Movie Review: "Dope" (2015)

© Open Road Films

Have you ever watched a movie and wished it had less plot? Most of the time, a lack of plot is a major detriment—characters interacting aimlessly while nothing of note ever happens. One exception to this rule, off the top of my head, is Clueless, which successfully forges through an entire story in which meeting and watching the characters is enough to keep us coming back for more. A plot is secondary at best, and distracting at worst.

What I mean to say here is that I wish Dope, in theaters now, was more "Clueless in the 'hood" than "Mad cap drug caper." Overladen with various plots of vacillating importance, the most interesting aspect of Dope's delightful cinematic approach is its characters, not its conflicts. These characters, highlighted colorfully in the film's trailer, suggested a film full of fish-out-of-water fun about a group of high school friends living in the Inglewood neighborhood, the Bottoms. Self-proclaimed "geeks" obsessed with 90's hip-hop culture, they navigate their crime-ridden neighborhood with seasoned humor, rocking old school fashions, listening to vintage vinyl, playing in a punk/hip-hop band, and getting good grades.

The mere idea of following these three kids around for two hours of personality revealing hijinks was enough to get us all into the theater. It surprised me to learn that this uncomplicated but unique concept was then shoehorned into a rag-tag plot about innovative drug trafficking and bitcoins. The expectations set up in the first 20 minutes were immediately sidestepped as our hero, Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his two delightful friends, Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) and Jib (Tony Revolori), find themselves in possession of three bags of the street drug "Molly", getting in over their heads right quick. As a result, the characterizations—so carefully constructed and masterfully portrayed (I especially fell in love with Diggy's androgyny)—were tossed aside while Malcolm figured out just what he was gonna do with all this dope. Oh, and still ensure he gets into Harvard.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did; a lot, in fact. Mainly because the dialogue between this group of friends and the people they meet is whip-smart. A$ap Rocky's appearance as an unlucky drug dealer was wonderful, but it was right after his introduction and immediate departure that the movie takes a left turn, never getting back on track. It gets distracted trying to do too much, too fast. Story lines branch off from each other willy-nilly, never to intersect again. Zoë Kravitz makes her way into Malcolm's life as his long-time crush and A$ap Rocky's girl, but with the plot taking Malcolm into completely new directions all the time, trying to keep her engaged with him comes off forced and awkward. It also takes Moore away from the winning dynamic established with Clemons and Revolori, despite their encouraging him to get alone time with her when he can. Giving Malcolm a love interest doesn't make his story more interesting, and it certainly doesn't help the film.

There are these special moments where you think "Maybe we're getting back to the fun stuff...", like when the group starts jamming with a wealthy wannabe producer (maybe they're about to find quirky music fame?), or when they brainstorm computer hacking with Blake Anderson, but all of these moments and plot off-shoots are short-lived, never explored. Why even tease us like that if it doesn't matter in the long run? The main plot's random segways take away from what is most enjoyable about the film.

Dope won't be taken down by its flaws, though, and it will enjoy a lot of love from audiences for bringing a fresh perspective to an otherwise cliche story. And even with its wholly satisfying ending, I just can't shake that it's too bad they went with that story at all.

Rating: ★★★½ / 5 stars

Music Mondays: Rachel Platten "Fight Song"

Who are we kidding? I would be lying if I admitted to listening to even a single other song in the past week! On heavy rotation, as I file through an endless stream of movie reviews, emails, and work (so much work!), the adorable Rachel Platten's debut single, "Fight Song", has been ringing fiercely in my ears. And there is no end in sight, because it is pure, pop gold.

I'm sure you've heard it on the radio, though I don't think it's gotten the play that it soon will. Prepare yourself, you'll be sick of this song in a month, but until then, enjoy it! It's a Kelly Clarkson-esque power anthem. The very best kind.

Enjoy!

Artist: Rachel Platten
Song: "Fight Song" | download
Album: Fight Song EP | stream

Movie Review: "Set Fire to the Stars" (US, 2015)

© Strand Releasing

Like a jazz concert that begins with an impromptu jam session, playful and improvised, right before the rhythm sets in, this account of renowned Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas', first US tour is as lyrical and curious as the man himself. What it lacks, however, is the dynamo energy that the rambunctious Thomas was known for, hitting the wrong notes in a failed attempt to limit the focus. Portrayed beautifully by the script's co-writer, Celyn Jones, Dylan is injected with copious amounts of mystery and fascination, draining the film and other characters of any at all.

Set in 1950 at the tale end of Thomas' life, John Brinnan (Elijah Wood), invites the infamous poet to the States for a series of readings, ignoring the warnings that Thomas might be too much trouble for bow-tied, buttoned-up poetry professor to handle. Determined to deliver this boozy and aggressive legend to the sold-out speaking engagements as promised, John scoops Thomas out of Manhattan and into a backwoods Connecticut cabin in hopes of sobering him up—and, perhaps, get to know the man behind the words.

The humor and playfulness of the beginning was like a real-life Get Him to the Greek, but it quickly changed course, veering into Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? territory—without far less quirky charm. On more than one occasion, the script edges on hokey, with John asking Dylan desperate things like "From what spring does it pour?" in response to Thomas' poetic musings. It just wasn't relatable, and that's a problem when it comes to who John was meant to be in the story: all of us. Despite Celyn Jones' embodiment of this character, he doesn't have an equal partner in Woods. The character of John Brinnan is a conundrum, as he struggles to balance his fandom with the frustration of this absolute stranger ruining his life.



