No film emerged out of the Sundance Film Festival with more hype than Rick Famuyiwa's energetic urban comedy, Dope. The film flashes us back to the colorful street style of '90s hip-hop but it's set very much in the present, and that approach really clicked with those who saw it in Park City, earning the film a Grand Jury nomination and an award victory for editing. But like so many festival darlings, the question remains whether Dope is really all it's cracked up to be. Well, now a new trailer has arrived so you can judge for yourself.
Featuring a breakout performance by Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons, The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori, A$AP Rocky, and Zoe Kravitz, Dope centers on a trio of friends obsessed with old school hip-hop. They live in the crime-infested L.A. 'hood known as The Bottoms, and get wrapped up in a drug deal gone bad. But it's all fun and never truly dangerous, with my review from Sundance comparing the tone to that of House Party, a personal favorite.
However, I've taken some flack from those who have a higher opinion of Dope than I do. It's similar to the blowback I took last year when pointing out the problems with Dear White People. Dope is a good film, often hilarious, with energy to spare. But it also gets bogged down in plot points that simply don't work (do you care about Bitcoin? I don't.) and distract from what does.
Dope opens in theaters on June 19th and this is one you're gonna want to check out.
