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Tip “T.I” Harris makes his movie debut in the Chris Robinson film “ATL.” Based on filmmakers Dallas Austin’s and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins’ experiences growing up on Atlanta’s Southside, “ATL” delivers humor and real-life tragedies and shows the love between brothers.
Rashad Swann (Harris) is a 12th-grader six weeks from graduation and facing more responsibility than a 30-year-old. If he is not working at his Uncle George’s cleaning service, he is trying to keep his brother out of trouble, all while trying to figure out what he is going to do with his life. His only free time is at the roller rink, Cascade. There, Rashad and his three friends, Esquire, Mr. Ivy League; Teddy, The Big Dreamer; and Brooklyn, the New York native; are trying to take the throne as the Skate Wars Champions.
But while Rashad and his boys are focused on skating, his brother “Ant”(Evan Ross) is only concerned with making money. While Ant is trying to find ways to make money, he runs into Marcus (Big Boi), who enlisted him into his group of drug dealers.
While trying to deal with his brother, Rashad meets “New New” (Lauren London). New New seems to be everything Rashad needs right now, and with everything that is going on with his life, she is the only person he can trust. But after Ant is arrested for selling drugs, everything that was once good starts to cave in on Rashad.
After finding out that his best friend Esquire and his girlfriend New New both withheld the truth about his brother from him, Rashad feels betrayed by everyone around him. He has to get rid of everybody around him to realize how much everyone meant to him. Not knowing what to do, Rashad has to buckle down and start making choices that will change his life.
“ATL” was a pleasant surprise. Since it was starring a rapper, I did not know what to expect, but Harris was great in his role. He fit perfectly, coming from Atlanta; it seemed the role came natural to him. “ATL” had enough comedy to make you laugh but enough drama to give the film serious emotion. There was no slow time; everything seemed to flow at a constant pace. “ATL” is a great teen movie but has enough story to bring in the adults. An interesting fact about “ATL” is that two of the producers were Hollywood heavyweights Antwone Fisher and Will Smith.