Now Streaming on Netflix: End of the Road starring Queen Latifah

Image: Flickering Myth

As usual, any movie Queen Latifah starred in is always something to remember. Recall her memorable roles in movies like Last Holiday, Bringing Down The House, Mad Money, Beauty Shop, and a host of others? Yeah, the rapper and actress has carved a niche for herself in Nollywood, and once you see her name among the casts, you had better sit up. 

End of the Road is a Netflix thriller directed by Millicent Shelton about people doing desperate things, starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris.

In the movie, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ character Reggie finds himself in an isolated roadside motel, staring down a bag full of shrink-wrapped cash stashed near a man left to die. He grabbed the bag without thinking and went with it. He did not consider the lessons learned in movies like No Country for Old Men and A Simple Plan, where easy money comes with a body count.

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End of the Road is unique in that it leans into its Black cast and crew, headlined by Queen Latifah. The movie climaxes with her announcing, “I make my own rules.” However, when that mic drop moment comes, End of the Road has already detoured from an unconvincing thriller about people doing desperate things for a bag of cartel money into territory that’s far more goofy and parodic, though that can be pleasurable in its own right. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching Queen Latifah break free from zip ties with sheer might to beat down a trailer park full of neo-Nazis? What a sight that was!

The beautiful amazonian Queen Latifah plays Brenda, a woman at the end of her rope, mourning her husband, who recently died from cancer. She mortgaged their LA home to afford his chemo. Now he’s gone, and so is their home. She is responsible for her two kids; Kelly (Mychala Faith Lee), a level-headed teenage daughter, and Cam (Shaun Dixon), a preadolescent son and a charmingly irresponsible brother Reggie. She packs them up in their SUV and on their way to Houston.

On their way, they dealt with some roadside microaggressions before stopping at a motel in Arizona, where they heard a commotion and a gunshot in the room next door. At that moment, Brenda announces to her family that she’s an emergency room nurse – as if they didn’t already know – and leaps out to treat the victim to no avail. The victim is also a goon who crosses a cloak-and-dagger villain named Mr. Cross by stealing his money. Reggie is in the mood to do the same.

Image: Mashable

Well into their road trip, but before the money comes into the picture, the family is accosted by two dangerously aggressive racist hillbillies with a rifle in their pickup truck. There’s a game of chicken and then a confrontation on the road. To defuse the situation and ensure the safety of her Black family, Brenda apologizes to them, an extreme humiliation considering what they’ve just been through. When the white men laugh it all off as though they’ve been joking all along, it’s excruciating to watch the soulful, angry, and hurt performance Queen Latifah gives – as if trying to choke down her tears.

This is a movie that has very few authentic moments and plenty of absurd ones. End of the Road is available on Netflix now, go and watch, then drop your comments.

Source: theguardian.com

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