White Chicks | |
---|---|
Directed by | Keenen Ivory Wayans |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Steven Bernstein |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Teddy Castellucci |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing [2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 109 minutes [3] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $37 million [4] |
Box office | $113.1 million [4] |
White Chicks (stylized as WHiTE CHiCKS) is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. It also stars Jaime King, Frankie Faison, Lochlyn Munro, and John Heard. In the film, two black male FBI agents go undercover as white women by using whiteface to protect two hotel heiresses from a kidnapping plot targeting socialites.
Principal photography for White Chicks took place in Chilliwack and Victoria in British Columbia, and in The Hamptons in New York. It was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004. The film received generally negative reviews upon release, [5] and was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. It grossed over $113.1 million worldwide, [4] and has since come to be regarded as a cult classic. [5] [6] [7]
In New York City, FBI agents Marcus Anthony II and Kevin Copeland inadvertently ruin a drug bust. Their boss, Chief Elliott Gordon, offers them a reprieve if they escort sisters Brittany and Tiffany Wilson safely to a weekend-long fashion event in the Hamptons. The sisters are the rich, shallow socialite daughters of Wilson Cruiseliners CEO Andrew Wilson, whom the police suspect will become the next victims in a string of high-profile kidnappings. On the drive, the sisters' dog Baby leaps out of the car window, causing Kevin to lose control. The sisters suffer minor facial cuts. With the sisters refusing to be seen with cut faces, Kevin sends them into hiding; he has a makeup expert friend create prosthetic disguises so he and Marcus can replace them.
Kevin as Brittany and Marcus as Tiffany meet the sisters' three best friends – Lisa Anderson, Karen Googlestein, and Tori Wilson – and their rivals: the Vandergeld sisters, Heather and Megan. Unbeknownst to Kevin and Marcus, they are being watched by colleagues, Vincent Gomez and Jake Harper, and Gordon, who are undercover posing as hotel staff. At the hotel, pro football player Latrell Spencer is attracted to Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin sets his sights on New York One News reporter, Denise Porter.
At the Vandergelds' annual charity auction, Latrell wins a dinner date at a restaurant with Marcus/Tiffany. While Latrell takes Marcus/Tiffany to a restaurant, Kevin, believing Denise likes rich men, pretends to be Latrell and takes Latrell's car to drive Denise to Latrell's house. There, he hears about criminal Ted Burton turning the tables on Heather and Megan's father, Warren. With Kevin becoming romantically involved with Denise and Marcus/Tiffany unsuccessfully trying to reject Latrell, their combined antics put them under Gomez and Harper's suspicion.
At a nightclub, after winning a dance-off against the Vandergelds, Kevin and Marcus learn from a drunken Karen that Warren is penniless and has been taking loans from her father, meaning that Warren is the mastermind behind the kidnappings. The next day, the real Brittany and Tiffany arrive at the hotel and discover they are being impersonated. They arrive in the Hamptons, intent on exposing their "clones", as does Marcus' wife, Gina, assuming that he is cheating on her. Realizing the Wilsons are being impersonated by men, Gomez and Harper aim to expose them, but accidentally strip down the real Brittany and Tiffany in front of Gordon, resulting in Harper getting punched in the face. After Gomez and Harper are suspended, a furious Gordon fires Kevin and Marcus. Having lost both his job and possibly Gina, Marcus scolds Kevin for always dragging him into trouble.
Later, Kevin and Marcus discover that Warren had embezzled money through his charity. Marcus convinces Kevin to not tell Gordon, to redeem themselves with Gomez and Harper's help. Again posing as the Wilsons, they are chosen for the final fashion show. The Vandergelds are furious the Copelands/Wilsons have replaced them on the catwalk, but the real Brittany and Tiffany also perform in the event. Karen rejects the callous Heath, and Marcus punches him in the face. During the show, the Vandergeld sisters try to sabotage their "rivals", but end up being humiliated by Karen, Lisa, and Tori.
The real Brittany and Tiffany appear and expose Kevin and Marcus, causing mass confusion. Warren begins the kidnapping, but incorrectly captures Marcus/Tiffany and Brittany. This begins a fight between the brothers and Heath and Russ, accomplices in the kidnappings. Warren soon captures the real sisters and explains his financial troubles to his wife and daughters, unaware that his confession is being filmed. In the ensuing scuffle, Kevin is nearly shot trying to protect Denise, Latrell is shot trying to protect Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin shoots Warren in the shoulder.
