Dope (2015 film)

Dope

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa
Produced by
Written by Rick Famuyiwa
Starring


Music by Germaine Franco
Cinematography Rachel Morrison
Edited by Lee Haugen
Production
companies
Distributed by Open Road Films
Release dates
  • January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24) (Sundance)
  • June 19, 2015 (2015-06-19) (United States)
Running time
 103 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $7 million[2]
Box office $18 million[2]

Dope is a 2015 American crime comedy-drama film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa and starring Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky, and Chanel Iman. The film was produced by Forest Whitaker, executive produced by Pharrell Williams, and co-executive produced by Sean Combs.[3][4]

Dope debuted in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which started on January 22, 2015 in Park City, Utah.[5][6] Dope was initially released in North American theaters on June 19, 2015 by Open Road Films.[2] and then re-released on September 4, 2015 during the Labor Day holiday weekend.[7]

Plot

Malcolm Adekanbi (Shameik Moore) is a high school senior. He and his best friends, Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons), are described by the narrator as "geeks". They live in a neighborhood of Inglewood, California called "The Bottoms," where there is much crime and violence. Malcolm is confident he will be admitted to his dream school, Harvard University, on the strength of his SAT scores and straight-A grades, but his school counselor calls Malcolm arrogant for thinking that Harvard would find his grades impressive, since their school is in a run-down L.A. suburb. He suggests Malcolm take the process more seriously, starting with his upcoming interview with businessman Austin Jacoby (Roger Guenveur Smith), a Harvard alumnus.

While biking home, Malcolm is stopped by a drug dealer named Dom (A$AP Rocky) who instructs Malcolm to invite a girl named Nakia (Zoë Kravitz) to his birthday party. Once there, Malcolm relays Dom's request and gives her advice on her math homework. Finding him charming, Nakia tells Malcolm to tell Dom that she will only accept his invitation if Malcolm is going. Despite his initial reluctance, Jib and Diggy talk Malcolm into going to the party and taking them with him.

During the party, Dom and his crew meet in a back room to buy high-grade, powdered molly. Suddenly, the transaction is interrupted by rival gang members. Dom hides behind the bar where he finds Malcolm's backpack, which he fills with drugs and a gun. Then he finds Malcolm, gives him the pack, and shoos away from the club just as the police are sweeping in.

Nakia drives Malcolm home. Malcolm offers to help her study for her GED test, and she says she'll think about it. The next morning the gun in Malcolm's backpack sets off the school metal detector, but the security guard knows Malcolm's good reputation, lets him go and assumes that the metal detector is malfunctioning. At his locker, Malcolm looks in his backpack and discovers the drugs, gun, and an iPhone. He deduces that Dom slipped them into his bag during the shootout. Immediately, an unknown man calls the iPhone. The man reveals that he knows Malcom's identity and whereabouts, and demands that Malcolm turn over the drugs to him after school that day. After school, Malcolm begins to undertake the handover as instructed, but is interrupted by another call, this time from Dom, who is in custody. Dom warns Malcolm that he's being lured into a trap, and advises him to flee. He texts Malcolm an address and tells him to ask for AJ.

Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy flee to the address that Dom sent them. They find themselves at the doors of a mansion, greeted by young man named Jaleel (Quincy Brown) and his sister Lily (Chanel Iman). Since their father, AJ, won't be home until later, Jaleel invites the three inside. Jaleel takes Jib and Diggy out to get food while Malcolm stays with Lily, who seduces Malcolm and offers to take his virginity. Lily finds the molly in his backpack and gives herself a heavy dose. She straddles Malcolm and vomits on his face. Malcolm then gets a phone call reminding him of his alumni interview. Lily offers to drive him there, though she is still high and drives recklessly through the streets until she passes out. As Malcolm desperately tries to wake her Lily springs up, yelling that she has to pee. She runs out of the car and squats to pee on a bush in front of a coffee shop while bystanders stare and record the incident. Malcolm takes her car and drives to the meeting himself.

Malcolm arrives at the office of Austin Jacoby for his interview. While waiting for Jacoby, he notices photos of Dom, Lily, and Jaleel in the man's office. Realizing Austin Jacoby is AJ, Malcolm relays Dom's instructions to deliver the drugs to him, but Jacoby denies any knowledge. Jacoby suggests that since Dom can no longer sell the drugs, it is now Malcolm's responsibility to do so. Jacoby implies that if Malcolm succeeds, he will see to it that Harvard admits Malcolm. He then reschedules the interview, with the implication that if Malcolm has not sold the drugs by then, Harvard will be the least of his worries.

With no other options, Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy seek help from a college student, Will Sherwood (Blake Anderson), whom they met at band camp years ago, a stoner and a master hacker. Will helps the three set up a black-market online store to sell the drugs through bitcoin transactions, which are virtually untraceable. Before long, Will's viral marketing campaign has turned the trio's website into the go-to source for L.A. college students. He manages to link their store to a meme from the footage of Lily peeing in public.

Malcolm helps Nakia study and she opens up to him about the stress of dealing with guys like Dom. Malcolm pushes her away, accusing her of being sent there by Dom to gather info on the drugs. Offended, Nakia leaves and says Malcolm is just like all the other guys after all. The next day, he consults with Will to figure out how to extract cash from the bitcoins they've amassed, and he tells Malcolm that he will arrange a meeting with a money-laundering gangster named Fidel (Kap-G). The meeting goes as planned, and Malcolm leaves with a bag full of cash.

