Idlewild is visually arresting and captures the same anachronistic joy of a Baz Luhrmann film and at times, exceeds his flair for daring by convincingly sprinkling a dash of magical realism, but the story is mostly crap and cliche. Bryan Barber should stop writing and just direct. Any musical sequence in Idlewild (not including Paula Patton) was electrifying. I preferred Big Boi’s musical sequences, but Andre Benjamin’s acting. Macy Gray does not get enough screen time. Cameos by Patti Labelle & Cicely Tyson! There is enough genius that I would suggest renting it, but be prepared to liberally fast forward (7:55-9:12, 10-10:47 Macy Gray-some nudity; 14:16-18:25 Big Boi and 1 hour 51 mins until the end Andre Benjamin performs). If you watch the whole thing, Idlewild will feel painfully long.