Dope

by Jaime Davis

The first thing I learned in film school had to do with movie marketing. When you buy a ticket to watch a film, you’re really buying in to the poster and trailer and other marketing biz baz, not the movie itself. Because, duh, when you buy that ticket, you haven’t seen that movie yet. It could totally suck! The marketing game (i.e. posters, trailers, behind the scenes featurettes) sold you, son. I learned this in the late 90s, before YouTube and the internets and all that, when you couldn’t watch movie trailers for days and days on end (which I’ve been known to do). So instead, in class, we focused on movie posters, or one-sheets. A one-sheet features the heart of a film’s story, told mostly in visual form, condensed into one page. It’s like the soul of the movie you guys. Yeah I know that’s major cheeseball, but it’s truth.

Let’s start with a simple one. And by simple, I mean dumb as hell.

I haven’t seen The Rewrite, but I can tell a lot just from this dang poster. See Hugh Grant is some kind of teacher, because his smiling British mug has been superimposed in front of a chalk board. But he’s looking pretty happy and confident here – maybe he hasn’t always been a teacher? He’s obviously the protagonist, because he’s pictured by himself. Ok, now see Marisa Tomei? Maybe she’s a teacher too, or she’s in school herself, hence the bad Photoshop of her over a campus background. And she’s subtly looking up and smiling at Hugh – major LOVE INTEREST alert. Hrrrmmm, I wonder if they end up together.

Here’s one that’s less obvious. And by less obvious, I mean much, much better.

Ok so in this one you’ve got three kids pasted in what’s clearly Los Angeles. Cool, it’s set in LA! That was easy. And the guy in front left is a little bigger than everyone else, so that must mean he’s our hero, and his two friends following him around will fare prominently in the story, but won’t have story lines of their own. The fact that they’re on bikes signals that there’s some sort of action in the film – they’re constantly on the move and running around and cracking cold cases and shit. Well maybe not cracking cold cases. But the bikes imply motion which implies action and adventure! The colors signify fresh and young and modern and FUN! Yes, this movie looks like it could be fun.

I could analyze dumb posters FOR DAYS. Alright, alright, I won’t.

Nowadays, most people who go to the theater/rent/on demand stream movies aren’t relying on one-sheets to influence their buying choices. Nope, you’re mostly influenced by the trailer (or a cast/trailer combo, or a few trailers). And let me tell you, I was seriously sweating the Dope trailers.

Let’s take the teaser trailer first. I think I watched it like a million times. No, two million times! Honest! I fell hard and fast for it, the way you fall for a Taylor Swift video, or an ice cream sundae on a super—hot day. Super creative, imaginative, non-traditional – it takes the teaser game and spins it on its head. You’re not entirely sure of the plot, but you want to get to know the characters, want to inhabit the world the film is all about. It’s like a music video, but not. Because who watches those anymore? (I still do). It’s like a music video made for Millennials – mashing animation and pop culture references and jams all up into one teaser trailer baby.

And the actual movie trailer builds on that which the teaser wrought – with the addition of some key plot points and dialogue, you can (omg, finally) get a sense of the story and its players.

Dope is set in present-day Inglewood, California. Our protagonist, Malcolm, is a super smart kids trying to finish out his senior year of high school. He wants what a lot of high school dudes want – to graduate, go to college, and hook up with hot girls. But while many high school dudes fly under the safety and security of their privilege, Malcolm has to navigate the tricky waters of a tough neighborhood where joining gangs and dealing drugs can sometimes be the best, if not only, options for surviving and making ends meet. And did I mention that Malcolm is a geek? He and his friends Jib and Diggy (Tony Revolori, dude from Grand Budapest, and Kiersey Clemons, one to watch) worship at the altar of 90s hip hop, convinced that it was a golden age, despite some pretty funny arguments to the contrary. In his quest to land the perfect girl (Zoe Kravitz, sigh, I guess), Malcolm accidentally becomes embroiled in a drug dealing brouhaha that puts him and his trusted mates in harm’s way. It’s like Goonies, Millennial-style. And that’s a good thing. There’s gang baddies, a crazy tripped out hottie played by real-life hottie slash actress (Chanel Iman), regular high school bullies, a rich kid wannabe thug producer, a white stoner/hacker hybrid, and a Harvard alumni interviewer so despicable, he forces Malcolm to do some very bad, very funny things with bitcoins in order to settle the score.

If it sounds like there’s a lot going on in Dope, that’s because there is. Some of the storylines are satisfyingly wrapped up with little red bows, like the Harvard admissions essay that Malcolm reworks at the end of the film, calling out the university on inherent racial biases in Ivy League admissions. Others kind of fall flat or are left alone. Womp womp. On the disappointing side, some of director Rick Famuyiwa’s depictions of women felt a bit archaic and unnecessary. Chanel Iman’s character gets naked, does drugs, gets even nakeder, crashes a car, and urinates in public while being filmed on a cell phone by horny bystanders. The sexuality of Malcolm’s female friend Diggy is immediately referenced and discussed as an important story point, even though it really isn’t.

But you know what? There’s so much to like about Dope. Remember when I said the movie poster looked fun? That’s because the movie is, indeed, fun! And Rick Fox has a cameo! And A$AP Rocky is in this! And Kimberly Elise! And Tyga! So if the one-sheet and the trailers haven’t convinced you yet, let me help you. Duh, you want to go see this.

Read more from Jaime at whatjaimewatched.com