I went out and caught Tyson last week. I’ve anticipated this flick since I’d heard it was by James Toback, who cast Mike in this brilliant cameo in ’99’s Black and White, that Elijah Wood movie about privileged white teens who want to be down with Wu-Tang and the pretentious documentary filmmakers (Robert Downey Jr. and Brooke Shields) that follow them around. People hated that movie, but I loved it: I thought it captured an authentic slice of late ’90s NY, and indeed the white kids were based on Toback’s own experiences around Leonardo DiCaprio and his gangster rap-loving “pussy posse.” Legend has it that Tyson was unaware that Robert Downey Jr. was in character while filming their scene together, and his reaction to RDJ’s passes was authentic. Whether that’s true or not, his response—defensive and preemptive, followed by a display of rage that’s more about frustration then machismo—was a revealing glimpse into the side of him we see in Tyson.

I highly recommend Tyson, but I won’t go into a detailed breakdown or analysis here—you can read plenty of that elsewhere. I will point out that the film was scored by Salaam Remi, who also produced “Legendary (Mike Tyson),” an awkward audio biography by Nas (not unlike this) that plays during the closing credits. (Nas and Remi, along with Carmelo Anthony, are credited as producers). Read the rest of this entry »