White Boy Rick

Name: White Boy Rick
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: September 14, 2018
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 59
Cast: Angela Cole, Anita Farmer Bergman, Bel Powley, Brad Carter, Brian Tyree Henry

2018

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 65 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 65 Ratings

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White Boy Rick

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: September 14, 2018 | R

Starring: Angela Cole, Anita Farmer Bergman, Bel Powley, Brad Carter, Brian Tyree Henry, Bruce Dern, Eddie Marsan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jonathan Majors, Kyanna Simone, Matthew McConaughey, Piper Laurie, Richie Merritt, RJ Cyler, Rory Cochrane, Taylour Paige

Summary: Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, White Boy Rick is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.

Director: Yann Demange

Genre(s): Drama, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

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Critic Reviews

Johnny Oleksinski

Sep 13, 2018

French director Yann Demange doesn’t clean up the story or make a hurting neighborhood look pretty. The film stays foreboding, gritty and honest. Merritt’s no-frills style is the film’s greatest asset, while McConaughey brings an authentic paternal concern to his usual trailer-park persona. Read full review

Tim Grierson

Sep 8, 2018

The new film from ’71 director Yann Demange is best when it pauses to explore the father-and-son drama at the heart of this tale, as well as coldly examining America’s ruinous drug policy. Read full review

Daniel Neman

Sep 13, 2018

White Boy Rick is good enough, but you keep wanting it to be better. Read full review

Mike Scott

Sep 13, 2018

Even if Demange has a tendency to go on too long about details that don't really matter to the narrative while shortchanging those that do, he peppers White Boy Rick with enough resonant moments, and flashes of humor, to keep it on the rails, chugging forward to the inevitable train wreck. Read full review

Emily Yoshida

Sep 20, 2018

There’s something strangely uninvolving about White Boy Rick, despite all its claims to be a sensational true story. Read full review

John Anderson

Sep 13, 2018

Making his film debut, Richie Merritt plays Rick as a sullen, evidently stupid and certainly uncharismatic schemer in possession of a modicum of animal cunning and perhaps a hint of personal insight. But there’s no life in his eyes. And little life in his acting. Which is too bad for Matthew McConaughey, who gives yet another terrific performance. Read full review

Rex Reed

Sep 15, 2018

It leaves you feeling desperately in need of a hot bath to wash off the dirt that rubs off just from watching it. This mess is so bad that even the title is disgusting. Read full review

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User Reviews

KevinChau5

Sep 14, 2018

Saw this film tonight, Really good true story! Loved the performances by Matthew McConaughey, Good storyline, would highly recommend this film!!

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Ralfbergs

Apr 26, 2020

I liked the movie and Matthew is great as always in it. It had me entertained throughout and was a good watch.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GreatMartin

Sep 15, 2018

Ricky Wershe Jr, AKA White Boy Rick, went to jail in 1987 at the age of 17 and is still in jail today though he was paroled 2017. “White Boy Rick” tells his story from the age of 14 to 17 with an addendum at the end.

The film covers many topics like the state of Detroit at the time,Ricky Wershe Jr, AKA White Boy Rick, went to jail in 1987 at the age of 17 and is still in jail today though he was paroled 2017. “White Boy Rick” tells his story from the age of 14 to 17 with an addendum at the end.

The film covers many topics like the state of Detroit at the time, corrupt cops and politicians, drug dealers, teenagers giving birth, Black versus White subjects, all very lightly including time spent in prison. The two subjects that the film delves into are Ricky Jr., who as a teenager is used and gets involved in dealing drugs by ‘law-abiding’ adults. The other subject is about family and the fight to stay together.

The family consists of grandparents (Piper Laurie and Bruce Dern), father (Matthew McConaughey) brother (Richie Merritt) and sister (Bel Powley) each having problems but all there for each other for good or bad. All we know about the children’s mother is that she left before the film starts. The cast also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rory Cochrane as FBI agents, Brian Tyree Henry as a narcotics cop, Eddie Marsan as a drug kingpin, RJ Cyler as Ricky’s friend among many who come and go without a chance to make an impact.

The movie mainly relies on McConaughey who plays the shady dealing con man with dreams and the father who loves his children giving a definitive portrait of the man. With more face time and some deeper scenes Merritt is at a disadvantage being a nonprofessional cast in his first role. At times he acts as a typical teenager, which may be natural, while at other times he doesn’t quite have the gravitas needed in some scenes.

Bel Powley as the daughter/sister is a match for McConaughey and, in a few scenes is too intense for Merritt.

“White Boy Ricky” is directed by Yann Demange with the screenplay by Andy Weiss, Logan Miller and Noah Miller with both sides seeming not to know what to concentrate on, a shaky camera coming and going for no any particular reason, which at times prevents the audience from being quite as engaged as it should and could be.

