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LisaRaye, Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, A.J. Johnson, Ice Cube ... see more see more... , Alex Thomas , Jamie Foxx , Chrystale Wilson , Adele Givens , Larry McCoy , Dick Anthony Williams , Tommy 'Tiny' Lister , John Amos , Faizon Love , Terrence Howard , Charlie Murphy , Judyann Elder , Anthony Johnson

Rapper/ actor Ice Cube directed this urban comedy-drama about African-American single mother Diana (Lisa Raye), who aims for a career as a broadcast journalist. To finance her education, she works as ... read more read more...a stripper at the raucous Players Club, run by hustler Dollar Bill (Bernie Mac). When naive Ebony (Monica Calhoun), Diana's young cousin, also signs on at the club, Ronnie (Chrystale Wilson) attempts to lead Ebony into prostitution, creating conflicts, while club deejay Blue (Jamie Foxx) begins dating Diana. This film is Ice Cube's feature directorial debut; he also scripted and appears in a supporting role. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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81% liked it

27,597 ratings

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31% liked it

16 critics

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Ice Cube

Release Date: April 8, 1998

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DVD Release Date: September 14, 1999

Stats: 1,110 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,110)

  • sanjurosamurai
    November 23, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    had some funny moments, but bot great by any means
  • Fascade518
    March 24, 2007
    Fascade518
    Definitely a must have classic for your collection...A woman must come to terms against all odds in making a living. the jokes and the cast are real.
  • thirdway821
    May 9, 2010
    thirdway821
    Ice Cube could be a serious filmmaker if he wanted to. The Players Club is a very good film about one working as stripper making more money and it's also about it's downfall and watching out for one's cousin. I especially like the character Ronnie played by Chrystale Wilson who b... read morerings realness and such ferocity to her character. Ice Cube also wrote this picture uses an all star cast, voice over narration, music, and comedy. I give him credit.
  • DaneYoussef
    December 11, 2010
    DaneYoussef
    by Dane Youssef


    "YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY IN THE STRIPPING GAME"


    And in the film industry. But the movies about the stripping game don't seem to. They never seem to be well-made, or even much fun. Why not? What's going on here? The characters and plot are so non-existent, ... read morethey fall under the category of pornos without sex.


    And who wants to see that?


    Such cinema on the art form as "Showgirls" and "Striptease" made one wish the makers had followed pornography by example and not tried to have a plot. Multi-Razzie-winning schlockola only to be enjoyed only on the late-night UHF channel 93 super-cheese corn Ed Wood, Jr. level.


    Good readers, take a deeeeep breath of relief that "The Players Club" has a slightly higher-quality of strip than glitzy dives like "Showgirls" and "Striptease." Not quite the British Oscar contender level of "The Full Monty," but not quite a "Striptease."


    Written and directed by old-school rap superstar Ice Cube, "The Players Club" is a posh, yet harsh feature dealing with women needing big money really fast and undergo a whole lifestyle change in order to get it. Stripping changes who they are all over.

    But hey--everybody needs money. Everyone wants to make more. That's the point of money. Even if you're Donald Trump, every single dollar there is... just isn't enough. We've all heard of the girl who turns trick in order as a last resort.


    There are women who get into stripping 'cause they want the worship, the adoration. To control every man in the room--and her career.


    But there are those who just need to make a lot of money really, really fast. When we meet Diana (LisaRaye), she's just had a fight with her father over which college she should go to. He throws her out. She leans on a guy for support. He gives her more than that. He gives her a child. Then he leaves with nothing.


    A single black woman raising a baby on her own with no means. Such a sad, familiar story. So familiar, it makes it all the sadder.


    To make ends meet, she gets a job at a thrift shoe-shop. Some strippers come in and tell her there are ways of making more money--much, much more. And in high demand. You're in charge of your career, your clientele, yourself. Diana is suddenly in charge of her own life--and may have all the means she needs.


    The club that comes recommended by the strippers is "The Players Club," a ritzy posh gentleman's club it Atlanta, run by a pimp daddy named Dollar Bill. The place is always hopping like a hornytoad on hop with the kind of people you would like to get to know.


