Dope

Name: Dope
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: June 19, 2015
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Anthony Quinonez, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Shameik Moore

2015

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 169 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 169 Ratings

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Dope

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Movie Details & Credits

Open Road Films | Release Date: June 19, 2015 | R

Starring: Anthony Quinonez, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Shameik Moore

Summary: Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is a geek, carefully surviving life in The Bottoms, a tough neighborhood in Inglewood, CA filled with gangsters and drugs dealers, while juggling his senior year of college applications, interviews and the SAT. His dream is to attend Harvard. A chance invitation to a big underground party leads Malcolm and hisMalcolm (Shameik Moore) is a geek, carefully surviving life in The Bottoms, a tough neighborhood in Inglewood, CA filled with gangsters and drugs dealers, while juggling his senior year of college applications, interviews and the SAT. His dream is to attend Harvard. A chance invitation to a big underground party leads Malcolm and his friends into a gritty adventure filed with offbeat characters and bad choices. If Malcolm can persevere, he'll go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.… Expand

Director: Rick Famuyiwa

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 103 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Mick LaSalle

Jun 18, 2015

It’s a movie about a geeky teenager living in the Los Angeles hood, and something about it, or rather everything about it, feels real. Read full review

Jeff Baker

Jun 18, 2015

Dope has energy and smarts and a heart in all the right places. Read full review

Kevin Harley

Aug 31, 2015

Famuyiwa’s teen pic mixes a cocktail of crowd-pleasing vim and political punch, lent charm and conviction by Moore – a star in the making. Read full review

Peter Travers

Jun 17, 2015

Just know that Famuyiwa keeps the action spinning with vibrant speed and rare sensitivity. He's made a comedy of social expectation that plays like an exhilarating gift. Read full review

Alonso Duralde

Jun 19, 2015

So many movies play it safe and predictable that you have to give it up to Dope for making consistently bold moves — even if they don’t always pay off. This vibrant film is a bit of a mess, but it’s a beautiful one. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Jun 17, 2015

Messages about learning to be comfortable in one’s own skin and the hypocrisy of the ruling class are delivered with genial humor and mild pokes. Read full review

Robert Abele

Jun 18, 2015

Dope is, in the end, just another unfunny grab bag of stereotypes. Don't believe the hype. Read full review

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User Reviews

MSquier

Jun 28, 2015

If you don't like this movie, you're wrong. It's that simple.
(Side notes regarding things that were on point: acting, pacing, originality, soundtrack, and heart)

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

TheQuietGamer

May 14, 2016

Dope's story is about a nerd named Malcolm having a really crazy time in the hood. He gets mixed up with drugs, worries about getting into Harvard, and ultimately learns more about himself in the end. It's a different perspective than your typical coming of age film. One that uses it'sDope's story is about a nerd named Malcolm having a really crazy time in the hood. He gets mixed up with drugs, worries about getting into Harvard, and ultimately learns more about himself in the end. It's a different perspective than your typical coming of age film. One that uses it's setting and characters' races to add a bit of punch to the narrative. This leads to a final act that gets a little jumbled with getting it's points across.

Luckily everything up to that point makes for a hilarious, wild ride. Outside of all the laughs to be found, what makes it's story so compelling are it's young actors. The standout being Shameik Moore as the lead character Malcolm. He gives a fantastic, geeky performance that grows as the character does.

It's got action, drama, and plenty of laughs. It doesn't really dive into it's morals until right at the end and comes off a little heavy handed as a result, but even then the film can't really be dampened. Things get insane for Malcolm and his friends. It's their likability that keeps you just as invested in their struggles as well as their more hilarious encounters.

9.1/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

StevieGJD

Jun 24, 2015

Ignorant conservatives who do not want to appreciate the realities of growing up in an area where you can get shot going home from school or where "A students, with their eyes on Harvard, have their sneakers stolen in school, physically taken from their feet, with no adults around to stopIgnorant conservatives who do not want to appreciate the realities of growing up in an area where you can get shot going home from school or where "A students, with their eyes on Harvard, have their sneakers stolen in school, physically taken from their feet, with no adults around to stop the thieves" should not see this film. You will not like it and will reject any truth in it. Moreover, it will fuel a plethora of ignorant observations that would be better left unobserved. I did not grow up in such a place. But my wife did. Though this, like every movie, cannot include every type of person who grows up in such an area, there have not been many movies about a smart young black kid who lives in a ghetto, and who understands that education is a better ticket out than sports or crime. This should be celebrated not dismissed. Though I'm not a huge John Hughes fan, this film is reminiscent of Hughes' films. I look forward to the director's next outing. The film has many cultural and music references that some people will not understand, and might cause them to dismiss the film. I know I did not get them all. But I got enough that I laughed plenty of times and was pleasantly shocked a few times. People who don't like profanity, intense sexual situations and drug references will not be pleased either. But I, for one, really liked this film.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

