Movies in Review: "White Boy Rick"

As a fan of films based off real life stories, it should be no surprise I went to see this film. The trailer was ok. I didn't love the trailer, but the story looked like it had the potential to be interesting. Also, the film co-starred one of my favorite young actors, RJ Cyler, who I have been obsessed with since seeing him in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (a film I highly recommend seeing). My expectations weren't up too high for this one, but from what I watched in the trailer, I was expecting to be entertained...at least.

I definitely enjoyed the performances from the cast, especially from newcomer Richie Merritt who plays Rick. He worked well on-screen with his co-stars and shined on-screen next to already seasoned actors. Although I enjoyed the performances, it felt like the story was lacking. The trailer was more intriguing than the actual film as far as the story is concerned. The story felt like there were too many gaps and the focus was more on Rick's family than what he did as an informant. The story was too choppy for me and failed to have real focus. The movie felt like it drifted at the end, leaving me feeling like "that's it?". ~shrugs

I didn't hate the movie, there were definitely some nice performances from the cast, but the focus of the story did rub me the wrong way. I was expecting more and felt a little gipped. It was marketed as him being an FBI informant, but that part of the story kind of fell by the waste side ~shrugs. Just another story about a corrupt system, guns, drugs, and bad decisions...B-