Search - WhiteBoyz on DVD

Amazing commentary on america as it stands today

Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn | Seattle | 04/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reading paper magazine, i come across an interview with the writer/drector of this movie, hiphop activist Danny Hoch. "It's a sad day in America when the middle class buys certain clothes because they are symbols of wealth that the poor appropriated from the rich." While the previous reviewer may understand the dynamics of where these kids grew up better than I, it seems that he may not fully grasp the intentions of the movie. This movie talks about aspirations of the American youth, clouded by popular culture. Looking at the fake music video that they make, we see the bizzare thoughts that run through the heads of these three misguided youth. any one who is interested in pop culture, racism, ghetto problems, hiphop, the downward slide of hiphop(perpetuated by puff daddy), politics in america, masculinity, feminity, race relations in America, Class and class relations, poor blacks, poor whites, drug culture,or education, should see this movie. while I know that this is a very large area, if you are a progressive young, politically active person, you SHOULD see this movie. there is no way around it. This movie should come with thousands of footnotes, it rides on the backs of sociology, anthropology, ethnography, and every thing in between, and has a good story to boot."

Hometown Homies

Q. J Solis | U.S. | 09/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is an excellent take on the ignorance of white farm kids who want to be black, wanna be thugs, and gangsta rappers. As an indie flick, the film lacks some of the sharpness one might expect but here it works in the film's favor. There is a sense of reality there, Flip just doesn't live in that reality. He wears an Iowa Hawkeye, Tim Dwight's in fact, football jersey, lives on a farm in Iowa, and is totally attracted to the bling and light of the rap game. As ridiculous as this seems to those outside of the midwest, this is more common than one might think.

I'm from Iowa, and in fact, this film was shot on location in and around my hometown of Davenport, Iowa, and the Quad Cities. I knew people like Flip and their struggle for acceptance and identity. Quite a few of my friends were in the film as minor characters and extras, and my ex-mayor was the curly headed police officer. There are lots of external shots of the Quad City area, Davenport's riverfront, Muscatine, and a shot of a close friend's award winning grafitti in Davenport that was in the Cabrini Green sequence (Nelly posed in front of a mural he did in a St. Louis graf competition for his first album and is on the inner sleeve). The reality is that Flip's farm neighborhood is on the outskirts of the Davenport area, which is one of the largest cities in Iowa and has it's own urban culture, like many smaller cities in America.

Being from there brings this film in perspective as a search for culture and acceptance. As a teacher and coach, and an ex-Iowan, I knew people who yearned for something new while others went along with this type of charade until they realized how ridiculous it is to act black. The funny moments are endless though, the horrible raps, the "representin'", the outfits, and the dream sequences and cameos. This is a movie that seems to grow on you with a ridiculous but somewhat serious message behind it all. I mean Snoop, Slick Rick, and Doug E. Fresh make appearances! Show this one to the people who you might know that fake the funk."

Comic Relief, But a Serious Undertone Lies Within.....

Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn | 01/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Flip Dogg and his 2 homeys from the not so mean streets of Iowa love rap music, and the "black" culture of hip hop. Despite being from Iowa, they attempt to "keep it real", and Flip Dogg rejects his given lifestyle of famers and rednecks (in his words). He has a pretty girlfriend that he manages to knock up. His girlfriend realizes that when the baby is born, Flip Dogg will be simply JUST the baby's daddy---nothing more, certainly not a father.Khalid is one of the few black people in Flip Dogg's Iowa hometown. Flip lovingly calls him his "homey" (well, something else, actually that starts with an 'N', but Khalid does not appreciate that). Flip thinks because Flip is negro, he has connections to the 'hood and is totally ghetto, so he asks him to accompany him and his crew to Chicago's Cabrini Greene (Chicago's Harlem). "Despite" Khalid being black, he lives an upper middle class life, with educated parents, and Khalid is college bound himself. Flip does not seem to get it. His parents disapprove of his lifestyle as well.This movie has a profound message----the true black inner city ghetto lifestyle is not to be glamourized, and it is certainly not the image you may think it is (thanks to MTV). While I appreciate Flip's desire to get out of Iowa and make something better of his life, the means he does to achieve a better life is the wrong way. There are some extremely humorous jokes and situations (a lot at the expense of the cornfield state of Iowa). The one that sticks out in my mind is when Flip-Dogg says that he is really black, he has a tiny brown spot on his skin, and says the rest of him is a birthmark. Cameos abound in this movie from the rap world---Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Fat Joe and others make appearances. Good to see they do not object to the racial stereotypes this film promotes.A tad more serious than "Don't Be a Menace to South Central..." but well worth the rent---hopefully the DVD version will be available before 2010....."

White boys

Herminio Martinez | Texas | 03/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Funny movie, could be misinterpreted but if your open minded it is very very funny."