I read recently that Scarface will be redone into a mad for cable, hip-hop style miniseries. Sounds cheesy to me. Brian DePalma’s film is a classic with Al Pacino as Cuban drug lord Tony Montana. So why bother to redo it? Because rappers love Scarface.

We all know rappers love Scarface. It’s hard to find an MC who hasn’t referenced the 1983 film in their rhymes at least once. There’s even a rapper named Scarface who pays homage to the movie on his album My Balls & My Word. Who couldn’t love Tony Montana? He was an immigrant who came from poverty. He came to the United States & made a fortune. His personal mantra, "The world is yours", reverberated over an 80’s synth pop beat as he took it to the limit (LIMIT!). There’s only 1 problem, 1 reason not to love the bad guy. He’s a fucking drug smuggler.

I have a theory regarding, not just rappers but men’s love for Scarface. Prior to its 20th anniversary DVD release, you’d find Scarface on a 2 VHS package. The first tape ends with the scene where Al Pacino is in a bubble bath, smoking a cigar, drinking champagne & watching the news. Tony Montana has built an empire where he can gleefully do all these things while annoying the piss out of his wife & best friend. But guys are lazy. So maybe this view of Tony Montana as a thug hero got started by guys too lazy to get up & put the second tape in the VCR. So they missed out on Montana losing it all, getting high on his own supply & introducing us to his little friend. For these couch potatoes, Scarface has a much happier ending. It ends with a melancholy drug lord, sitting in his bathtub, watching the pelican fly. C’mon pelican.

R