Juice (1992) – Movie Review

Movie Review • This month will make it 30 years since we were first introduced to Bishop, Q, Steel & Raheem, four friends growing up together in Harlem that stayed in trouble. If they weren’t skipping school, they were stealing records from the record store. Juice hit the scene right when “hood movies” were at their peak. Following up after the success of New Jack City and Boyz N the Hood, Juice became an instant 90’s classic that you’ll probably find in a lot of black men’s Top 10 favorite movies. 

Tupac got the role of Bishop after he accompanied Treach, who was actually going in for the part of Bishop. Although he didn’t get the part, Pac helped Treach get a cameo in the movie as a member of Radames’ Gang. I can see Treach playing the Bishop role, he kind of has that natural crazy attitude & look to him. Pac played the role of Bishop so well he actually scared me once he got the “juice.” Pac took the role so serious that he aggressively asked the cast & crew to call him Bishop off camera to stay in character. Omar was so dedicated to his role that he learned how to spin records in real life so most of the scenes of him spinning are authentic. 

It’s crazy that there are still people out in the world who have that Bishop mentality of wanting the juice so bad that they’d kill or cross those closest to them. The way Bishop took out Raheem and comforted his mom at the funeral like he wasn’t the one who killed her son is some cold hearted sh*t. That was when the crew knew Bishop was a loose canon & would take out anyone that got in his way. The moment Steele asked him “what you want from me man?” and Bishop said “Nothing” then shot him…like WHAAT?! You just shot your homeboy for nothing, all because you felt this power with a gun in your hand. 

Q was a better friend than me because there is no way I would have tried to help the man that was just trying to kill me. I would have let his ahh drop as soon as he fell over the roof because a person like Bishop will just throw you over after you’ve helped him. I’m sure after watching the movie, it made a lot of people examine their group of friends to see if they could catch any red flags of any Bishops in the group. 

Overall, Juice is a culture classic. Black people loved it and the white people ate it up. You know they love a black struggle. The acting was remarkable for such a young and fresh cast. It’s for sure one of the many movies that you don’t turn from when it come on tv.