    "Players" has a lot of the same gimmicks as "Striptease." One can only wonder... did The Ice Man see that movie... just before he wrote up this?


    Big black contenders, buddies of the Iceman pop up. The reliable likes of Bernie Mac, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, Fazion Love, A.J. Johnson, Terrence Howard, Big Boy, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister and Michael Clark Duncan.


    A lot of this is pretty warmed-over. But despite the blaxploitation roots and intentions, "Players Club" boasts and A-list cast and production values, thanks to the powerful status name of The Ice Cube and New Line Cinema.


    LisaRaye gets a C-plus in her lead debut. Cube is quoted as saying he hired some fresh-face newbie actress so as his debut as filmmaker would be the important part, not a big name star-vehicle where the star names get all the notice.


    Also green is Chrystale Wilson, making an ideal villainess as Ronnie. In scene after scene, she defines the "dominatrix." And as it goes without saying, the dominatrix dominates her every scene. Now THIS is blaxploitation.


    Ronnie is another grand larceny scene-stealer that falls under the old movie saying of "the villains have the most fun--and ARE the most fun."


    Bernie Mac takes this comic relief and makes it a plum. In the rich role of Dollar Bill, here is a man who is a club owner dressed like a pimp Don King (which is redundant), speaking like with a lot of philosophical wisdom that one picks up on the street, from the school of hard knocks. Business-wise, deep, yet ghetto.


    Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx of "Ray" fame got his start in the biz as a stand-up comic and here as the solid supporting man love interest, the club's DJ Blue, it might've served him (and the freakin' movie) had he had dug up some of his archive bits from his "Def Jam" days.


    You wouldn't think the DJ at a strip club would be especially important (Bill even tells Blue that to his face at one point), but he proves to be the very thing that Diana needs--even pulling it all together in the final act.


    John Amos and Faizon Love are a buddy cop-pair have that Mutt-and-Jeff shtick going with Amos playing it straight and Love going for laughs. Amos as the ultimate hard cop, never coming close to smiling.


    I really did enjoy this more than the last two "Friday" movies and Cube's "All About The Benjamins."


    The Iceman himself has a running bit part as Reggie, a one of the regulars at "The Player's Club"--a hired thug and dabbles in some recreational crime for his own sake, like soliciting sex. He's friends with Clyde and Ronnie's brother, Junior.


    Though there are times when Cube's stuff feels tired, his stuff underdeveloped. He's credited also as executive producer, which I think means he green-lit his own project. Sometimes, it pays to have an objective eye. Couldn't Cube's old director from "Boyz 'N' The Hood" John Singelton have come on down to give his former "Doughboy" some sage filmmaking advice?


    The best thing "The Players Club" does is make a lot of its characters colorful and eccentric while keeping a lot of them fairly human. Cube tries to juggle, not making it a specific genre--but a "life film." His movie is comedy, drama, thriller, and action flick...


    "Players" has Mr. Ice donning the solo hat here--as screenwriter, executive producer, director and supporting actor. The likes of Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch did all this. What made them so special? They could.


    No classic, no picture belonging on the AFI's 100 Best, no one's absolute favorite of all time. But still worth seeing.


    If no else, after seeing this one, you're sure of two things: stripping is a profession that pays big for a reason--there are rites of passage and perils.


    You may never think the same again when you hit the strip joints, offer up that dollar you're waving into the air... and just who it goes to.


    Despite it's blaxploitation roots, "Player's Club" mostly tries to sidestep a lot of opportunities to exploit or go for the really campy crap that helped earlier "white-stripper" movies get some viewers. But there's some camp here and there--all unintentional, I'm sure. The Cube ain't Spike Lee.


    I wish Cube's partner-in-crime Chris Tucker from "Friday" would've popped-up at some point. Tucker is on par with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as a comic presence.


    He's such talent, he's can bring even the deadest scene to life. Ol' Smokey nearly made "Friday" a must-see, he could've made this all the better.


