Dope

Dope

Starring Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise

Directed by Rick Famuyiwa

The Story:
Malcolm Adekanbi (Shameik Moore) is a senior living in the rough end of Inglewood known as "The Bottoms" with his single mother.  He's a very intelligent person who is enthralled with 90s style, music and fashion, which are all reasons why he's constantly bullied and labeled as a nerd in a rough school district.  All he has is his future dreams of going to Harvard, his music, and hanging out with his friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). 

One day he comes into contact with dope dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky) who invites Malcolm and his friends to a party.  Things go terribly wrong, and Malcolm ends up with a backpack full of the drug Molly, and is caught in a drug war that pits him and his friends in the center.  He has to sell the drugs, and comes up with an ingenious way of doing so, all the while fearing for his life and also developing into a different type of person.

The Synopsis:
In a time where there's very few original films, "Dope" is a refreshing independent view of what life is like in the slums of America.  It's almost like a different world, where you can get shot anywhere for any reason, school entrances have metal detectors, and violence is just an average way of life. 

For Malcolm and his friends, this is the least of their concerns as they're also very different - they dress in 90s style (including the flat-top hairstyle), love "white people" stuff (Mangas, Donald Glover, getting into Harvard), and are very quiet and timid.  Malcolm gets picked on relentlessly by other students, but yet he still has high aspirations for himself.
This is all thrown into turmoil when he attends Dom's party, and all of a sudden Malcolm and his friends are forcibly thrown into the world of drug dealing.  Whereas this would've been more difficult for other people Malcolm has come into contact with, he uses his brains and meek attitude (every time he goes to school with the drugs and the alarm goes off, the security guard lets him through because he knows Malcolm as a nerd who doesn't get involved in such ordeals) to sell the drugs and take the heat off him.

"Dope" is a strange story because it seems to idolize drug dealing, making someone like Malcolm a hero you can root for, even though he's essentially a drug dealer.  Yet newcomer Shameik Moore (who earned a Critics Choice nomination for Best Young Actor) portrays Malcolm as a sympathetic character, someone who morally knows what's right and wrong yet has to make difficult decisions to protect not just himself, but his friends and his future as well.  He wants to get into Harvard, but his guidance counselor doesn't think his essay about Ice Cube would get into the college - he needs to do an essay about himself.  Malcolm retorts with saying he can't write the obligatory "black kid living in the hood with a single mother" essay because it's too common, and throughout the film everything that happens to Malcolm isn't common, and coincidentally adds to his own story.

Sundance hailed "Dope" as a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story, and I tend to agree.  It gives Malcolm the true hero's journey, although taking a wildly different path.  The film doesn't talk about the dangers of drugs (although, in a strangely hilarious moment, one girl high on Molly ends up making a complete fool of herself, which leads to Malcolm naming his drug "Lily"), but rather shows how Malcolm takes a very Wall Street-style way of selling it, which gives him confidence and a stronger desire to really make it. 

Besides Moore's terrific lead performance, his two friends also deliver captivating supporting roles.  Tony Revolori (best known for his work in the amazing "The Grand Budapest Hotel") is your typical jittery friend who's more worried about his well-being than anything, yet remains intensely loyal.  Newcomer Kiersey Clemons also has a great career ahead of her as she plays Diggy, another fiercely loyal friend who's also no-nonsense and nearly tough-as-nails.  Zoe Kravitz, Kimberly Elise, Blake Anderson and hip hop artist A$AP Rocky also give great supporting performances.  Behind the camera, there's some very influential artists also involved with the film.  Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy) served as Executive Producer, along with music mogul Pharrell Williams.  Forest Whitaker (who also narrates the film) was also a Producer. 

Ultimately, "Dope" is sold as a comedy, and while there's several comedic aspects of the film, there's more drama and violence than anything.  It's like the Golden Globes labeling "The Martian" as a comedy because it has some funny moments.  It's really strange when you think about it.

The Summary:
"Dope" is truly a one-of-a-kind film, one that is hard to review or even critique because the performances were amazing, but the story is something that really hasn't been done before.

The Score: A