Dope is its title. This film is a little gem of weird for Hollywood, inspiring many Hmms? and Huhs? without you realizing the smile is all over your face. You’ll leave the theatre scratching your head, saying “Why did I enjoy that so much?”
Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is a high school senior in a poor neighborhood in Los Angeles. However, Malcolm’s a GREAT student, and prepping for hopefully a Harvard education while geeking out with best friends Jib (Tory Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). After Malcolm’s crush Nakia (Zoe Kravitz) invites him to a club, Malcolm gets inadvertently caught up in a drug scheme organized by local distributor Dom (A$AP Rocky). This scheme ends up tying into Malcolm’s chances at Harvard, so the guy tries to figure out how to extract himself from the situation to get his life back to where he wants it to be.
Dope gives us characters that are walking contradictions. Malcolm is a black kid in a poor black neighborhood in 2015….that loves 90’s hip hop and hangs out in the dark net obsessing over bitcoin. Nakia is the love interest…that betters her own life and doesn’t need a man. Local businessman Austin (Roger Guenveur Smith) is very upstanding and Harvard educated…but also raised two wanna-be drug dealer children. I don’t know if this makes this movie feel more real, but it definitely makes Dope extremely specific and interesting. Every new character brings contradictions to the table, making Dope more complex than your traditional coming of age story.
Because of the off kilter characters, the plot goes down different paths as well. Writer/Director Rick Famuyiwa gives us some very cool takes on the drug deal/coming of age story. When a character gets backed into a plot corner, Famuyiwa drops a new character spin to help get out, like how the kids deal with their drug distribution or how the businessman reacts to Malcolm’s predicament. This also leaves room for hilarious runners and subplots like wanna be gang bangers exposed to the real thing, or when exactly can a white guy use the n word. Each little tangent helps give more context to the world, and helps service the plot very naturally.
It’s been a long time since I saw a relatively non issue based diverse cast like Dope’s. Shameik Moore is terrific as Malcolm, walking the nerdy awkward/quietly confident line very well. Malcolm’s easy to root for, and the most fascinating mix of character elements under that hi-top fade. Tory Revolori and Kiersey Clemons are hoots as his friends, getting some of the big laughs at their shows of confidence or brashness. Zoe Kravitz and A$AP Rocky are the name actors I guess, and they get the good dramatic material, particularly Kravitz, who looks more like her mom, Lisa Bonet, every day. Roger Guenveur Smith is a walking puzzle box, playing sometime ominous, sometimes regal and erudite. Blake Anderson put a funny twist on the college stoner computer guy, and Quincy Brown and (the big winner) Chanel Iman are bonkers enjoyable as Austin’s kids, channeling an unpredictability that Dope uses to great effect.
At no point did I know where Dope was going, this movie was deadly serious for 5 minutes transferring to bubbly jokey, to erotically hot. At some point, you should treat Dope like driving over ice in a car. Just turn into the skid, and enjoy the wild ride.