The Players Club

For the New York actor's club, see The Players.

Players Club
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ice Cube
Written by	Ice Cube
Produced by	Patricia Charbonnet Carl Craig Ice Cube (also executive producer)
Starring	Bernie Mac LisaRaye Monica Calhoun Jamie Foxx
Cinematography	Malik Hassan Sayeed
Edited by	Suzanne Hines
Music by	Frank Fitzpatrick
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	April 8, 1998
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5 million
Box office	$23,261,485

The Players Club is a 1998 comedy/drama thriller film from New Line Cinema starring Bernie Mac, LisaRaye, and Jamie Foxx. Ice Cube, who has a small role in the film, wrote and made his directorial debut. The movie was released on April 8, 1998. The movie made $5,894,607 in its opening week. Its box office grossed total came to $23,261,485

Plot

Diana Armstrong (LisaRaye), 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 shady bisexual strippers that work for Dolla Bill (Bernie Mac) at The Players Club. They convince Diana she would make better money stripping, by saying "use what you got to get what you want". Dolla Bill gives Diana a job, giving her the name Diamond. Everything is fine until four years into the game her cousin Ebony Armstrong (Monica Calhoun) comes to live with her. After listening to Dolla's rendition of "The Strippin' Game", she starts working at the club.

Ebony is soon out of control, excessively drinking, staying out all night and influenced more and more by Ronnie and Tricks, who encourage Ebony to do more out-of-club parties for groups of men. Diana tries to warn Ebony to stay away from "those two" and quit doing house parties, but Ebony declines being told what to do, choosing to ignore Diana's advice as well as cold-heartedly reminding her about the time when Ronnie sexually took advantage of Diana when she was passed out at a previous party. Meanwhile, when a famous rapper, Luke, comes to the strip club, Reggie (Ice Cube) and his friend Clyde (Alex Thomas) are discussing about him. Clyde tries to meet Luke but his bodyguard (Michael Clarke Duncan) informs Clyde that Luke is trying to relax. Clyde insults the bodyguard, inadvertently causing him to hit Clyde in the back of his head as he leaves, barely fracturing his skull and leaving him unconscious. In retaliation, Reggie beats down the bodyguard and fights against Luke and his friends, only for him to be defeated and thrown into a glass pavement. The dazed Reggie then opens fire wildly before being knocked unconscious by the bouncer XL (Tiny Lister). Further tension develops between Ebony and Diana when Diana returns home one night after fleeing her obsessive customer Myrin, to find Ebony in bed with her boyfriend Lance. Diana chases Lance out with her gun, shooting at him several times. Diana's rage threatens and taunts on Ebony, and Diana feigns out. Ebony is hit and is thrown out the apartment.

Diana then begins dating Blue (Jamie Foxx), a DJ at the Player's Club. Meanwhile, Ebony is offered a gig to dance at Ronnie's brother Junior's (Samuel Monroe Jr.) bachelor party, under the pretense from Ronnie that other girls from the club will be dancing there too. When she realizes that she will be the only woman there in a hotel room full of hungry men, she desperately tries calling Diana to come and pick her up, but Diana doesn't, still being mad with her. Reggie and Clyde, both feeling dissed by Diana and Ebony from a previous encounter, lie to Junior that Ebony will have sex with him, claiming that they "ran a train" on her. Excited, Junior bursts in on Ebony while she is changing. Ebony resists, prompting Junior to beat her. Soon, Reggie, Clyde and the other guests leaves. Ronnie discovers Ebony unconscious and she and Junior flee the hotel room as she taunts him. Later, Diana has a change of heart and she and Blue decide to check up on Ebony at the hotel, only to discover her bloody and unconscious body on a bed.

