Why '90s Hip-Hop Homage 'Dope' is a Big Deal at Sundance

The 2015 Sundance Film Fest has only been underway since Thursday, but already, several high-profile deals have been closed, many in a whirlwind of strong coffee, big coffers and all-night protein-bar binges: The tearduct-depleting Me, Earl and the Dying Girl was sold for $12 million, while the opening-night comedy The Bronze went for $3 million.

Also on the docket this year: Dope, a SoCal-set caper that, according to the trades, went for $7 million, following a tight bidding war. After catching Monday afternoon’s screening, it’s easy to understand why Dope had so many suitors. Written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Dope is set in a rough-and-tumble Los Angeles suburb, where high school senior Malcolm (played by a flat-topped, charm-loaded Shameik Moore) is a self-described geek who’s into ’90s hip-hop and what he and his friends (including The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori) call “white s—t” — a category that includes everything from Donald Glover to modern hardcore punk to TV on the Radio.

As a result, Malcolm and his friends are social outcasts at their largely African-American school, living in a bubble of old 2 Live Crew records and vintage high-tops. But when Malcolm accidentally winds up with almost $100,000 worth of Ecstasy, he and his pals find themselves on the run and out of their element, pursued by oversexed neighbors, local gang members, and drug goons.

The obvious comparisons for Dope are films like Friday or the House Party movies, all of which share Dope's loopy DNA and ensemble-cast energy. But the film also happily recalls Veronica Mars, Rob Thomas’ early-’00s TV-gumshoe drama that, like Dope, was set in a California high school in which a new threat could be just a few lockers away, and where the kids are always three steps ahead of the adults. And as was the case on Mars,the teen leads in Dope are pop-culture scholars, able to reference and riff on subjects as varied as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tor, rapper Casey Veggies, and the Bitcoin market, giving Dope a remarkably up-to-the-minute urgency; it feels as though it could have been filmed two months ago.

The real kicks in Dope, though, come from Famuyiwa’s assured, energetic, yank-your-collar directing style, especially in the film’s first and final half-hours (the middle section, in which the pace slackens, and in which a few key characters seemingly disappear, could use a good haircut). Before Monday’s screening, the director spoke of how the movie helped him reconnect with his creative voice; once Dope reaches the masses, a lot of movie fans will want to hear what he has to say next.

Ed. note: This story has been updated since publication.