Review of White Boy Rick by Kathia Woods

There have been many movies made about the drug game. This movie is the story of Richard Wershe Jr. a young teenager living in Detroit in the 1980's. It chronicles his journey from police informant to drug dealer. The story is an intriguing one because traditionally these stories tend to center on African Americans.
There are many aspects to Richard. He is at times very mature, others naive but mostly loyal to his family. The relationship between him and his father is a vital part of his story. Matthew McConaughey plays Richard Wershe Sr. It's their bond that is at the center of Rick's problems. Richard Sr selling of firearms is the ruse that is used to pull Rick into becoming an informant.
Ritchie Merritt portrays young Richard Wershe Jr. He does an excellent job of embodying the Detroit accent. But what we needed is more backstory about him. Other than living near predominately black people what attracted him to the culture? Why was he so readily accepted? The movie did an excellent job of capturing the era. The landscape of Detroit was authentic. The director used the footage of the Hearns-Leonard fight intelligently.
There is a story within a story in this movie, the justice system. Several things stood out. How do police officers/FBI agents rope a minor into becoming an informant without parental consent? It also demonstrated how the system is not an even playing field. It takes advantage of the poor and disadvantaged. In this case, the city was vile with corruption and needed a scapegoat that scapegoat became Richie Merritt. How does a man that committed a nonviolent crime sits in jail for 30 years is very troublesome?
This movie was better than expected. I enjoyed the story. The film did an excellent job of capturing the era. The landscape of Detroit was authentic. We needed more context about Ritchie, the person. There was also a little misstep with the music selected for the era. This movie was entertaining and gave a new aspect of the drug game. In the end, we have another young life evaporated by the powers of being.

Diversity- It gets a 9 for diversity, but that is expected.
Scale- It gets 8 out of ten for the performances and overall story.