Michael Foster-Sanders
editor-in-chief
“Charm City Kings” tells the tale of childhood friends Mouse, Lamont and Sweartagawd growing up in Baltimore while trying to avoid the pitfalls that urban youth face.
Being a young Black teenager with a broken family structure is a reality that many Black youth deal with in America daily. With the lack of positive influences in their life, it’s always the chance that one bad decision could cost them their future.
Charm City Kings depicts this story well without being sappy or hokey.
Mouse is the product of a single-parent household where love is plentiful, but resources are scarce. He has a knack for animals, which lands him an under-the-table job at his local animal shelter. His mentor Detective Rivers helped him get it.
The teen also has a passion for illegal dirt bike riding, something he picked up from his older brother who was killed in an accident.
Mouse purchased a low quality all-terrain vehicle — he plans to carry on his brother’s legacy by joining the Midnight Clique, who owns the streets when it comes to illegal dirt bike riding. After trying to impress his friends at the dirt bike show that MC hosted and wrecking out in the process, Mouse is spotted by his brother’s mentor Blax, the leader of the MC.
Blax is played by rapper Meek Mill. He decides to take Mouse under his wing after being belittled by the other crew members for asking to be a part of the gang. Between peer pressure, home issues and a secret that might tear Mouse and Blax bond apart, this could be Mouse’s last summer alive.
Produced by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, this movie shows the importance of influence in children’s lives, good and bad, how inner city youths are not the stereotypes that are portrayed, and that just because a person may have a negative past it does not mean they can’t make a positive impact on another person’s life.
The acting by teenager Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Mouse is top notch and realistic because it depicts a multi-faceted inner city youth who has growing pains with what he’s dealing with in his day-to-day life becoming a young man. Meek Mill does an excellent job with a sinner-turned-mentor who is really playing himself. It shows that he drew from the changes in his life after past legal issues, which turned him into a philanthropist and a mentor — it makes Blax a memorable character that will leave an impression long after the movie is over.
Charm City Kings is not a perfect movie because it doesn’t show how Black boys are put in situations where they feel like they have to take responsibility for the household when things go awry, but what it does do well makes it a movie that should be watched at least once.
