A fan favorite out of this year’s Sundance film festival, DOPE follows Malcolm (Shameik Moore), an intelligent geek from the rough neighborhood of Inglewood, CA that’s obsessed with 90s hip-hop culture and music. He and his two friends Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) and Jib (Tony Revolori) live their days getting picked on at school and playing in their punk rock band while also getting their college applications, interviews and SAT prep squared away. Malcolm, in particular, is hoping to be accepted into Harvard.
When Malcolm is invited to a big birthday bash for a local drug dealer, things spin out of control when he finds that his backpack has been stuffed with a ton of drugs and a cell phone. Malcolm and his innocent/naïve friends must navigate unchartered and illegal territory in order to keep themselves out of trouble with shady and crazy characters as well as prevent the law from discovering what they’re up to.
There is a lot to love about Dope. It’s a refreshing and intelligent take on the crime caper genre that’s sure to have mass appeal. Its use of inner city kids to promote a variety of messages such as the hypocrisy that exists in our society for college selections and the lack of faith some adults from rough schools show their students is something I embraced whole heartedly because it felt authentic. In fact, what I really loved about this film is that it’s a film that shows students of color in a geeky light, proving that they do exist in these neighborhoods and that not everyone is a criminal or thug, which is what many films tend to focus on.
There a lot of fun elements that make this film such a blast. Firstly, Pharrell Williams helped write a few original songs that the leads ended up singing in their band. The music was good and incredibly appropriate for their characters. It was geeky and relevant to their life in high school. I also loved all the old school rap elements and tunes. The obsessions with the 90s rap movement had an impact on the style of the main characters. They all dressed in pure 90s attire, making it difficult at times for me to realize that this movie wasn’t taking place in the 90s, that’s how good the costume selection was.
The only thing I wasn’t a fan of in Dope was Forest Whitaker’s narration. I didn’t think his voice was right for the style and tone of the film. It didn’t feel appropriate and distracted me every time, temporarily disengaging me from the movie quite a few times.
Overall, Dope is an absolute delight. Rick Famuyiwa’s script was tight, clever and pretty unique for a coming-of-age story such as this. His directorial hand led to a movie that was a ton of fun to watch, one that has an innocent free spirit that makes you smile from ear to ear as you’re watching it. If you want to have a good time and revel in the geekiness of kids obsessed with the 90s then look no further than Dope, you won’t regret it.
Special features:
Dope is Different (3:30) – A featurette with interviews from the cast and some crew members about what the film is about, who their characters are and why they love the project so much.
Dope Music (3:00) – A featurette detailing the music in Dope, from the rap influences to the original songs that Pharrell wrote for the band the actors play in. In fact, the three young leads all sang those tracks that they performed on screen. It details some of the lyrical influences as well and how it relates to the story and the high schoolers themselves.
Unfortunately, that’s all for the special features. The movie also comes with a DVD and Digital HD copy of the film in the Blu-ray package.
Dope is now available in all formats thanks to the good folks at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Recent Comments