3 of 5 paws

As crack comes into the picture in the early '90s, the game gets even bigger, and so do the stakes. He gets together with his childhood sweetheart, Charlene (Joy Bryant), but ends up in jail just as she discovers she is pregnant.

In jail, he meets his future manager Bama, played by Terrence Howard. After his stint in jail and the birth of his son, he decides to give up his life of crime and becomes the rap artist Young Caesar.

Unfortunately for the film's star, Howard outshines Jackson in every frame they share.

This is the case with almost all Jackson's co-stars.

In some respect, 50 picked a hard role because he is essentially playing himself, which is the most self-conscious role. There are moments when 50 strays from his hardcore gangsta image, and we hear his true laugh and believe his infectious smile. For the most part though, his acting is as stale and as closed as his mouth. But honestly, I am not sure if in this particular vehicle it matters.

This is a movie about a celebrity. Yes, it's a story. Yes, the characters are "fictional," but the truth is that nobody is watching Marcus. You are watching 50 Cent tell his story. So it doesn't matter if as an actor he isn't Al Pacino, or even Eminem.

But Get Rich or Die Tryin's biggest issue is that it's unclear what this movie is about. The respect between gangstas, the love of the right woman, men who look like Rick James, rapping, or, as the title suggests, the pursuit of happiness in the form of the good ole $100 bill are all themes.

The movie is beautifully shot and set most appropriately -- one of Sheridan's finest qualities as a director. But after the first third of the film, Winter's story line desperately starts to drag, and it loses it's grasp on the main character's central motive.

While I will say this, the ultimate test of a movie is whether it was able to absorb you, make you forget where you were sitting and who you are.

When I walked out of the movie theater at the end of the two hours and 10 minutes, I was hit with that feeling when you've seen a movie that takes place in a world so different from yours that you need a minute to re-establish your bearings. And it was in that moment I decided that no matter how much I may want to be a gangsta rapper/drug dealer, I'd rather just get middle class and not die trying.