Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp

R

2012

1 hr. 29 min.

Documentary

Biography

List

67%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim tells about having reinvented himself, making the transition from pimp to groundbreaking author.

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michelle c

Seriously, enough already. There's just no way to emphasize how truly ridiculous Ice Tee is and his utter fascination with pimpetry. Yes that's a word. For any man to think that he is so talented to "make" a stable of women who are not meant to be whores or who don't have the propensity to be whores somewhere in their subconscious minds - is a d*am fool. But misogynists love to feel responsible for all of their treacherous deeds so perhaps I should just mind my business and let them. This is an awful documentary that shows us, if we would just look deeper, how foolish and ridiculous a lot of famous men are from the sub-culture of rap, pimping, and everything else. To glorify and even classify Iceberg Slim as a genius is laughable. I'm not sure what kind of IQ is required to enjoy a story about a pimp who was never found dead, but go ahead and try. I found this film to be awful.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

When he went from pimp to author & thus from remorseless to remorseful he became a sympathetic person to my sensibilities in this biopic. Normally there's few things that disgust & enrage me more than a pimp. This film really made me feel empathy (as though he deserved it).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting look at an important figure but could have used more excerpts from the books and albums to show what it was that was so great about them rather then just have everyone saying they were great.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Thinly veiled hagiography that doesn't go beyond what you can easily glean from Pimp: The Story of My Life.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

As surmised from the title, this one is about "the struggle". Surprisingly, it's ultimately about the *artist's* struggle and the (anti)hero's journey. A bit superficial and more of a "fanpic" than anything but good stuff for the uninitiated like myself.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This person deserves a better documentary. Still, the film serves as an advert for a much better book so it's doing something right.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

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Cary Darling

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

[Dierctor Jorge] Hinojosa does a good job of showing Iceberg's humanity without glossing over the viciousness of his chosen profession.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 15, 2013

Full Review

Farran Smith Nehme

New York Post

The film succeeds as an introduction to Beck the writer but is undercut by its lack of gritty details.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 18, 2013

Full Review

Miriam Bale

New York Times

The film is weighed down by the testimony of bespectacled professors from hip critical studies and English departments and a psychologist, who describe Mr. Beck's biography without the punch and lyricism of his prose.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 18, 2013

Full Review

Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

An illuminating and entertaining documentary.

Rated: B+

Sep 18, 2021

Full Review

Joyce Slaton

Common Sense Media

Docu admires and glamorizes pimping with celeb interviews.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 22, 2014

Full Review

Brent Simon

Shockya.com

The question of how deep a scumbag's amends must run hangs uneasily over the entire movie, which awkwardly straddles the line between amiable hagiography and a more discerning sociological study.

Rated: B-

Jul 24, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim tells about having reinvented himself, making the transition from pimp to groundbreaking author.

Director: Jorge Hinojosa
Executive Producer: Jorge Hinojosa, Ice-T
Production Co: Final Level Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Violent Images|Sexual Content)
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016

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