Review of Dope (2015) by Tex S — 30 Jun 2015

A Good Film with Too much ?Dope? and not Enough Geek.

Malcolm, Diggy and Jib are not your average kids, no matter what neighborhood they come from. They are kids trying to survive high school in The Bottoms, the rough Crenshaw neighborhood of South Los Angeles. ?Dope? is a coming of age tale with a difference.

The first half of the film involves Malcolm getting into trouble for being in the wrong time and the wrong place; the second half of the film is Malcolm, with the help of Diggy and Jib, trying to extricate him, and themselves, from trouble.

It?s a typical comedy of errors in many ways. The smart Malcolm from the hood, who wants to go Ivy League, goes to the wrong event and gets trapped in a no-win situation. Which ever gangsters he helps will put him in trouble and interfere with his dreams. In the meantime, they have to break the law in order to come clean.

Malcolm, Diggy, and Jib are kids just trying to survive the streets and graduate so they can move out to better things. In that way, this film is a story we have heard before, from ?Oliver Twist? to ?Blind Side.? Will the allure of crime lead these kids to stray or will they find the straight and narrow path to a better life?

In ?Dope?, drugs are treated as too much of a joke for a film with a serious message about race and opportunity. I?m in no way a prude about drugs, in fact, I think they should be decriminalized. However, the comical and easy going approach to the illegality of drugs distracts from the main message of the film. This treatment makes the characters out to be more dopes than geeks. More geekiness and less dopiness would have improved the film.

In the end, the message Malcolm tells all the people who doubt him and his talent, clearly due to his race, saves the film and makes ?Dope? worth watching. And the dance number during the credits is worth waiting for. For added bonus fun, there is the scene with Malcolm and Dom, a local drug dealer, discussing Diggy, Jib and Malcolm?s obsession with 90s hip hop. The tit for tat ?it was the best decade?, ?no, it was the worst decade, what about Ice Cube?? was hilarious. I?m with Malcolm on this, the 90s was the best decade for hip-hop. And much of that music skillfully adorned this film.

Rating: Matinee.

Overall, it?s a decent film with a great message, a message that is well played and not preachy. The ?Dope? sets it back, but the ending brings it all together.

Peace,.

Tex Shelters.