Fly By Night

Starring:Jeffrey D. Sams, Ron Brice, Larry Gilliard Jr., Brendan Kelly, Geeta Citygirl, Sollfood, Omar Carter, Madala, Sharon Angela, Maura Tierney, Michael Harris Austin, Daryl Mitchell, Ebony Jo-Ann, Clebert Ford, Yul Vazquez, David Adami, Noble Lee Lester, Todd Graff, Andre De Leon, Leo Burmester
Director: Steve Gomer
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This may not be the best rapsploitation pic to come out of the early 1990s, but it does have some interesting ideas and nicely shot club and concert scenes. Fly by Night tells the story of Rich (Jeffrey D. Sams), who leaves his wife and child to pursue a career as a rapper. He teams up with hardcore gangsta I Tick (Ron Brice), and their combined light-and-heavy style makes them a hit. Some of the most interesting material comes from the secondary characters, including a 45-year-old, white DJ (Leo Burmester) who works the club circuit with a young, black rapper. There's also an early performance by Maura Tierney of New Radio fame, and a decent soundtrack by MC Lyte. Still, the definitive rap movie is yet to be made. --James DiGiovanna

Customer Reviews:

for ppl for love early new york 90s rap .......2006-12-24

its a great movie if you grew up in the ERA, it is what it is and ppl are expecting too much.

THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS VS. HARVARD..........2005-05-24

I fell in love with Ron Brice when I witness him play this role.
He has charisma just as he does in his' other roles. ''I realize that certain viewers don't own the depth to appreciate this film,simply because they can't relate''! Reality isn't always pretty, it has a Grotesque side as well! A Synopsis of this film is simply about a college student who uses RAP as a pawn in order to exscape true responsibility! As a result he falls in the path of a Die Hard Rapper/drug-addict...Rich is caught up in the Hype of what he thinks RAP can bring. What Rich finds out is that ''all that glitters isn't gold''.

Pass this one up..............2004-12-22

Rich (Ray Sams Soul Food, CSI) is a wanna be rapper that works in a token booth, and while working he works on his rhymes. He is so determined to become a rapper, he abandons his lady and son to make his dream a reality. When his wife (MCLyte) realizes he plans to leave she lets him know that if he leaves he is not to come back. "A man knows that his actions lives on in his absence" and Rich is totally clueless as to what she means. Rich has a cousin that is into the scene, and this cousin takes him around to help him gain exposure. His cousin thinks Rich is stupid for leaving his family, but Rich is being stubborn, and does not want to see the error of his ways.

There is this one rapper who is hardcore, and very angry. He calls himself I Tick. When Rich and I team up they become an instant hit. Rich is the lighter of two, dancing around, smiling, and I remain angry. They call themselves the King and I. There is another rapper named Rick who has this old white dude that is his DJ, he is so out of so out of place.

Rich's aunt digs into him about leaving his family also, "Your actions have consequences," she tells him. All he can see is being on stage and getting famous.

There is one scene where The King and I rap at a sweet 16 party. Maybe that would not have been so unusual except it's in a white neighborhood, so of course the audience can't relate to what they are rapping about. When the mother of the birthday girl comments by saying "your songs are garbage (by the way I agreed, they really were)," the artist are determined to justify why they say the things the way they do. Their arguments don't hold water. I also had a really hard time believing that a suburban white mother would even want to hire this act for her child's birthday party.

Rich and I have an opportunity to sign on with a label. I is not with it and feels it's selling out. Rich on the other hand thinks it will give them the exposure he wants. Rich is finally realizing that I's attitude on life is wearing him down, and he tries to separate himself from I, but I is not trying to even hear it. I will go to any length to make sure Rich does not go off on is own.

There is a scene after I Tick says "I don't see no violence just people that want to have a good time," violence breaks out in the club. First you have a stabbing, and then shots are fired. As people try to leave the club you have folks being trampled. What really got me was there were some young kids in this place, and my question is why were they in there to begin with? 8, 9 and 10 year olds have no place in a club!!!

I never quite understood Mierna Tierny's role in the movie. It was not fully developed in my opinion. What was the deal with her roommate in the film? His role just served no purpose. Why was he working out in heels, pantyhose and a leather skirt? The movie was really weak. The film just gave the impression it was thrown together, the director hoped certain scenarios would fit, but they seemed out of place. This is one movie I won't see again.

Captivation.......2002-08-14

I happen to agree with a couple of other reviews. This movie is much more than a rapconcoction of lyrics and music. It is a social, and an especially poignant drama of emotions and desires. The King, (Mr. Sams), should have stayed with his wife and baby and continued to pursue his school work. He has a decent job to sustain himself and his family. However, his desires are greater than all of those IMPORTANT matters. He plays the role exceptionally well. I Tick, (Mr. Brice), does a superb job of playing a stone thug who has little to live for and less to care about. He is in the Rap world without caring about the Rap world. He has a talent that he realizes can be enhanced by this young straight boy, who is not a thug, but has a talent for writing. He realizes that their two lives would need to merge. What are his desires, actually? I have begun to wonder, as it is clear he does not want the King to walk out on him, and he appears to be prepared to prevent him from doing so. I love the interplay between the unspoken words that "I" has when he watches "THE KING" wind and wrangle and rapping in front of him on the stage. Yet he admires everything about him while finding his "brand" of black man, distasteful. I don't know what the writers/producers wanted us to get from this movie, but there was a lot more presented here than perhaps was intended. The final scene may have been tacted on, but it left me feeling sorry for the thug whom I feared, in this movie, would be the ruination of the King and eventually kill or destroy the life of the good guy. It is interesting that a shooting scene was added to the club scene. If anything was tacted on, I felt it was that one. Although, since I am such a fan of Mr. Brice, I loved every scene with him, particularly his rauncy lyrics and his presentation of them. How did this movie get away from me from 1993 until the year 2002? Thanks to BSTARZ I have been able to see this movie. It needs to be revived. It is certainly contemporary in its concepts.

i have mixed feeling about this flick.......2002-03-10

it doesn't know weather it want's to make rap out to be a useless outlet or praise it.plus the idea of a record ceo being right about the arguement he had with the rappers was laughable.maybe they was trying to be un biased buy telling his side of the story.but it camed off as a anti rap movie.oh and lets not start on the suburban middle aged white women who said there music was garbage?.and then offered them coffee.like she gives a [darn] about them making good or bad quality rap.

Average customer rating:

Fly by Night
Starring: Sex Museum
Manufacturer: Locomotive Music
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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