BMF
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Gritty drug-themed biopic isn't for kids.
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BMF
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Based on 2 parent reviews
Great show can't wait to see more
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Bad acting
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What's the Story?
Executive produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and inspired by true events, BMF is a dramatic series about two brothers from South Detroit who built the most prominent drug trafficking and money laundering enterprise in U.S. history. It's the 1980s, and teenager Demetrius "Meech" Flenory (played by his son Demetrius "Lil' Meech" Flenory Jr.) and his younger brother Terry, a.k.a. "Southwest T" (Da'Vinchi) are good-hearted boys living with their hard-working and religious parents Charles and Lucille (Russell Hornsby and Michole Briana White, respectively) and their younger sister Nicole (Laila Pruitt). But their desire to rise up from poverty and enjoy a lifestyle they will never earn by working hard at regular jobs is what motivates them to sell cocaine on the streets. By 1989 the young and successful drug dealers form the Black Mafia Family, and 11 years later they each head up a massive drug distribution network on both sides of the country. To serve as a front for the business, Demetrius also creates a hip-hop label, and begins promoting some high-profile artists. It's a life that brings the enormous wealth and success they've always wanted, but eventually the government catches up to them.
Is It Any Good?
The fictionalized series chronicles the lives of the infamous Flenory brothers, who are known today for their successful drug empire, and for their influence on popular hip-hop culture. BMF contextualizes their actions as the result of living in poverty, and the inability of their honest parents to overcome financial hardship no matter how hard they worked thanks to an inescapable system of socioeconomic disparity. Meanwhile, thanks to Demetrius' entry into the entertainment industry, the promotion of artists like Young Jeezy, and lavish, over-the-top parties, Black Mafia Family has also become the stuff of legend. But BMF successfully humanizes the brothers (Lil' Meech's performance is particularly strong) and reveals how their choices led to the disintegration of their formerly close-knit family. Nonetheless, this series isn't meant to be a cautionary tale, but instead a gritty, but entertaining interpretation of the profitable underworld in which they both willingly operated.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Parents can talk about the reasons the Flenory brothers give for trafficking drugs. Do they justify what they did? Given their family's financial situation, what other options did they have for escaping a life of poverty?
Does BMF glorify the drug trade? Or does it realistically portray what drug trafficking is like? How does BMF's association with the hip-hop entertainment community affect the way they are viewed by people outside of law enforcement?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 26, 2021
- Cast: Demetrius , Da'Vinchi , Russell Hornsby , Michole Briana White
- Network: Starz
- Genre: Drama
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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