This proves to be the last straw to Diana, who was growing tired of the stripper game anyway. Angered, she grabs her gun and goes to the Players Club, where Ronnie and Tricks are hiding out. After scaring the other strippers away by firing a warning shot for them to be excused, Diana gives the gun to Blue to cover her while she gets into a brutal fistfight with Ronnie, leaving Ronnie badly beaten. She personally quits in front of Dolla Bill, punches Tricks and leaves along with Blue. Ronnie and Tricks are arrested by the police on charges of the rape of Ebony and Diamond and Junior has been picked up as well. Junior served time for Ebony's rape. Later that night, Diana's timing proves to be perfect when a gangster who Dolla Bill owes money to, the wheelchair-bound St. Louis, comes to collect. He personally shoots up the club (though he does give warning to the customers beforehand, allowing them to leave). After his thugs grab Dolla and throw him into the trunk of a car, St. Louis has his henchman Brooklyn (Charlie Murphy) destroy the club with a LAW rocket.

Dolla was never heard from again (it can be assumed that he was murdered, as the thugs kidnapped him earlier in the film and attempted to kill him then but it failed). Tricks and Ronnie were released and began working at Club Sugar Daddy's. Junior served time and never got married. A year passes afterward and Diana has moved on with her life. She's gotten Ebony a job working at a shoe store. She continues to date Blue, and has become a successful news anchor of the city.

Cast

• Bernie Mac as Dollar Bill: the dim owner of The Players Club who is threatened by a loan shark name St. Louis as Dollar Bill has yet to pay him.
• LisaRaye as Diana "Diamond" Armstrong: a college worker who is employed at The Players Club to raise for her college funds as she aspires herself into becoming a journalist.
• Monica Calhoun as Ebony: Diamond's younger cousin who becomes sensibly out-of-control after being employed in The Players Club.
• Jamie Foxx as Blue: the club's radio disc jockey and Diamond's love interest of the film.
• Chrystale Wilson as Ronnie: A stripper at The Players Club who rivals against Diamond as she aids Ebony.
• Adele Givens as Tricks: A stripper at The Players Club and a right-hand of Ronnie.
• Anthony Johnson as Lil Man: the club's doorman who is frequently taunted by St. Louis and his crooks when he covers up for Dollar Bill's absences.
• Faizon Love as Officer Peters: a police officer who harrasses suspects.
• John Amos as Officer Freeman: another police officer who harrasses suspects.
• Charlie Murphy as Brooklyn: St. Louis' main henchman.
• Montae Russell as Lance: Diamond's boyfriend who she ended her relationship with due to his attraction towards Ebony.
• Ice Cube as Reggie: a regular who is somehow working for St. Louis and has affection towards Ebony.
• Samuel Monroe Jr. as Junior: Ronnie's younger brother.
• Alex Thomas as Clyde: Reggie's best friend who, like Reggie, has an affection towards Ebony and works for St. Louis.
• Terrence Howard as K.C.: St. Louis' secondary henchman and Brooklyn's partner in crime.
• Luther Campbell as Luke: a rapper who visits the club.
• Tiny Lister as XL the Bouncer: a tall, muscular bouncer of the club.
• Michael Clarke Duncan as Bodyguard: the tall, muscular bodyguard for Luke.

Soundtrack

Main article: The Players Club (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.

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 5. It went's on to gross $23,047,939 Domestically, and $213,546 in Foreign Markets. For a total Lifetime gross of $23,261,485.

Trivia

• This is the second time Bernie Mac and Ice Cube have worked together. The first was Friday and the third time was Ice Cube guest starring on The Bernie Mac Show.
• This film marks the screen debut of LisaRaye.
• This was Bernie Mac's first starring / lead role.
• The first time Ebony is introduced Lance and Jamal are in the living room watching Friday as Diana was studying. Ice Cube, Bernie Mac, Faizon Love, Tiny Lister and A.J. Johnson starred in Friday.
• In the scene where Officers Peters and Freeman are looking for Dollar Bill. Lil' Man tells Officer Freeman "You look just like the father from Good Times". John Amos, who plays Officer Freeman, actually played James Evans on the show for three seasons until the character was killed off.
• This is the first time that Jamie Foxx and Terrence Howard worked together, the second being the film Ray. This is also the first time that Howard and Mac worked together, the second being the film Pride.
• This is the second time that Jamie Foxx and Bernie Mac worked together, the first being the film Booty Call.

External links

• The Players Club at Box Office Mojo
• The Players Club at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Players Club at IMDb