DOPE, when the title of the movie says it all.

At first I wasn't sure which of the thousands of exceptional independent movies I should write about. Then I looked down at the lid of my laptop and in big bold black and white letters a sticker looked right back at me and said, “DOPE.” DOPE, not the slang word from the 90s, not the slang reference for drugs, but the 2015 Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Brown Sugar, The Mandalorian) old school, new school coming of age story.

There's something to be said about a movie that can transplant you to the streets where the characters live, and with Rachel Morrison (Black Panther, Fruitvale Station) as the cinematographer the entire movie feels like you are walking side by side with the characters in a chaotic day in “the Bottoms.”

At first glance when you see the notable names attached to the script you wouldn't necessarily qualify “DOPE” as an independent movie. From Forest Whitaker taking on narration and production duties and a cast that includes a very young Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons, Zoe Kravitz, and hip hop artists Tyga, and ASAP Rocky the $7 million dollar budget certainly got its money's worth.

Greeted by an $18 million dollar box office return, “DOPE" may have been a victim to the gargantuan competition it had to deal with. Jurassic World, Inside Out, Spy, and San Andreas were all massive box office blockbusters that “DOPE” had to contend with.

The dope part about “DOPE” though is it had the pulse of the streets. Not only did this coming of age dramedy receive critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, but it holds an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, and received an A- from Cinema Score.

The film follows Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) best friends navigating high school in the notoriously dangerous Inglewood neighborhood “The Bottoms.” The trio have a band called Awreeoh, and for you music nerds if the music sounds familiar it's because all of the music played by the band is written and produced by the one and only Pharrell Williams, talk about a quality ghostwriter.

Malcolm has big dreams of getting into his preferred university while being an overachiever, until the allure of the dark side creates situations where his “non existent gangster,” is threatened. Along the way he encounters Nakia played by the stunning Zoe Kravitz, who shines on camera channeling her inner Jada Pinkett before the Smith from Menace 2 Society.

The combination of the city scape and the 90's hip hop score that features icons like Nas, Tribe Called Quest, and Naughty by Nature allows “DOPE" to move at a pace that almost lets you feel that California sunshine. Not just committed to the typical tropes of a hip hop inspired movie, “DOPE, keeps itself ahead of the traditional by including the Dark Web, Crypto Currency, and a noticeable absence of direct violence. This forced the filmmakers to create the feeling of treachery and fear without fully indulging your senses with blood and guts, not withstanding the masturbation-urination scene, which has to be seen to be understood.

True to form from beginning to end, “DOPE” feels like you're driving through Los Angeles on a beautiful sunny day, and then you make a wrong turn into the wrong neighborhood while wearing the wrong color but you're surrounded by a shield of invincibility. This is what Rick Famuyiwa creates, we get to be there, see it all, feel the chaos all around us and come out completely unscathed with a huge smile on your face because the ending has an amazing payoff.

Underrated. Under appreciated. “DOPE” is an indulgent journey through modern day Inglewood, but feels like you stepped right out of the 90s to experience it. Well worth all 103 minutes of the run time, every minute is utilized to push the story forward and like the title says, “DOPE" is DOPE!!