On W List of Movie Reviews

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Way Past Cool (2000)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 2/24

2/24: "...and you thought Boyz n the Hood was powerful."

Yeah, that sold me, but no...Way Past Cool isn't so. It's a laughable movie: kids trying too hard to be adults which is akin to high schoolers performing in a Shakespeare play. Oil and water...it just doesn't work. Making references to The Little Rascals plenty of times is annoying because I could've figured it out on my own.

The first half-hour is fine, causing me to say this is unique and on the same level as Larry Clark's stuff. Afterwards, it loses me for good because of how stagy the dialogue has been. It turns out 95% of the film is theatrical with fake violence.

However, I can see the authenticity. Why Boyz n the Hood worked is it was real and had great characters and dramatic scenes. Unfortunately, Way Past Cool has none of them. When Lyon died, I didn't know who he was. Everybody is unlikeable, and I didn't care what happened to them next. For the message to work, Way Past Cool has to be edgier; hence, City of God got noticed when it came out two years later.

All in all, Way Past Cool is no Boyz n the Hood.

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