Dope (FILM REVIEW)
Dope
Film
Review
by Kam Williams
College-Bound Kid Jeopardizes His Future by Associating with Unsavory
Characters in Compelling Coming-of-Age Comedy
17 year-old
Malcolm (Shameik Moore) was raised by a single-mom (Kimberly Elise)
in a rather rough section of L.A. where he's turned out to be more of
a milquetoast than a menace to society. He's actually so nerdy he's
formed a funk band called Oreo with a couple of fellow geeks, Diggy
(Kiersey Clemons) and Jib (Tony Revolori). The tight-knit BFFs
carefully negotiate their way through the perilous gauntlet lining
their path to school, doing their best to hide the fact that they do
“white sh*t” like getting good grades in hopes of going to a good
college and making it out of the ghetto.
Malcolm has
his heart set on Harvard, which just might happen, given his high SAT
scores. In terms of his application, he still has to finish his
personal essay and then do a decent job in his upcoming interview
with esteemed alumnus Austin Jacoby (Roger Guenveur Smith), the
check-cashing magnate.
However,
what might prove more of a challenge is simply keeping his nose clean
the rest of senior year. After all, he encounters danger on a daily
basis, whether it's bullies trying steal his sneakers or
neighborhood gangstas pressuring him to join the Bloods.
Malcolm's
unraveling starts when, against his better judgment, he accepts an
invite from a girl he has a crush on (Zoe Kravitz) to a drug dealer's
(Rakim Mayers) birthday party at an underground nightclub. His first
mistake is even entering the seedy, subterranean rave. His second is
asking Nakia to dance, because she's also the object of the macho
birthday boy's affection.
Then, when
a gunfight suddenly breaks out, Malcolm grabs his backpack and runs for
his life, unaware that his rival in romance has hidden a stash of
contraband there. So, the next thing you know, Malcolm's on the run
from a number of unsavory characters who covet the carefully-packed
powdery substance.
Thus
unfolds Dope, a cleverly-scripted, coming-of-age comedy reminiscent
of the equally-sophisticated Dear White People. Narrated by Forest
Whitaker, this laff-a-minute, fish-out-of-water adventure mines most
of its humor at the expense of an emboldened 98-pound weakling who's
used to having sand kicked in his face.
The picture
was directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Brown Sugar) who keeps you entertained
by turning more than a few conventions on their heads. The film also
features a very pleasant soundtrack which includes a couple of
crowd-pleasing tunes by 11-time, Grammy-winner Pharrell Williams.
A
rollicking roller coaster ride around the 'hood that's basically a
hilarious cross between Kid and Play's House Party (1990) and Harold
& Kumar Go to White Castle (2004).
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R
for profanity, nudity,
sexuality, ethnic slurs, drug use and violence, all involving teens
Running time: 115 minutes
Distributor: Open Road Films
To see a trailer for Dope, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strEm9amZuo
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