Film Review: "Dope"

It’s
said that there are only about seven different plots in storytelling, yet our
unique perspectives have enabled scribes to recycle those same scenarios for
thousands of years. So on the surface, there’s nothing particularly new or
groundbreaking about writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s “Dope,” in which naïve
young people come into possession of a pile of drugs and try to stay ahead of
the bad guys as they figure out how to offload it; we’ve seen that go down in
movies like 1993’s “True Romance” and 1999’s “Go.” But Famuyiwa’s approach
makes “Dope” seem fun, fresh, and vibrant; by no means is it a flawless film,
but it is well-crafted and perfectly cast, with more than its share of star-making
performances.

Comprehensive narration by Forest
Whitaker introduces us to Malcolm (the ultra-charming Shameik Moore), a high
school senior who lives in The Bottoms section of Inglewood, California. A
self-described geek with a mile-high fade, Malcolm is obsessed with 1990’s
hip-hop, and both the music and the aesthetic inform the lives of him and his
best friends Jib (Tony Revolori, a long way from “The Grand Budapest Hotel”)
and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). A lesser-evil situation finds Malcolm crossing
paths with friendly drug dealer Dom (rapper A$AP Rocky, pure charisma), but
it’s Malcolm’s crush on Dom’s alluring girl Nakia (Zoe Kravitz, gorgeously
confident) that leads to a chain of events resulting in several bundles of MDMA
nestled in Malcolm’s backpack.

The balance of “Dope” unfolds as
Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy take steps to move the molly while avoiding the
all-too-real pitfalls of their tough neighborhood as well as the myriad hazards
in the outwardly nicer parts of town. That overstuffed-ness is the only major
problem with the otherwise appealing “Dope,” which has so much to say on so
many subjects that some points fail to resonate in the din. (And several scenes
drag; “Dope” would benefit from some tightening.) But the film’s frenetic
energy is reflected in Famuyiwa’s eye-candy shooting style, which includes
split-screen, flashback, slow-motion, freeze-frame, montage, and changing film
speeds. And the soundtrack, curated by executive producer Pharrell Williams, is
on point with tracks ranging from A Tribe Called Quest to Gil Scott-Heron.
Williams even wrote the original songs for Malcolm’s punk band, Awreeoh, which
you should say out loud.