Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.
The story of rival "top dogs" from two inner-city gangs who cooperate amidst a turf war to promote their music. When DJ's mixing equipment sets on fire and a record company executive double-crosses Lonzo, the two decide to take the future into their own hands. DJ and Lonzo turn to Gator, a successful drug-lord who has left the streets and is living high in the hills of Los Angeles. For a time, their association is a success, but when someone rats to the police, the trouble begins. Meanwhile, DJ is juggling two girlfriends, Brandy and Leyla and his mother keeps urging him to go to the hospital to visit the father who abandoned him as a child. Back on the street, when a fellow gang member is killed one night, the careful allegiance that has developed between DJ and Lonzo wears thin. It takes a remarkable twist of fate to bring them back together.