keanounakamura

Jun 27, 2015

Overall, I think that it was a great film. The directresses narrative form along with jumpcuts to increase the level of irony. Though the word **** seemed to be over-used, the usage seems to be a commentary on how the "N" word is in todays vernacular, highlighting it's peculiar role inOverall, I think that it was a great film. The directresses narrative form along with jumpcuts to increase the level of irony. Though the word **** seemed to be over-used, the usage seems to be a commentary on how the "N" word is in todays vernacular, highlighting it's peculiar role in language. I just wish that the plot was thicker… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ahnehnois

Jun 19, 2015

It gets off to something of a slow start, but it's a fun movie. It shifts weirdly in tone, but ultimately I'd call it a comedy, albeit one with a lot of boobs, drugs, shootings, and other mischief.

It feels almost revolutionary to have a teen comedy completely focused on an AfricanIt gets off to something of a slow start, but it's a fun movie. It shifts weirdly in tone, but ultimately I'd call it a comedy, albeit one with a lot of boobs, drugs, shootings, and other mischief.

It feels almost revolutionary to have a teen comedy completely focused on an African American setting and characters, but the movie doesn't overplay that hand. You won't leave with a trite understanding of enduring discrimination and ghettoization in urban America, you'll leave with an appreciation for the humanity and diversity of the characters. And of Shameik Moore's dance moves.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

FilmPhonic

Sep 21, 2015

Writer/ director Rick Famuyiwa attempts to weave together the comedic stylings of ‘Superbad’ and context of ‘Boyz n the Hood’ with the sensibilities of a teenage “outsider” comedy/drama into what is essentially a “triumph of the geeks” proposition with a distinctly adult tone.

As aWriter/ director Rick Famuyiwa attempts to weave together the comedic stylings of ‘Superbad’ and context of ‘Boyz n the Hood’ with the sensibilities of a teenage “outsider” comedy/drama into what is essentially a “triumph of the geeks” proposition with a distinctly adult tone.

As a reflection of his own cultural preferences, Rick Famuyiwa chooses to make the 3 lead “geeks” uniquely “ghetto Hipsters” with the customary cultural appropriation that comes with it, in ‘Dope’ it features an obsession with 1990’s hip-hop culture which adds to the sense of being outsiders, the result of which is a delightful use of classic 90’s hip-hop within a strong soundtrack the way that ‘Superbad’ used classic soul & funk.

Indeed there’s much shared between ‘Dope’ and a number of coming-of-age outsider comedies like ‘Superbad’, from the risqué irreverent humour to the escalating outrageous situations, so when the novelty of the inner city setting wears-off, ‘Dope’ becomes very much your typical modern comedy which could easily have been named ‘Ghetto Geeks: A True Underdog Story’, albeit a contemporary version that makes good use of modern technology and social media.

Perhaps its biggest shortcoming is that for all the crazy goings on, ‘Dope’ is never really that funny, apart from a couple of scenes, and never gets close to the comedic levels of the films it clearly draws inspiration from. Despite this the unique nature of the setting does provide some rarely seen comedic fodder as well as scope for social satire, in fact the film builds towards an attempt at highlighting issues of systematic social discrimination in the US, with limited success it must be said.

The Bottom Line…
A moderately funny and mildly entertaining morality piece about staying true to oneself, ‘Dope’ is just about an original enough take on the teenage underdog comedy to be worth the watch, for Shameik Moore’s lead performance if nothing else, without leaving a particularly lasting impression.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

PANCHO_SANSA

Aug 25, 2019

This movie is two hours long but it feels like four. It's like a parody that was made to look like a real movie but fails. This story is so fantastical and improbable that it wouldn't be out of place if it was made by Disney. Whole plot threads go nowhere and more and more crazy stuff keepsThis movie is two hours long but it feels like four. It's like a parody that was made to look like a real movie but fails. This story is so fantastical and improbable that it wouldn't be out of place if it was made by Disney. Whole plot threads go nowhere and more and more crazy stuff keeps happening to the same three kids. It's freaking ridiculous, and can only be enjoyed by teens 14 and under who don't know the difference between this and the real world.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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