too, it thought it had a good feeling to it. Def. a DVD must have.
I have to side with Honest too. Big shout outs to BK, East NY, Brownsville, the hood! lol
April 12th, 2006 11:44
I’m trying to kick the habit, because like Honest, I came to the A-town and couldn’t stop talking about NYC. I’ve been here for 10 years and I have to say (ducks from fellow New Yorkers), I love and and will never return to NY except to visit. New York made my childhood, but my adulthood is all about the A!
So no more ATL/Ny comparisons from me!
April 12th, 2006 14:27
I can’t front… I loved ATL when I went down there. The only thing I can’t get used to is the way those niggas talk. That Checker’s shit is real.
I’m from NY.
April 12th, 2006 18:15
I haven’t seen it yet so i had to totally skim this entry but that’s nothing new
really my whole point in dropping by was to say, East Point mufucka
April 13th, 2006 11:26
Wow, you are making me homesick. Although I’m not from the ATL, I’m from the ATL. I am going to have to go back and visit real soon. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I am making it a priority now, thanks to your long but entertaining post.
I will never forget our nights at the IHOP, people getting left at the IHOP (was I supposed to mention that…lol) and us barely making it to the IHOP after our first real Freaknik.
Panama, you will have to talk ATL for me one time when you see me…
April 21st, 2006 11:04
Yeah. East Point. Born n raised. cleveland aave.
May 4th, 2006 21:42
I thimk the movie ATL was a great movie and I go by my aunt’s house all the time to see it. I also think T.I was very fine in the movie and he was very romantic.
May 15th, 2006 23:15
All I have 2 say 2 mostly all of you all on this blog, is WHAT THE F—? You all sound like idiots (except 4 a few). I just mainly have one thing 2 say, where do you get off Mr. “The Great” saying “if you’re not afraid to be on MLK Blvd. at midnight, go to Cascade.” I grew up in South West Atlanta and a Mays High graduate and I’ll have you know, I will walk, drive, etc. down MLK or Cascade at 3 am. Have you not been on Cascade Rd. lately and seen the $500,000 houses or go down one more block 2 the $800,000 houses??? Wake up you dumb FUCKS that’s whats wrong with our people today, stop pulling all of us down. Give credit where it is due. All of South West Atl isn’t the GHETTO and 2 the other dumb fuck “Mr. T” saying, “But it’s still not exactly a desirable zip code 30311 bitches!!!!” What the fuck is that?? Again you idiot also, all of 30311 isn’t anything like you all are making it seem. One person makes a movie and fictiously portrays a neighborhood in one light and you ass holes thinks it is really true!! Go figure!!
May 15th, 2006 23:19
My bad I meant “Mr. The Great” and “Panama”!! Your imbecile quotes!!
May 16th, 2006 09:57
Hello Silence speaks…nice to meet you.
Let’s not act like niggas ain’t afraid to hang out on MLK blvd’s in some cities. For your info, i’m from MLK. So that wasn’t for the folks who ain’t. It’s for the boho’s who are, you know cut that includes some black folks too. I know folks in Atlanta who wouldn’t come over there and visit cuz they thought it was jacked up.
Oh yeah, apparently you ALSO don’t get humor at all do you.
Oh yes, and fuck you vey much.
I’m from 30311 and have lived in 30331. I didn’t say all of SW Atlanta was ghetto thats what you chose to take from it. Though I might disagree with T about it being a desirable zip code (being as its home) that still doesn’t mean other folks feel that way. Take shit personal much?
Hell aside from saying that the area they were in really looks like that…and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t. You chose to assume that I meant all of SW Atlanta was the hood.
Learn to read, THEN come talk to me. Oh yeah, and a sense of humor.