Whiteboyz (1999)

In a virtually all-white Iowa town, Flip daydreams of being a hip-hop star, hanging with Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre. He practices in front of a mirror and with his two pals, James and ... See full summary »

Director:

Marc Levin

Writers:

Garth Belcon (story), Danny Hoch (story)

Stars:

Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, Mark Webber

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Hoch	...	Flip
Dash Mihok	...	James
Mark Webber	...	Trevor
Piper Perabo	...	Sara
Terence Mueller	...	Jock
Lyndsey Barnett	...	Girl in Bathroom
Dr. Dre	...	Don Flip Crew #1
Fat Joe	...	Don Flip Crew #2
Eric Rivas Quiroga	...	Traitor
Eugene Byrd	...	Khalid
Rich Komenich	...	Flip's Dad
William N. Mayberry	...	Foreman
Lisa Jane Todd	...	Trevor's Mom
Annabel Armour	...	Flip's Mom
Shannon Penrod	...	Hucky's Customer

Storyline

In a virtually all-white Iowa town, Flip daydreams of being a hip-hop star, hanging with Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre. He practices in front of a mirror and with his two pals, James and Trevor. He talks Black slang, he dresses Black. He's also a wannabe pusher, selling flour as cocaine. And while he talks about "keeping it real," he hardly notices real life around him: his father's been laid off, his mother uses Food Stamps, his girlfriend is pregnant, James may be psychotic, one of his friends (one of the town's few Black kids) is preparing for college, and, on a trip to Chicago to try to buy drugs, the cops shoot real bullets. What will it take for Flip to get real?

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Plot Keywords:

hip hop | iowa | slang | one word title | color in title | 

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Taglines:

They dreamed of the ghetto...But they woke up in Iowa.

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, substance abuse, some violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Whiteboyz

Filming Locations:

Muscatine, Iowa, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,149, 12 September 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$36,025, 19 September 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bac Films, Canal+, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eugene Byrd (Kahlid in this movie), goes on to star in 8 Mile, meaning he's been in films starring Dr. Dre and Eminem.

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Connections

Spoofs The Wizard of Oz (1939)

User Reviews

Pretty nice flick!

I get the feeling that this film might've been advertised as a comedy, but yes, it does border on some serious issues that should be acknowledged.

Still, there are several scenes in WHITEBOYS that had me busting up, most notably Flip's daydreaming sequences, which has him imagining about being accepted by urban thugs just because he's "down" with hip-hop.

Overall,I ended up being impressed by this film. Well acted, well written, and well filmed. I would'nt mind catching it again!