Here's a movie that has flown under the radar until I saw it available on Singapore Airlines' flight to San Francisco, and subsequently seeing good reviews for it. So I caught it on the leg back to Asia.
Written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Dope is a great addition to highschool comedies. At first glance I thought it was going to be something generic. But after the first act, things started to get interesting. Not entirely something original, but the execution by Famuyiwa kept the beat going in a very good pace.
Shameik Moore played the lead character, but I didn't think he carried the movie as well as he should have. A lot of times I found him a bit stiff but I couldn't be sure if that was the direction given to him. His wide-eyed innocence and sincerity came off quite charming though.
It can be argued for and against the movie didn't have any big names, the biggest one was probably Zoe Kravitz and she didn't have too big a role. These roles and the story didn't need a big name anyway, but if there was a bigger talent than Moore, perhaps that role could have been elevated.
All credits go to Famuyiwa for creating the movie and telling the story. One has to wonder if his teenage life didn't mirror that of Moore's character. It's a pretty good story to follow and has a very satisfactory conclusion, though the final message was slightly too in-your-face and out of left field for me.
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