Dope finds passion in its weirdness and nostalgia

The movie was directed by Rick Famuyiwa and tells the story of three Inglewood teenagers who, in their battle against adversity fought from the depths of social exile, get involved with some drugs — not in the after-school special sense, just in the sense that it’s an issue. The cast is headlined by Shameik Moore as Malcolm, a geek with a passion for the ‘90s. He is flanked by Tony Revolori and Kiersey Clemons as Jib and Diggy, his best friends as well as fellow neon and flattop fetishists. The three are picked on for doing what Malcolm calls “white things,” like skating, studying and having a punk band. They also all have ridiculous amounts of fashion sense: crop tops, denim and primary colors have never looked so good.

The three heroes are surrounded by a variety of gangbangers, drug dealers and people struggling under the yoke of poverty. Amongst this ensemble of supporting actors are a few names any college student would recognize: A$AP Rocky, Vince Staples, Blake Anderson and Tyga (hint: two of them don’t last very long). Zoë Kravitz makes an appearance as Malcolm’s love interest, Nakia, and Forest Whitaker plays the narrator. Without a doubt, the movie has a solid cast with some great cameos, all of which coalesce into a good movie. It was even funded by many famous people, namely Sean Combs (Diddy), Pharrell Williams and the aforementioned Whitaker.

[Dope] stands out because it is equally funny and socially conscious.

There are plenty of movies about growing up and there are plenty of movies about triumph over adversity, so what makes Dope different? Well, the aforementioned trope of a ‘90s obsession is pretty great, especially since it gives the film license to infuse a healthy amount of classic hip-hop into the soundtrack. That music accents some surprisingly beautiful settings, considering most of the movie is set in Los Angeles.

In those environments, Moore and his co-stars deliver great performances. The three work together well. They are all hilarious and smart with a healthy combination of mature and childish moments. The band Awreeoh also performs for them, which is pretty solid if you like pop-punk. It can be hard to explain the type of dynamic the actors have together, but when it comes to teen movies, the best you can hope for is that they actually seem like they are best friends, like Moore, Revolori and Clemons all do. They are dogmatically supportive of each other but are always there, dependable and ready to make fun of each other.

The auxiliary characters, namely A$AP Rocky as a grinning drug dealer named Dom and Nakia, Malcolm’s mind-numbingly beautiful crush and Dom’s “friend,” aren’t just throwaway pieces of scenery. Dom and his like-minded associates, which include Vince Staples, are enemies, allies and comic relief all at once. They might be drug dealers but that doesn’t necessarily make them bad people, does it? That might be debatable, but Rocky certainly does a good job playing the part considering he’s not an actor. Another notable cameo and supporting actor is Blake Anderson (Workaholics) who plays what he knows so well — an idiot savant who loves drugs.

The movie is quite conscious of the evolving drug market and, to this effect, introduces the viewers to the “deep web.” This is the entity that exists beyond the reach of most internet users, where one can go on websites like Silk Road to buy everything from drugs to guns (but mostly just drugs). Those dark reaches of the worldwide web and the digital currency Bitcoins are important to the story.

Everything that happens in the movie is underscored by the fact that Malcolm, an intelligent and ambitious man, is applying to Harvard. Not many authority figures in his life have any faith in him. He is beset by those who have never managed to escape the hole they dug themselves into. That struggle between ambition and institutional doubt might be what makes this movie unique. It’s not just a teen comedy; It’s commentary on being poor and black woven together with light humor.

Dope is another addition to a broad genre but it stands out because it is equally funny and socially conscious. This movie works on multiple levels, whether it’s making you laugh or making you think about the social effects of growing up in a place like Inglewood. Dope is a film that just works.