"Gridlock'd" Opens: Praise for Tupac, No. 1 for the Soundtrack

On January 29, 1997, Gridlock’d arrived in U.S. theaters. Tupac stars as Spoon, one of two heroin-addicted musicians in Detroit who attempt to enter a rehab program in a single day and fail due to bureaucracy. His co-star is Tim Roth, and actor Vondie Curtis Hall directed. On opening night, the film opened the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as a gala premiere.

The Role Against the Image

The Los Angeles Times critic wrote that it was hardly possible to hear Spoon’s line about running out of luck without thinking of the intersection in Las Vegas. Tupac played against his image as the gentler of the two junkies and had the easy presence of a young Wesley Snipes.

The Death Row soundtrack stood at No. 1 on the Billboard chart of February 15. At the box office, however, the film fell short of expectations: It grossed only 5.5 million dollars. The magazine collects the critical reviews: “Gridlock’d”: Praise for Tupac as an Actor.