Set It Off

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Set It Off ★★½ 1996 (R)

Lethal “Waiting to Exhale,” finds four female friends in Los Angeles pushed over the edge and taking up bank robbery to escape poverty and strike a blow against “the man.” The felonious, funky divas of crime include Stony (Pinkett, who seems to be having fun with this role) and Latifah as Cleo, in a powerhouse performance. Buttkicking action scenes are most entertaining combined with a soundtrack, including Seal, En Vogue, the Fugees and Brandy, to match. Melodramatic sequences, including Stony's romance with Keith (Underwood), drag. 121m/C VHS, DVD . Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood, John C. McGinley, Anna Maria Horsford, Ella Joyce, Charles Robinson, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, Vincent Baum, Van Baum, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Samantha MacLachlan; D: F. Gary Gray; W: Kate Lanier, Takashi Bufford; C: Marc Reshovsky; M: Christopher Young.