That in and of itself should have been enough to relate us to him, but in actuality, Brinnan is written as a mysterious character you never feel compelled to know. When he's not being a doormat, he's being a bully, highlighted in his odd insistence that Thomas open a letter received from his wife. All combined, it is enough to derail the momentum of the story. It doesn't help that the upfront promise of the film revolved around the importance of the speaking tour, which was dismissed pretty readily when the events actually occur.

There is one exception, though, a balance to the madness Jones brings to his role. Andy Goddard directs a visually stunning film, shot in Ingmar Bergman-like black and white. He and Jones co-wrote the film together, and it's clear that their vision served to compliment one another's roles. There is also a memorable house party sequence (again, reminiscent of Virginia Woolf), featuring Shirley Henderson with an American accent telling a ghost story bathed in lantern light. A standout, to say the least, but it still contributes to the lack of consistency in the film as a whole. Dylan Thomas is too interesting a figure to be limited by this restrictive movie.

Rating: ★★ / 5 stars

Movie Review: "Inside Out" (2015)

© Disney Pixar

WARNING: Come prepared with tissues a-plenty. Just don't use them all during the 8-minute short, Lava, that precedes the movie in theaters. Both bring the feels, mostly in the form of gushing tears.

Disney Pixar's newest venture is another foray into an imaginary world where abstract concepts are anthropomorphized. Inside each and every one of us lives a series of emotions. These emotions define who we are, affecting our memories and actions. Essentially, they are the drivers behind the wheel of a person-mobile. This film focuses on Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias), an 11-year-old girl who picks up and moves from Minnesota to San Francisco with her adoring parents. She, like the rest of the world, is inhabited by five distinct emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Luckily for Miss Riley, Joy has been at the driver's seat for much of their lives, defining Riley's happy childhood. That is until the big move, when Sadness accidentally touches Riley's core memories. In an attempt to make the now sad memories happy again, Joy and Sadness inadvertently get expelled from Headquarters, and must venture through the endless corridors of Riley's mind before everything that made Riley "Riley" disappears forever.

The world created is magnificently realized, creative in a way that we have now come to expect from Pixar. It was clever, though it doesn't deliver the surprised delight it may once have. We're spoiled now, I guess. Regardless, it has a depth that at first feels profound, but begins to edge on devastating; almost traumatic. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a movie about emotions—and how they develop, reorganize, change, and sometimes cripple—would be so damn emotional. But the comedic personalities granted these characters isn't quite enough to soften the sting of ebbing pain and depression. Inside Out constructs it all so beautifully, but is it maybe too much to expect children, or even some adults, to handle? I'm not sure. I love a good cry, so it was right up my alley.

The concept more or less instigates further thought and analysis, but it doesn't quite welcome it. And you'll do it whether you want to or not. You can't help but imagine what the inside of everyone else's minds look like. When you do see that, it's comedic and lighthearted, meant to prompt a good laugh, but it wouldn't always be that way. I found myself thinking a lot about that, distracted at the notion that there are kids out there with far less joy than Riley, and how dismal that story would have looked. I know, I know, it's not this story, so it shouldn't matter. But I couldn't help it—the idea leaked in and wouldn't wash away, even now.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS** For the story that we were watching, though, it was frustrating to endure a character like Joy, so blind to the importance of other emotions. You see how it's supposed to be, through the other minds, the emotions sharing equal space at the table. Along with the emotional imbalance (which granted, is the definition of teenage-hood), the plot lends itself to that slogging feeling. Like a video game level where you grind and grind, for what feels like days, never getting anywhere... that is the journey of Joy and Sadness. Battling to get back to Headquarters—which is seriously right there!—but failing miserably to make progress in getting there. Admittedly, while this is a tedious aspect of the film, it's also the key component in delivering on the cathartic finale.

In the end, the movie was really stolen by Phyllis Smith as Sadness. She is, far and away, the most interesting and tragic character in the film. Her story takes a slightly predictable but no less spectacular turn, and I felt myself drawn to her plight as the seemingly unwanted part of Riley's mind. Inside Out has "Pixar Classic" written all over it, but it may fall into the "watch once" column for me, just like Up did. It's hard to feel this gut-punch-pain willingly, no matter how beautiful the film.

Rating: ★★★★ / 5 stars

AFI Top 100: #58 "The Gold Rush"

Charlie Chaplin in The Gold Rush (1925)

Nearing the halfway point of our AFI Top 100 journey, we've reached the second of three classic films starring Charlie Chaplin featured on the list. Coming in at #58, The Gold Rush is unique in Chaplin's filmography in that it was the first film the writer/actor/producer/director extraordinaire made that had a completed script before filming even began. Known for his improvisations on set, the scope of this massive project forced him to plan out everything in great detail—even though his aspirations to shoot on site in the frozen Alaskan wilderness were never [for the most part] realized.

Chaplin once again embodies his iconic "Little Tramp" character, this time portraying a Lone Prospector who travels to the Alaskan Klondike during the mad gold rush at the turn of the 20th century, hoping to strike it rich. Wholly unequipped to brave the dangerous winter, our patch-suit dressed tramp stumbles upon a couple of burly, brazen men with similar goals, both of whom have a better handle on navigating this harsh landscape. Well, sort of. Comically leeching onto their less-than-enthusiastic help, the men attempt to survive the elements, the wildlife, and the cold. Throughout his journey and after experiencing more than enough failure for a lifetime, the Prospector falls in love with vibrant chorus girl, Georgia (Georgia Hale), and attempts to woo her in his naive, but hopefully determined way.