White Chicks (2004)

written by Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans

from a story by Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans

directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans

Yep, I have no excuse. I sat down in front of the TV one night, tired of the whole Donald Trump/Hillary Clinton media circus, and said I want to watch a fun, stupid movie. And the winner was White Chicks.

I didn’t get fun, but I certainly got stupid.

To my credit, let me say that I almost didn’t last the first five minutes, in which undercover FBI brothers Kevin and Marcus (Shawn and Marlon Wayans) try to pass for Latino clerks at a convenience store. Never mind offensive, the whole sequence is just irritating as fuck, with the two comedians shaking maracas and chomping cigars. But I kept on going, mainly because I wanted to see if the eventual sendup of white privilege – as the black agents disguise themselves as billionaire heiresses – would pay off.

It really doesn’t. And the truth is, the movie is way too silly in its broad lowest common denominator comedy (and I use the term very loosely) to even come across as borderline outrageous. However, I did laugh at the scene where footballer Terry Crews attempts to woo Marcus’ “white girl” by singing Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles. Much, much better than another Trump/Clinton debate.

Rating: *½

Carlos I. Cuevas