Variety
What ultimately happened to Wershe was a scandal, though it's hard to get too worked up when the movie itself is such a jumble.
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White Boy Rick
Newcomer Richie Merritt and Matthew McConaughey star in this crime drama based on a true story, helmed by five-time BAFTA-nominated director Yann Demange ('71).
Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic, White Boy Rick recaps the true-life story of Richard Wershe Jr. who became an undercover informant at the age of 14 before becoming a major dealer until he was arrested at age 17 and sentenced to life in prison.
2018Rating: R16, Violence, offensive language & drug use111 minsUSA
CrimeDramaTrue Story & Biography
White Boy Rick / Reviews
The New York Times
Mr. Demange can convey mood and feeling with his filmmaking, but he can't turn Rick Jr. into a viable character and neither can the inexpert Mr. Merritt.
Full reviewThe Guardian
The issue is not that the film focuses on a white kid, but that it doesn't seem much interested in the black lives hit disproportionately hard by the war on drugs.
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Rolling Stone
It doesn't turn into another Goodfellas story of crime and irony, [but] isn't saying much about the Reagan-era War on Drugs that you haven't heard before.
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IndieWire
"White Boy Rick" attempts to mine drama from circumstances without succeeding at making any of its characters all that sympathetic.
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Hollywood Reporter
Despite impressive performances by Matthew McConaughey and newcomer Richie Merritt, the film fails to engage or enlighten.
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Empire Magazine
A patchy follow-up to the searing '71 from director Yann Demange, but one which tells a compelling true story and offers a treat of a supporting turn from Matthew McConaughey.
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