I looked forward to the release of Gimme the Loot. Noel Murray, a critic I typically trust, suggested that it "has an energy that's been missing from independent film lately" and is "a bright lively movie, with a vision of New York as a multicultural free-for-all, where everybody's always looking to see what they can take from everybody else." Unfortunately, Gimme the Loot didn't quite match this recommendation. Instead of something fresh or exciting, I saw a familiar coming of age tale set in a sometimes-theatrical/sometimes-realistic New York.
In the film, Malcolm (Ty Hickson) and Sofia (Tashiana Washington) wander through New York, raiding various sources to scrounge up enough cash to bribe a Citi Field guard who will let them in to tag the Mets' apple (the Holy Grail of tagging, we're told in the opening credits). In the process, though, they end up learning a little something about life. Malcom delivers weed to and makes out with a scion of the 1% (Zoe Lescaze), but after he develops feelings for her, she embarrasses him in front of her aristocratic friends in a way that seems unrealistically cruel (addressing him as "drug dealer" rather than "Malcolm"). The scenes with her - and she ends up strangely occupying a decent amount of the film's running time - make obvious points about cultures clashing, but this interaction doesn't reveal anything new. As Malcolm and Sofia continue their quest, they grow closer than just tagging buddies, but the energy of Hickson and Washington keeps the film from sinking beneath standard life lessons/romance plot elements.