    There are times when Cube doesn't capture the energy he needs to. As director, he sometimes seems to be just recording. The camera is on auto-pilot rather than capturing a mood.


    And blaxploitation is still alive, still thriving...


    --A Believer in Big, Bad Black Cinema, Dane Youssef



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  • tmannamt
    November 8, 2010
    tmannamt
    "Showgirls 'N DA HOOD" - but instead of glamorizing the lifestyle of erotic dancing, in this you get a strong view on why some women resort to doing a job like this; for the money, you feel for the main characters in this, Ice Cube does a great job balancing the drama that's moti... read morevating the story and the motivation of pursuing the job of this nature :) and having some really funny moments thanks largely from Bernie Mac's performance as an eccentric club owner.
  • earthwindfire82
    September 26, 2010
    earthwindfire82
    If you are expecting Oscar caliber performances...you do NOT need to see this movie. It is, however, a very entertaining movie. You are going to laugh and quote this movie long after you've finished watching it. I'm DOLLAR BILL! CHI-TOWN! AIN'T PAYING THESE COUNTRY BOYS NOTHI... read moreN! NOTHIN!
  • toxxicgoddess
    November 21, 2009
    toxxicgoddess
    Ice Cube did a nice job with this film. Jamie Foxx and Lisa Raye did a wonderful job . But Monica Calhoun stole the show . A strong cast acted nicely and put together well with a strong story about family and loyality.
  • khalbone
    February 12, 2009
    khalbone
    players club is about a stripper name Diamond who's a single mother tryin to finish college, although she has alot of drama in her life such as competing with stripper jelous, her cousin sleepin with her man. its a real trip but it will keep you clued to the tube, this movie has... read more alot of headliners like Jamie foxx, the late Bernie Mac, ice cube, charlie murphy, lisa raye, uncle luke, michael clark duncan, terrence howard man i can keep goin. A Bomazz flik a must have
  • BlackPrince64
    July 8, 2008
    BlackPrince64
    I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MOVIE BECAUSE IT TELLS YOU HOW MENTALLY TOUGH YOU HAVE TO BE INSIDE IF YOU WANT TO LAST IN A INDUSTRY LIKE THE PLAYERS CLUB....
  • JaredsBaby
    April 12, 2008
    JaredsBaby
    ok...this was about a women working her way through college as a dancer at a strip club has been done before.

View All The Players Club Reviews

Critic Reviews

Philip Martin
January 29, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

... better than Showgirls * *But mister, please * *I'm afraid it falls a little bit short of Striptease. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
October 10, 2001
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Showgirlz 'n the Hood. Full Review

Maitland McDonagh
January 1, 2000
Maitland McDonagh, Film Journal International

Feisty, funky, sympathetic without being condescending to the bad hand dealt many single mothers, and rudely funny to boot. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

A bit uneven but works a lot better as a serious drama than its individual ingredients would make it appear to be. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jay Carr
January 1, 2000
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

No review available.

Peter Stack
January 1, 2000
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Click to read the article Full Review

Susan Stark
January 1, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

Click to read the article Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Click to read the article Full Review

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Facts

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    • Blue: We got a two drink minimum, and water don't count.
    • Blue: Now if you lookin for some fine asses... you need to keep on lookin. But if you lookin for the hoes wit bullet holes, cigarette burns and stab wounds, you in the right damn spot, and it all goes down here at: The Player's Club.
    • Diana Armstrong/Diamond: Make the money, don't let the money make you.
    • St. Louis: Do something to make me feel better.
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The Players Club : Watch Free on TV

The Players Club Trivia

  • Which movie was Jamie Foxx cast as a DJ name Blue?  Answer »
  • This movie stars Dean Cain, Zach Braff, Timothy Olyphant, Andrew Keegan, and John Mahoney as gay softball players and the gay fatherly resturaunt owner who sponsors them.  Answer »
  • What actress played on the show "All of Us" and the movie "Player's Club"?  Answer »
  • Name the movie which has these actors starring in it: Bernie Mac Jamie Foxx Ice Cube Anthony Johnson   Answer »
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