Tougher Than Leather
Tougher Than Leather
Legendary hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. stars in this cross between a blaxploitation film and a spaghetti western. They must find and punish the evil drug lord-record company executive who murdered their friend. Along the way, they encounter racist bikers, blonde bimbos, and the Beastie Boys!
Jacob O’Neal reviewedMay 29, 2025
Not long before Joe Bob Briggs classic show, Drive-In Theater, was cancelled he showed Tougher Than Leather and hated it. I understand why, but I won’t be so unkind. The movie stars all three members of Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, Russell Simmons and I know heard Flava Flav at the start of the film. Rick Rubin directed, but (unless I missed it) he doesn’t have it listed on IMDb. He also cast himself as the villain of the piece.
The movie was set up to be like a hip hop version of a blaxploitation movie. The crew play themselves. When Run gets out of a short stint in county he and the boys head to the club and perform. They met a record producer and decided to sign with him, only to discover that he’s an evil man with a penchant for saying the N word and killing people, staging the murders to look like they happened at a Run DMC concert. This spurs the guys to go after Rick Rubin and bring him down for the sake of justice.
The movie is terribly acted. The dialogue is stunted. Let’s put it this way - it’s no Purple Rain. If Rubin had less of an ego and let someone else take the reins then maybe we’d get a better movie. And why not bring in some of the things that made blaxploitation movies so fun…
Get your mind outta the gutter. I meant that love of a genre doesn’t mean you understand how to make one. Bring in some people who know those movies intimately. This was in the era of movies like Crush Groove and Rappin’ for rap and Breakin’ for the break dancing crowd. These movies have a certain 80’a charm, but that doesn’t make them amazing cinema, just escapism and a little fun. This movie is bad, very bad, but in a way that makes you watch it with a confused smile. Find out for yourself…if you dare.