The Players Club
| The Players Club | |
|---|---|
| File:Players club dvd cover.gif The movie cover for The Players Club. | |
| Directed by | Ice Cube |
| Written by | Ice Cube |
| Produced by | Patricia Charbonnet Carl Craig Ice Cube (executive producer) |
| Starring | Bernie Mac Monica Calhoun Anthony Johnson Ice Cube Alex Thomas Faizon Love Charlie Murphy Adele Givens Chrystale Wilson Tracey Cherelle Jones Terrence Howard Larry McCoy Ronn Riser Badja Djoja Dick Anthony Williams Tommy Lister, Jr. Introducing LisaRaye McCoy with Jamie Foxx and John Amos Luther "Luke" Campbell |
| Music by | Frank Fitzpatrick |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates | April 8, 1998 |
Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5,000,000 (estimated) |
For the New York actor's club, see Players Club.
The Players Club is a 1998 comedy/drama film from New Line Cinema starring LisaRaye McCoy, Bernie Mac, and Jamie Foxx. Ice Cube, who has a small role in the film, wrote and made his directorial debut. The movie made over $18 million in the opening week. The movie has grossed a total of $40 million.
Tagline: Make the money, don't let it make you.
Plot
Diana Armstrong also known as Diamond(LisaRaye McCoy), a young, unwed mother struggles to make enough money to pay for her college education. Diana ends up working at a shoe store, when she meets Ronnie (Chrystale Wilson) and Tricks (Adele Givens), two strippers that work at a sassy strip club. Tricks tells Diana that she should "use what she got, to get what she wants" and make some fast money. Diana goes to the hip and saucy "The Players Club." Dollar Bill (Bernie Mac), the owner of the club allows Diana to work and gives her the name Diamond. Diana's cousin, Ebony (Monica Calhoun) wants to work at The Players Club and gets caught up in the fast life. Ebony has been gone a lot and Diana finds out that Ebony has been doing "things" other than stripping. So Diana advises her to steer clear of Ronnie and Tricks. One night, when Diana comes home, an obsessed fan named Myron stalks and nearly attacks her. Diana runs in and finds her boyfriend Lance (Montae Russell) and Ebony in bed together. Diana kicks her out and breaks up with Lance. Angry with Ebony's betrayal, Diana decides to go out on a date with a DJ from the club, Blue (Jamie Foxx) and severs all ties with Ebony. Ronnie manipulates Ebony into going to her brother Junior's bachelor party. Ebony is brutally beaten and raped by Junior. Diana and Blue find her and call the cops. Diana goes to The Players Club and confronts Ronnie. The two women end up getting into a catfight, which Diana wins. After the fight a mob boss named St. Louis who has been hounding Dollar Bill for his cash comes to The Players Club and threatens everyone to get out. Dollar Bill then tries to escape through the back door of his club, but then gets ambushed and kidnapped by St. Louis and his crew, thus the declaration, "It's time to hear that pop." Afterwards the club is then destroyed and burned to the ground. Meanwhile, Ronnie and Tricks are arrested on warrants, and Junior is arrested for Ebony's rape. At the end, Ebony, who has been working at the same shoe store Diana worked at, moves back to Tallahassee, Florida. Ronnie and Tricks work at another strip club called "Club Sugar Daddy's." Junior served time for Ebony's rape and he never did get married. St. Louis and his crew still run the South. Lil' Man, Dollar Bill's sidekick, opened his own strip club in Chicago. Reggie and Clyde were last in Atlanta during the Freaknik. As for Dollar Bill, he is never seen or heard from ever again, being left to assume that he was murdered. In the end, Diana graduated from college and became a news anchorwoman, Blue is a top DJ now, him and Diamond are still together.
Cast
Bernie Mac- Dollar Bill
LisaRaye McCoy- Diamond/Diana
Monica Calhoun- Ebony
Jamie Foxx- Blue
Chrystale Wilson- Ronnie
Adele Givens- Tricks
Anthony Johnson- Lil Man
Ice Cube- Reggie
Alex Thomas- Clyde
Faizon Love- Officer Peters
John Amos- Officer Freeman
Charlie Murphy- Brooklyn
Montae Russell - Lance
Terrence Howard- K.C.
Luke Skyywalker- Himself
Kenya D. Williamson- Student
Original Soundtrack
A successful soundtrack was released on March 17, 1998, peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It featured artists such as Ice Cube, DMX, Master P and Jay-Z, among others.