“In 1980s Detroit, Ricky Wershe Jr. was a Street Hustler, FBI informant and Drug Kingpin all before he turned 16.”
This is the tagline of the movie poster and the media campaign accompanying “White Boy Rick.” The film gives the impression this is the story of the rise and fall of a Detroit area drug kingpin in the 1980s. Not quite. The gangster sequences are formulaic and mild compared to what you would expect from a "kingpin" movie.
What director Yann Demange and writers Andy Weiss and Logan and Noah Miller instead bring to the screen is a family drama about a single dad struggling to protect his two children amidst the growing violence and crack epidemic of 1980s Detroit. The movie is a character-driven story about a father/son relationship with an extremely poignant performance by Matthew McConaughey as Rick Wershe Sr., a man with good intentions but not the best moral compass.
“White Boy Rick” is based on the true story of Ricky Wershe Jr., the titular figure. Newcomer Richie Merritt plays Ricky Wershe Jr., who lives with his father, Rick Sr. (McConaughey), and sister Dawn, a crack addict, (Bel Powley) in a not-yet crack infested neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. Rounding out the Wershe clan, and providing some comic relief are, Grandpa and Grandma Wershe played by Academy Award winners Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie.
Rick Wershe Sr., the most complex and interesting character in the movie, is a small-time hustler who buys guns at trade shows, illegally modifies them, and then sells them out of his home. His end game is to save up enough money to open a video store and thus provide a safe and financially stable home for his family.
His "business" has piqued the interest of FBI agents played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rory Cochrane. Unable to get information from Rick Sr., the FBI agents and local narcotics Detective Jackson (Brian Tyree Henry) are able to recruit Ricky Jr. as an informant. They even provide him with drugs to sell in an effort to make him a more legitimate criminal.
“White Boy Rick” will remind you of films like “Goodfellas” and “Blow” because of scenes where Ricky is partying with the local drug dealers, whom he sell weapons to, and the R&B and rap heavy soundtrack will make you tap your toes and instantly transport you to 1987. The way Detroit is filmed -- wet, gray and abandoned -- helps set the tone for the film and provide some motivation for these characters hustling for a slice of the good life.
The film wants you to feel sympathetic towards Ricky Jr. when the FBI turns their back on him, but an attentive viewer knows all too well that Ricky's criminal exploits, before, during and long after the FBI's intercession, have contributed to the violence Rick Sr. so desperately wanted his family to leave behind.