Dope

Dope tells the story of Malcolm (Moore) a teenager from a rough neighbourhood in Los Angeles known as The Bottoms. Malcolm has dreams of becoming a man of Harvard, but unlike many studious types, he isn't being pushed in that direction, quite the opposite actually. Malcolm has to fight against the social stereotypes being placed on him by pretty much everyone in his life given his race, socio-economic background and family life. As Malcolm says in the film when answering the question 'why do you want to go to Harvard', 'if I was white, would you even have to ask that question?'

Malcolm and his two best friends are obsessed with 90s hip-hop and dress like they've walked straight out of Saved By The Bell or The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which immediately makes them stand out in their surroundings which are rife with gangs, drugs and violence.

So while this all forms the back-drop for what isn't at all a preachy or serious film despite it's thought-provoking subject matter, it's really the story of how Malcolm becomes a somewhat victim of circumstance. Our self-professed geek ends up having to sell a lot of MDMA on the black market to get himself out of trouble with a local drug dealer, and essentially blackmail his way into the Ivy League.

The film is vibrant and colourful, which is uncommon for a film dealing with such heavy topics and the humour makes it tick along nicely. It's genuinely entertaining and an enjoyable watch but the whole thing seems somewhat disjointed to me. On the one hand, Malcolm is a model student who deserves his place at the college of his choice if his grades are good enough, but on the other, he does end up giving into the stereotype he is pulling against to actually make his dream happen, which jars for me somewhat. But everyone deserves a chance at redemption right? 

The scenes with Blake Anderson are, not surprisingly, some of the funniest, and it would've been great to have seen more of him. 

I would've preferred though had the film not included the standard romance plot-line because it's very much an aside and adds nothing to the storyline apart from to reiterate Malcolm's idea that he is different from everyone else in his neighbourhood, despite the fact that he's now dealing and carry a gun...

The scenes with Chanel Iman, too, are a tad unnecessary, though she does play the drugged up princess pretty well, but I'm fairly sure she's only there to throw in some eye-candy for the lads.

The film counts Pharrell Williams and Sean 'Diddy' Combs among its producers so there's no surprise that they've managed to incorporate some music into proceedings, which doesn't really add much to the story but it doesn't detract from it either.

Overall it was an enjoyable watch but by no means a must-see. It's a good think piece for a younger generation however, with enough life, laughter and drama to stay the pace.