“White Boy Ricky” is an interesting film to see because it approaches an often done subject from a new angle.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Tyranian

Feb 28, 2020

Reasonably good performances and gritty look and feel compensate for obnoxious characters.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GrantD243

Sep 16, 2018

White Boy Rick follows a teenage boy, named Rick, who becomes a drug dealer and informant for the FBI. The Good:
- This is based on a true story and I found it to be very well done. I had also never heard of this story until now. - Matthew McConaughey is solid as always. - They captured theWhite Boy Rick follows a teenage boy, named Rick, who becomes a drug dealer and informant for the FBI. The Good:
- This is based on a true story and I found it to be very well done. I had also never heard of this story until now. - Matthew McConaughey is solid as always. - They captured the 1980s well.
- It's interesting to see a "gangster" movie that actually focuses quite a bit on kids rather than a mob. - They also tackled the story in a realistic and grounded way. Nothing that happens in this film seems overdramatized or unrealistic. The Bad:
- The story of someone getting involved in dealing drugs and informing for the FBI is nothing new. And while there are some elements of this story that I found to be original, the overall story is nothing we haven't seen before. - I don't mind language in films. In a lot of ways it makes films more realistic, but it becomes a little much when the main characters are saying "f**k" in almost every sentence. - The pacing of the story is by far the weakest part of this film. It's never consistent and therefore makes it hard for the audience to gauge exactly how quickly it's moving along. Overall, White Boy Rick is a solid watch, but it doesn't push the envelope by any means.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

MattBrady99

Nov 21, 2020

Great performances, excellent cinematography, and decently directed by Yann Demange.

But man, the movie itself is so forgettable. I watched this weeks ago and I completely forgot to login this in. Not only on my Letterboxd, but on my IMDB page, which I usually login first. I don't know whatGreat performances, excellent cinematography, and decently directed by Yann Demange.

But man, the movie itself is so forgettable. I watched this weeks ago and I completely forgot to login this in. Not only on my Letterboxd, but on my IMDB page, which I usually login first. I don't know what it is. There's so much to admire in this, and yet it keeps slipping out of my mind like a wet soap in someone's hand.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Sep 17, 2018

the laziness in its previous act that makes it more active..

White Boy Rick White Boy Rick is a character driven biographical crime drama about a 15 year old boy that falls in a trap of FBI officers in order to help them and then latter finds himself on the wrong side of the door. Thisthe laziness in its previous act that makes it more active..

White Boy Rick

White Boy Rick is a character driven biographical crime drama about a 15 year old boy that falls in a trap of FBI officers in order to help them and then latter finds himself on the wrong side of the door. This arthouse is a blunder of any whatsoever production gone under where its only way out is its pathos reality that it uses utterly to manipulate the emotions out of the audience. It may have a newer structure but the primary reason behind it, is its inability to construct one, each sequence is unfinished, each move is illogical. The creativity and originality never had any vacancy in here, but even a world extracted from real incidents ought to feel practical; don't get your hopes high. The side characters are one dimensional and are handed a wafer thin characteristic to mug up and on that note, the performance of supporting cast is plausible. The relationship between McConaughey and Merritt has done something right to its viewers and it is a real gem of the feature and not because of the sweet and innocence it is brimmed with, but how flawed and honest it is; not often where we encounter this complex chemistry and on such large scale. Merritt is good in bits and pieces just like the feature along with Powley that follows his footsteps. One of the major disappointments is Jennifer Jason Leigh who is underused and undercooked where she isn't given enough range for her to flaunt her skills. McConaughey soars through this crime drama amidst all this traffic of mediocrity and justifies his stardom and his presence on screen every time when a camera looks at him; it loves him, we love him. Its first half is scattered into bits and the second half is equally sensible that for the least itlands this risky flight safely. And as much as gathering the makers does of its mutilated bits and pieces, its amendment can never be that glorifying to make one suffer through that hour. The latter stages are genuinely moving and appreciative but it too falls on a shorter level, either the expectations have grown mediocre or its just the laziness in its previous act that makes it more active. The background score is incongruent with daft cinematography and disturbing camera work that reaches to go all artsy which fires back vigorously. And the anchor that weighs in the most is its editing that is just banal and amateurly polished upon. The narration is something that neither makers agree with nor the actors, their uncomfortness is communicated thoroughly which is just plain old sad. The recalcitrant natured script is why there is no rhythm to it, it was supposed to be this, it became that and clearly we don't want THAT. What it does get right somehow, is when it attempts to depict a series of events to convey the time passing by, but that too is fueled with performance, the juvenile execution barely takes part into it. White Boy Rick is clearly a non-calculative venture whose schemes aren't worth getting into, forget the long run it can't even hold its promises up till the runtime.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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