Delayed Reaction: Dope

The Pitch: A geek in Inglewood has to become a drug dealer in order to get out of a jam.

How I Came Into It: Dope and Me & Earl & the Dying Girl were the two must-see movies that I heard about from Sundance in 2015. Dope snuck past me in theaters. As soon as I saw it online on Netflix, I made it appointment viewing*.

*And this is where I remind you that these Reactions are both "delayed" because they aren't movies I saw in theaters but also "delayed" because I don't get them out as soon as I see the movie.

Why I Saw It: Where to begin? This is a delightful movie. It's mostly a mix between a "coming of age" and an Odyssey story, which is in one of my sweet spots. The cast is excellent. I want Shameik Moore in all of the movies I see from now on. Kiersey Clemons has been showing up everywhere lately, and rightfully so. Same with Zoe Kravitz who has been gravitating around everything I see, it seems. It took me way too long to realize that Tony Revolori was the kid from The Grand Budapest Hotel. You can tell that everyone was fully engaged while they were making this and that's infectious.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: At some point, it got more complex than I cared about. The more that it got into only drug sales, bit coins, and blackmailing the guy he wants to get a recommendation letter from, the less interested I was. The scope of that outsized the rest of the movie. In the grand scheme of things though, complaining that I wanted more small character moments is an enviable criticism. Most movies, I beg for the plot to distract me from the thinly drawn characters.

Side Thought: Since seeing Dope, I've been bothered by a question: Why do I like Me & Earl & The Dying Girl more? Both movies are pretty similar. High school. Social reject as the lead. Quirky comedy. Detours into heady topics. They both rate in the 80s on Rotten Tomatoes.
I don't really have an answer. It's fun to examine though. There's level of familiarity to Me & Earl that gets me more. I'll be the first to admit that Inglewood and hip-hop aren't triggers to pull me in. That hasn't stopped me from liking other movies and shows though. Perhaps it's the stakes. Without the dying girl aspect at the end, I can't say that I'd like Me & Girl anywhere near as much. My best guess is that the plot intricacies turned me off more than I expected. I actually prefer the characters and main cast of Dope better (Sorry peripheral characters, but Connie Britton > Rick Fox). It'll be fun to re-examine this thought in the future.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend