THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 7, 1996 TAG: 9611070037
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 79 lines
QUEEN LATIFAH, as befits her name, is a big woman.
The rapper-turned-actress is an imposing figure as she enters the room, backed by two bodyguards.
She is not here to offer small talk. She is here to talk about ``Set It Off,'' the tough new movie that some critics have already described as the Butch and Sundance of girlz in the 'hood.
If so, Queen Latifah has the tough-guy role as Cleo, the leader of a four-woman band of bank robbers.
``Look at the burden this woman is carrying,'' Latifah announces. ``This woman has seen the death of her friends. She's lost everything because of money. Money shouldn't be that important, but it is. Try getting along without it sometime, and you'll see. Brother, you'll see.''
Latifah's advance defense anticipates the controversy that ``Set It Off'' is likely to percolate. Four women from the 'hood are pictured as heroines when they buck the system and randomly rob banks in Los Angeles. Before the robberies, each of the women face oppression. One is unfairly fired by a sleazy employer. Others are regularly oppressed by shiftless and heartless boyfriends, or fathers who have deserted them. They have no foreseeable way to escape.
But is the movie saying that oppressed folks consequently have the right to rob banks? And to casually kill innocent bystanders?
``It's one story - not all stories,'' Latifah said. ``You should have seen it before I made them change it. It was rougher. It was more violent. It was a little too rough for me to play. Cleo, my character, was out of control in the first draft. ''
F. Gary Gray, the film's director, said, though, that Latifah was his only choice for the fiery Cleo.
Her real name is Dana Owens. As Queen Latifah (a name that means ``delicate and sensitive'' in Arabic), her album ``Black Reign'' made her the first female solo rap singer to achieve gold record status. Her other top-selling albums are ``All Hail the Queen'' and ``Nature of a Sista.''
A Grammy winner, she made a smooth transition to actress in such films as ``Jungle Fever,'' ``Juice,'' ``House Party 2'' and ``My Life.'' On TV, she had a regular role as Khadijah on Fox's series ``Living Single.''
As a businesswoman, she heads the management company Flavor Unit which handles rap stars Naughty By Nature and Outkast as well as Rhythm and Blues artists Monica, SWV, and Groove Theory.
``I was always all-out in anything I did,'' she said. ``Early on, I felt that God had blessed me with a lot of talent - basketball, hip-hopping, dancing. I went all-out for it all.
``My Dad never treated me like a girl. He was a big, hard-nosed cop. Vietnam did a few things to his life. Eventually he left the family, but my mother and I always talked. I was always told to have confidence, and to go for it.''
In ``Set If Off,'' she has a scene in which she is required to kiss another woman. ``It was over in two seconds, so what's the big deal?'' she said. ``That's the role I play. I'm an actor.''
``Set if Off,'' like ``Waiting to Exhale,'' gives black males a rough time. Asked if she feels movies have, perhaps, gone to far in male-bashing, she said ``black males need help more than any other group in the world. That's without question. But so do black females, and there are some unfortunate facts out there - women raising children alone.
``But I don't think this movie is that important, one way or the other. Someone is going to say it glorifies crime. It doesn't glorify anything. It's a desperation case. These women think it would be easier to break out of jail than to break out of the 'hood, so what have they got to lose? That's the way a lot of potential criminals think. What have they got to lose? They think that, and they don't have a quick answer.''
``But, it has to be remembered,'' she added. ``There is no choice without a consquence.''
``This movie is more about friendship than anything else. Cleo loves these other women, and she loves that old 1962 Impala. She sees robbing as a chance to live.''
Queen Latifah won't comment about her arrest last February on charges of carrying a loaded pistol, driving without a license and possession of marijuana. Subsequently, she paid $810 in fines for the first two charges. The marijuana possession charge was never prosecuted.
``I have made public apologies and I have had a wake-up call,'' she said, ``but I feel that I am not necessarily a public image. I am a person, just like everyone else. It's up to me to turn my weaknesses into strengths, and I will.'' by CNB