Movie Review: “Dope” (2015)
In many ways “Dope” could be considered a classic coming-of-age movie. The film follows three high school students who are self-identified geeks living in the dangerous gang-filled landscape of Inglewood, California. The film follows protagonist Malcolm (Shameik Moore), as he goes on a journey, leaving his comfort zone to try to gain the affection of the film’s love interest Nakia (Zoë Kravitz). While countless movies have portrayed the struggles of a geeky protagonist to win the love of a girl deemed “out of his league,” this is one of the first I’ve seen that does so while also having a strong social message. “Dope” uses the isolation of the films three geeky leads to show their rejection from the culture of Inglewood, and also to suggest that this subculture isn’t reserved for the white males that you so often see represented in “nerd culture.”
At the same time, “Dope” makes a number of insights on the state of racism in America. While Malcolm, a straight-A student is discussing his college admissions essay with his guidance counselor, the counselor takes offense at the essay’s subject matter — Ice Cube’s “Good Day”- and suggests that Malcolm is arrogant for thinking he’ll be taken seriously by the Harvard admissions office. The type of intelligent confidence and focus exuded by Malcolm when coming from a white student is typically regarded as brilliance in popular culture. To hear the guidance counselor deem Malcolm’s confidence as arrogance highlights the double-standard and underlying racism that exists in our society.
In addition to having strong acting and an interesting message, this movie is simply one of the more enjoyable films I’ve seen in some time. One interesting aspect of the film is the music, played by the lead characters’ pop-punk band Awreeoh (pronounced Oreo). They have a very catchy sound and play a handful of songs throughout the film, including this song, “Can’t Bring Me Down.”
Overall: This film is one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen in some time, and it makes lots of interesting insights on race and culture as well. With a breakout performance by Shameik Moore and strong performances by his best friends, played by Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori, this film should be at the top of your Netflix “stream” list. This is the first film I had seen directed by Rick Famuyiwa. I will be interested to see what kind of projects he works on after the success of “Dope.”
My rating: 9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (Top Critics)
Top billed actors: Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons, Tony Revolori, ASAP Rocky and Zoë Kravitz.
Rated R for languge, drug content, sexuality/nudity, and some violence- all involving teens