Marcus and Kevin capture Warren, while Gomez and Harper apprehend Heath and Russ. Afterward, their true identities are revealed, and Latrell is dismayed that Marcus is not white, not that he is a man. Warren, Heath, and Russ are arrested, while Gordon reinstates the brothers, Gomez, and Harper. Marcus clears things with Gina, Kevin and Denise begin a relationship, and Latrell wins over the real Brittany and Tiffany. Tori, Lisa, and Karen admit they liked Brittany and Tiffany a lot more when Marcus and Kevin were them, and the five agree to remain friends and go shopping together.
Filming occurred partly in Chilliwack, British Columbia, including the exterior scenes at the Hamptons and Victoria, British Columbia. [8] Director Keenen Ivory Wayans also co-wrote and co-produced the film with his brothers.
White Chicks was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released on DVD in the United States on October 26, 2004 and also on UMD on November 29, 2005. [9]
The film grossed $19.7 million in its opening weekend, taking the #2 spot. It finished with $70.8 million at the box office in the United States, and $42.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $113.1 million, against a budget of $37 million. [4] The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2004, and opened at #2, behind Shark Tale . [10]
The film was "largely panned" by critics upon release. [5] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 126 reviews, and an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's consensus states that the film is a "scattershot romantic comedy that's silly and obvious." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 41 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [13]
In his negative review, Dave Kehr of New York Times stated that "Most movies require some suspension of disbelief. But White Chicks... requires something more radical than that. A full frontal lobotomy might be a good place to start." [14] Film critic Richard Roeper put the film at #1 on his list of the worst films of 2004, amongst claims of unconvincing prosthetics and racism. [15] [16] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 1 and 1⁄2 stars out of four and said "Here is a film so dreary and conventional that it took an act of the will to keep me in the theater." He subsequently named the film the seventh worst film of 2004. [17] [18] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly said "A tawdry excuse for a movie, but it has a handful of shameless giggles", and rated the film "C+". [19]
David Rooney of Variety gave a positive review, and stated that the film "scores more hits than misses." [20] USA Today 's Mike Clark rated it 3/4, and said "As with every other genre, there's a right way and a wrong way to handle dude-lawman romantic comedies. Chicks does it right a lot of the time." [21]
White Chicks was nominated for five Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Actress for the Wayans brothers in drag, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Couple. It lost in all categories to Catwoman and Fahrenheit 9/11 . [22] At the 2004 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Director (Keenan Ivory Wayans), Most Painfully Unfunny romantic Comedy, Worst On-Screen Couple (Shawn and Marlon Wayans), and Least "Special" Special Effects. Its only win was for Most Painfully Unfunny romantic Comedy. [23]
In August 2009, a sequel to the film was announced by Sony, though they later canceled the project. [25] [26] In April 2014, Marlon Wayans expressed interest in a sequel. [27] A sequel was confirmed to be in the works in March 2018. [28] On June 30, 2019, Terry Crews confirmed a sequel on the program Watch What Happens Live . Marlon Wayans confirmed that this information was not meant to leak, and that the deal had not yet been confirmed. [29]
Scary Movie is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, and Dave Sheridan, it follows a group of teenagers who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body in a lake, and swear to secrecy. A year later, someone wearing a Ghostface mask and robe begins hunting them one by one.
Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans is an American actor, comedian, director and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. He has produced, directed or written several films, starting with Hollywood Shuffle, which he cowrote, in 1987. Most of his films have included him and one or more of his siblings in the cast.
Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year-long stint on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He later became a writer and performer on Fox's sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990–1992), on his animated series Waynehead (1996–1997) and on his TV series Damon (1998). Since then, he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, including Mo Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne, Bulletproof, and the sitcom My Wife and Kids. From 2016 to 2019, he starred as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television series Lethal Weapon. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers.
Marlon Lamont Wayans is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) and the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).
