Disappointment of 2018: White Boy Rick

For the record, just because something is a disappointment, it isnt necessarily a bad movie. There may be great performers in it only working with mundane material. Maybe it was lost in editing. Or maybe it just should have been better because of great performers and great directors and great everything and it just doesnt work.

The latter of that statement is true for this movie from Studio 8 and distributed by Columbia Pictures (SONY) - this movie just doesnt work. Which is strange because this movie about a 16 year old kid manipulated into selling dope for the government and then arrested by the government for selling dope is a true story. Im sure as in every true story there are some liberties taken for dramatic effect.

This movie was advertised as Goodfellas but with a kid. Yet what we got is an interesting family drama with tremendous actors giving fantastic performances about this third world life in rural Detroit. Despite being cold and grey showing very little movement by anyone, this movie is all mundane chaos that seems to just be normal. And yet the gravity of that doesnt stick for some reason.

This movie should be about Matthew McConaughey being a shady gun dealer and a terrible father to the point that he drove his daughter to heroin addiction and his son into drug trafficking.

Or commit to this being a movie about a sixteen year old with such a chaotic upbringing that he became a  drug kingpin dealing with rival crews led by guys twice his age. Showcase that at one point he is giving his own dad instructions and orders. And then detail the consequences of his actions by highlighting his life behind bars for 25+ years.

This movie doesnt go all the way one direction and then tries to swear another direction and its tonally a weird mix. It shows in the writing and the fact this movies release date was moved several times up the calendar before its final release in August.

Had I reviewed it then, Id have given it a confused Two out of Six Blueberries.

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