While returning with the bag of cash, Malcolm is assaulted by the school bully who quickly overpowers him and takes the bag of money. Malcolm, desperate, decides to defend himself by pulling a gun, getting the money back, and earning the bully's respect.

Malcolm returns to Jacoby's office and reveals that he linked the bitcoin account to Jacoby's personal accounts. He has brought with him the bag with cash worth 10% of the earnings. Malcolm has programmed a fail-safe, if anything happens to him the money will automatically be transferred to Jacoby's account on its own. Malcolm then insists that Jacoby get him into Harvard or lose everything to the government.

Malcolm types his college application essay. He describes two students – Student A is a music geek that plays in a punk band and gets straight As, while Student B suffers in the hood and makes money in immoral ways. He asks, "Which student do you think I am?" Malcolm waits for Nakia at the prom, but she does not show. Nakia waits for Malcolm at his home and thanks him for helping her pass her GED, gives him a pass to Six Flags, and kisses him on the cheek.

Malcolm enters his room to find a large envelope from Harvard on his bed. He opens it and looks to the audience for a moment before smiling.

Cast

Soundtrack

Dope
(Music From The Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by Various
Released June 16, 2015
Genre Film soundtrack
Label i am OTHER Entertainment

The soundtrack to the film, Dope (Music from the Motion Picture), was released by i am OTHER Entertainment and Columbia Records on June 16, 2015.[8][9][10]

  1. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" – Digable Planets
  2. "Can't Bring Me Down" – Awreeoh
  3. "The World is Yours" (feat. Pete Rock) – Nas
  4. "Go Ahead" – Awreeoh
  5. "Rebel Without a Pause" – Public Enemy
  6. "Don't Get Deleted" – Awreeoh
  7. "Scenario" (feat. Leaders of the New School) – A Tribe Called Quest
  8. "Cocaina Shawty" – Kap G
  9. "Poppin Off" – WatchTheDuck
  10. "The Humpty Dance" – Digital Underground
  11. "New Money" – Buddy
  12. "Hip Hop Hooray" – Naughty by Nature
  13. "Dirty Feeling" – LolaWolf
  14. " Home is Where the Hatred Is" – Gil Scott-Heron
  15. "It's My Turn Now" – Awreeoh

Release

Dope debuted in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which started on January 22, 2015 in Park City, Utah.[5][6] At the festival, the film received offers from at least six production companies and film studios before its rights were sold to Open Road Films (who will distribute the film domestically) and Sony (who will distribute the film internationally) for a reported $7 million plus $20 million for marketing and promotion.[11][12] It was selected to close the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[13] In September 2015, the film competed in the 2015 Deauville American Film Festival where it won the Prix du Public (Audience Award).[14][15]

Reception

Box office

Dope grossed $6.1 million in its opening weekend, finishing 5th at the box office behind Jurassic World ($106.6 million), Inside Out ($90.4 million), Spy ($11.2 million) and San Andreas ($8.7 million).[16] At the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed just shy of $18 million worldwide.

Critical response

Dope received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 88%, based on 132 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring a starmaking performance from Shameik Moore and a refreshingly original point of view from writer-director Rick Famuyiwa, Dope is smart, insightful entertainment."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an "A−" grade.[19]

The Guardian gave the film five stars out of five, describing the entire cast as "revolutionary".[20] IGN awarded it 7 out of 10, saying "Comedy, romance, drama and crime rub shoulders in entertaining coming-of-age flick."[21]

References

  1. ↑ "DOPE". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dope (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Pharrell Williams Shares ‘Dope’ Movie Poster". Radio.com. 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  4. ↑ "Rick Famuyiwa Rides High with Critically Acclaimed 'Dope'". Atlanta Blackstar. 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  5. 1 2 "Sundance Institute". Sundance.org. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  6. 1 2 Chang, Justin (2014-12-03). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2015 Competition, Next Lineups". Variety.com. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
  7. ↑ Han, Angie (September 1, 2015). "‘Dope’ Returning to Theaters". /Film. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ Fitz-Gerald, Sean. "The Details of Pharrell’s Dope Soundtrack". Vulture.com. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  9. ↑ "The 'Dope' Soundtrack Is Awesome, Starting With This Hilarious Pharrell-Produced Song". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  10. ↑ "Dope (Music from the Motion Picture) by Various Artists". Itunes.Apple.com. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  11. ↑ Kit, Borys (2015-01-25). "Sundance: 'Dope' Sells to Open Road, Sony". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  12. ↑ Fleming, Mike (2015-01-25). "‘Dope’ Movie Sells To Open Road & Sony After Big Sundance Auction". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  13. ↑ "The Directors' Fortnight 2015 selection!". Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Mika SIMONNE. "AWARDS 2015". festival-deauville.com.
  15. ↑ Elsa Keslassy. "Michael Shannon Starrer ’99 Homes’ Wins Deauville Grand Prize". Variety.
  16. ↑ "Dope opening weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dope". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Dope". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  19. ↑ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  20. ↑ Moylan, Brian. "Sundance 2015: Dope review – easily meme-worthy teen comedy". theguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  21. ↑ Singer, Leigh (May 21, 2015). "Dope Review". IGN.com. Retrieved June 20, 2015.

External links

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