Kimberly Nichole Wayans is an American actress. She is the sister of Keenen Ivory, Damon Sr., Marlon, Shawn, and Nadia Wayans and aunt of Damien Dante among others. She is best known for her numerous roles on the Fox sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990–94), and Tonia Harris on In the House (1995–98). Wayans has also directed episodes for several series, including Bunk'd, The Neighborhood, and My Wife and Kids.
Shawn Mathis Wayans is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He made his debut on the comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1993). He went on to work with his brother Marlon Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros.(1995–1999) and the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).
Anaconda is a 1997 American adventure horror film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, and Owen Wilson. It focuses on a documentary film crew in the Amazon rainforest that is led by a snake hunter who is hunting down a giant, legendary green anaconda. The film received generally negative reviews, but was a box office success, and has become a cult classic. It was followed by a series of films.
Jaime Barbara King is an American actress and model. In her modeling career and early film roles, she used the names Jamie King and James King, which was a childhood nickname given to King by her parents, because her agency already represented another Jaime—the older, then-more famous model Jaime Rishar.
Brittany Ann Daniel is an American actress. Daniel is best known for her roles as Jessica Wakefield in the teen drama series Sweet Valley High (1994–1997) and as Kelly Pitts in the CW/BET comedy-drama series The Game. Her film credits include Brandy in Joe Dirt (2001) and its sequel Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, White Chicks (2004), and Skyline (2010).
Essence Uhura Atkins is an American actress. She began her career appearing on television sitcoms, before her regular role on the African-American prime-time drama Under One Roof.
Little Man is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, who co-wrote and co-produced it with Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who both also star in lead roles. The film co-stars Kerry Washington, John Witherspoon, Tracy Morgan, Lochlyn Munro, Chazz Palminteri and Molly Shannon. It follows a very short jewel thief who hides the proceeds of his latest robbery, then pretends to be a very large baby in order to retrieve it.
The Wilson Sisters may refer to:
Damon Kyle Wayans Jr. is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Brad Williams in the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012, and as Coach in the Fox sitcom New Girl. In 2014, he starred in the comedy film Let's Be Cops, and provided the voice of Wasabi in Big Hero 6.
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are American and Canadian filmmakers. They have primarily worked on parody films, which they began writing and directing during the mid-2000s. Friedberg and Seltzer's first five films between 2006 and 2010 received wide theatrical releases to mostly commercial success, but universally negative reviews; their films Epic Movie (2007), Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie are considered among the worst ever made. Following Vampires Suck (2010), their subsequent releases in the 2010s garnered less attention, largely due to their limited theatrical distribution.
Leroy Casey is an American actor who served as DJ for the sketch comedy series In Living Color, from 1991 until 1994.
The Wayans family is an American show-business family. Family members include Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Damon Wayans Sr., Kim Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., Damien Dante Wayans, and Chaunté Wayans. Works created by Wayans family members include the Scary Movie film series, The Wayans Bros., In Living Color, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, White Chicks, My Wife and Kids, and Little Man.
The Razzie Award for Worst Screen Combo is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst film pairing or cast of the past year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of the awards, along with the film(s) for which they were nominated.
Whiteface is a type of performance in which a dark person uses makeup in order to appear white-skinned. The term is a reversal of the form of performance known as blackface, in which makeup was used by a performer to make themselves look like a black person, usually to portray a stereotype. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.
Bresha Webb-Jones is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Immunique Jefferson in the TV One comedy series Love That Girl! (2010–14) and as Renee Ross in the Starz comedy series, Run the World (2021–23). She has also had significant roles in the films Meet the Blacks (2016) and its 2021 sequel, Sextuplets (2019), and A Fall from Grace (2020).
Loqueesha is a 2019 independent American comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring indie comedian Jeremy Saville. The film tells the story of Joe, a middle-aged, divorced, white bartender who becomes a nationally syndicated radio host by impersonating a black woman.
Slowly though, the film has become a cult classic thanks to its larger than life characters.
It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the Wayans brothers brought us the romantic comedy cult classic White Chicks, but it sounds like Shawn and Marlon Wayans (and their alter egos Kevin and Marcus Copeland, and their alter egos Brittany and Tiffany Wilson) will all be returning to the big screen.
In the 15 years since its release, 'White Chicks' gained a cult following and became a pop culture phenomenon.