These days, it’s probably better to ask the question; what doesn’t Snoop Dogg do? Rather than to simply label him a rapper. Of course he’s a rapper, but does pursuing that discipline sit at the top of his daily to-do list? One would wager probably not.
These days, he is not simply one of the most iconic and pioneering rappers of all time, he is so much more than that. Like many of his contemporaries, such as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and even 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg has an implicit understanding of the fact that music can be used as a vehicle into other areas.
You could maybe even argue that it is outside of rap where Snoop Dogg has truly flourished. He is more of a media personality these days, and he remarkably managed to navigate his way out of the notorious ‘gangsta rap’ image that he had cultivated for himself after the release of his unapologetic debut, 1993’s Doggystyle and its bleaker follow up, 1996’s The Doggfather.
In short, Snoop Dogg has enjoyed many rebirths across his career, and this cannot be more typified than his brief existence as ‘Snoop Lion’, a journey outlined in the 2012 film, Reincarnated. He’s also featured in a Korn music video, been the master of ceremonies at WrestleMania 2008, and even been awarded a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
As a celebrity, there’s nothing Snoop Dogg hasn’t done. These days, he’s best known for weed smoking, cooking and that earworm of a JustEat jingle. In all this discussion of Dogg’s many exploits, we’ve also missed out on the other colossal element of Snoop Dogg’s career, the one that has been almost prolific as his musical one; his acting.
Snoop has starred in over 40 feature films to date. Understandably, the quality of these is of, shall we say, a varying nature. Starting with the 1998 Dave Chappelle film Half Baked, Dogg has starred in comedies, dramas, horrors and even the odd mockumentary, showing there’s nothing he’s unwilling to do.
This got us thinking, what are the five worst appearances Snoop Dogg has made in the movies? We’ve compiled a list so you don’t have to. Fear not, we’ve made sure that the films we’ve included on this list are so bad, and the role he has played is so ridiculous, that you’re practically forced to agree with us.
Snoop Dogg’s five worst film appearances:
Scary Movie 5 – (Malcolm D. Lee, 2013)
We know they’re intended as a joke, but the Scary Movie franchise really is terrible, even by the standards set by the 2000s. The scene starts with the lines: “Charlie’s (Sheen) body was discovered by police on May 15th. His corpse didn’t stop partying until May 23rd. Police searched for Charlie’s three missing children, and out of habit, arrested Lindsay Lohan.”
After this semi-incomprehensible introduction, we see Mac Miller and Snoop Dogg talking about Shampoo getting in the most extreme of places. Classically Scary Movie, and plain dumb, this ridiculous appearance did nothing for Dogg’s acting career outside of stoner circles.
Racing Stripes – (Frederik Du Chau, 2005)
A terrible film from a rather awful era of cinema. The funny thing about Racing Stripes is the fact that it actually had an all-star cast. Featuring the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg and even Frankie Muniz, you’d be forgiven for not remembering this film, regardless of cast.
A story of a zebra who is raised to become a champion racing horse, the film’s strangest part is probably Snoop Dogg, as the family’s bloodhound, Lightning. He’s barely in the film, and his lines are so cringe: “If that’s a racehorse, then I’m D.O.G.G. baby”. What does that even mean?
Additionally, I bet the director thought he was being so clever when he cast Snoop Dogg as… a dog.
Bones – (Ernest R. Dickerson, 2001)
On paper, this should have been a brilliant film. Directed by the celebrated Ernest Dickerson and intended as a homage to the blaxploitation films of the 1970s, even starring Pam Grier, this had the ingredients to make a memorable movie, it just fell very flat. These days it is hailed as somewhat of a cult classic, with both Dogg and Grier’s acting gaining most of the plaudits.
It’s just not that good though, and we’re sorry Snoop, but you’re acting fails to quash any of the appalling acting from the supporting cast. Instead of a tribute to blaxploitation cinema, it’s more like an overcooked pastiche.
The Tenants – (Danny Green, 2005)
There’s a reason everyone has forgotten this film, because it is so, so bad. It could be classed as a B-movie it’s that bad; save from the fact it has no self-awareness like a B-movie would. Furthermore, it is not in any way related to the 1976 film The Tenant, regardless of what its similar typography may suggest.
Without ruining it for you, the film has a premise that is so awful it is as if a five-year-old wrote it. Dogg plays Willie Spearmint, an African-American militant writer who develops what can only be described as an ‘arch-friendship’ with Dylan McDermott’s writer, Harry Lesser.
Watch it at your own peril.
Soul Plane – (Jessy Terrero, 2004)
No list of Snoop Dogg’s worst film appearances would be complete without this pile of visual garbage. Featuring the unrelentingly annoying Kevin Hart, as the film’s protagonist, Nashawn Wayne, after about five minutes the film starts to seriously grate.
Dogg plays Captain Antoine Mack, and across the film, we see him flirting with his cabin crew, driving a lowriding purple CGI aeroplane and giving us some stellar dance moves. The film is lacking a substantial plot, and the acting is shocking. Dogg’s performance we’ve seen a thousand times across other film’s he’s starred in, but we can’t help but think that this time, he was let down by the film’s predictable script.
