Dope - B

Rated R, 115 minutes

The opening of the engaging new coming-of-age urban comedy and Sundance audience favorite "Dope" provides three essential definitions: drugs, dumbness and greatness. The hilarious, original "Dope" mines all three in a unique mixture of "Boyz in the Hood" and "The Breakfast Club" with a splash of last year's "Dear White People," all while standing on its own merits. High-school senior and geek Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) bond over '90s hip-hop culture, their studies, playing music in their own punk band in inner-city Los Angeles, and surviving the harassment for being, well, geeks. A chance encounter with a drug dealer named Dom lands Malcolm and company at the dealer's nightclub birthday party; when the scene turns violent, they flee -- with some drugs that Dom secretly hid in Malcolm's backpack. A wild adventure ensues as the youths try to evade armed thugs who want the stash. Directed and written by Rick Famuyiwa ("Brown Sugar"), "Dope" is an eclectic and energetic mix of how the wrong thing can transform the right people from geek to dope, and is most memorable for its breakout performances from its mostly unknown cast. The three engaging leads are the standouts, including rapper Moore in his feature film debut, breakout turn as Malcolm; Moore's sincere, smart turn reminds of a young Derek Luke or Cuba Gooding Jr., and greater things could be expected from him and one of the best debut performances seen in sometime. Clemons, of the TV show "Transparent" and Revolori of "The Grand Budapest Hotel," also deliver strong turns as his loyal friends and partners in crime. "Dope" works best as a comedy, and the sharpest ones are also the lighter ones (including one extended conversation about the use of a certain word); for what it is, it goes on too long, navigating through some uneven patches and unnecessary characters, some of which aren't ironed out fully by Famuyiwa's script. Still, even with its imperfections, "Dope's" unique energy proves that it's still OK to be uncool in your coming-of-age, as long as you make it worthwhile, and do it to some cool 90s hip hop (the peppy soundtrack, featuring tunes from Nas and Public Enemy, was assembled by Pharrell Williams, who cameos in the movie). As a side note, the film is permitting moviegoers to purchase "Dope" tickets with bitcoin, which is a prominent plot point in the film.