Sucker Free City is a 2004 crime drama television film directed by Spike Lee.[1] The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a Showtime television series, but Showtime declined to pick up the series. The film was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and was subsequently broadcast on television on the Showtime Network.

Sucker Free City
DVD cover
Directed bySpike Lee
Written byAlex Tse
Produced byPreston Holmes
StarringBen Crowley
Ken Leung
Anthony Mackie
CinematographyCésar Charlone
Edited byBarry Alexander Brown
Music byTerence Blanchard
Distributed byShowtime Network
Release date
  • September 16, 2004 (2004-09-16)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The title of the film derives from "Sucka Free", a slang term in reference to the city often used by natives of Hunters Point and The Fillmore. The term was popularized by the rappers San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga (who has a cameo in the film) and most notably the song "Sucka Free" from Rappin' 4-Tay's 1994 album Don't Fight the Feelin'.

Synopsis

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The film follows three young men as they are drawn into lives of crime. Nick (Crowley) uses his entry-level corporate job to commit credit card fraud and deals drugs on the side. K-Luv (Mackie) is a member of the "V-Dubs" ("Visitacion Valley Mafia"), an African-American street gang. Lincoln (Leung) is a rising figure in the Chinese mafia.

Gentrification forces Nick's family to move out of their home in the Mission District into Hunter's Point, where they are harassed by the V-Dubs. K-Luv's side business of selling bootleg compact discs leads him to enlist Nick's help to bootleg CDs and to negotiate a truce with Lincoln. Lincoln conducts an affair with his boss's daughter Angela (Carpio), a Stanford student engaged to medical student classmate Edwin (Chung).

Cast

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Actor Role
Ben Crowley Nick Wade
Anthony Mackie K-Luv (Keith)
Ken Leung Lincoln Ma
Darris Love Sleepy
Laura Allen Samantha Wade
T.V. Carpio Angela Tsing
Kathy Baker Cleo Wade
James Hong Kwok
Lamont Bentley Ahmir
Ewan Chung Edwin Leong
Omari Hardwick Dante Ponce
Marguerite Moreau Jessica Epstein
Judy Pace Mama June
Emilio Rivera Detective Zepada
John Savage Anderson Wade
Eddie Shin Michael
Malieek Straughter Leon
Jim Brown Don Strickland
George Cheung Mr. Tsing
Chi Moui Lo Tuk
Milo Stokes Lil' O
J.T. The Bigga Figga Killa Ski

References

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  1. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (July 8, 2003). "A young scriptwriter raised in San Francisco hooks up with Spike Lee to give Showtime a new show -- 'Sucker Free City.' Cable-car free, too". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
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