White Boy Rick

Critics Consensus

Solid work from the cast - particularly a scene-stealing Matthew McConaughey - helps White Boy Rick make up for a number of missed opportunities in the script.

59%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 148

50%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,605
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Movie Info

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, who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.
  • Rating:
    R (for language throughout, drug content, violence, some sexual references, and brief nudity)
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    Yann Demange
  • Written By:
    Andy Weiss, Logan Miller (II) , Noah Miller
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Columbia Pictures

Cast

Matthew McConaughey
as Richard Wershe, Sr.
Richie Merritt
as Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe, Jr.
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Rory Cochrane
Brian Tyree Henry
as Officer Jackson
Bruce Dern
as Ray Wershe
Piper Laurie
as Verna Wershe
Bel Powley
as Dawn Wershe
Jonathan Majors
as Johnny Curry
YG
as Leo Curry
R.J. Cyler
as Rudell Curry
Taylour Paige
as Cathy Volsan
Kyanna Simone Simpson
as Brenda
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Critic Reviews for White Boy Rick

All Critics (148) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (88) | Rotten (60)

View All Critic Reviews (148)

Audience Reviews for White Boy Rick

  • May 26, 2019
    Worth a view for its solid acting and super cinematography, White Boy Rick, lacks the storytelling chops to be memorable.
    Aldo G Super Reviewer
  • Feb 03, 2019
    Forgettable. I guess I theoretically could feel sorry for the actual person this movie was based around? Maybe? But not for this character. Nothing about White Boy Rick grabbed me, least of all the utterly never-congenial Matthew McConaughey, who I seem unable to escape recently, desperate though I am to do so.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Dec 10, 2018
    "You clean up well, Ricky, but you crooked." White Boy Rick is the kind of story that sounds crazier in its broad strokes than it feels when your in the midst of the motions, not realizing what your in the midst of. Director Yann Demange ('71) boils the "based on a true story" events down into a movie about the fragility of family and the relationships in our lives-namely that of the father/son relationship here. It also doesn't hurt that Demange and his team have fully re-created the look and feel of what one imagines mid-80's Detroit looked and felt like for the lower/middle class. I mean, everything in every frame is on point. One of the best soundtracks of the year, undeniably. A host of great showings from the likes of McConaughey, Jonathan Majors, and newcomer Richie Merritt, but ladies and gentleman I needed more of Eddie Marsan in this role! There's a lot of talk of "up selliing" in White Boy Rick, but the magic of what Demange pulls off here is that he executes his story in such a fashion, by dialing in on the familial theme rather than focusing on how "crazy" it all is, that he doesn't have to offer any fries with the burger to convince us we're getting more than we bargained for. We get exactly what we ordered without the typical gimmicks only to find a pie we didn't have to pay for in the bag after the fact.
    Philip P Super Reviewer
  • Sep 30, 2018
    A potentially good to great movie is in there somewhere, somewhat lost in uneven direction, bad pacing and a lack of focus. Matthew Mcconaughey seems underutilized, but nonetheless excels. 3.5/5
    Jeffrey M Super Reviewer
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