Malibu?s Most Wanted
Jamie Kennedy, Blair Underwood, Snoop Dogg
Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson
Directed by John Whitesell
Warner Home Video 2003
86 minutes
It was hard for me not to see Malibu’s Most Wanted as a documentary on white suburban kids: I have been teaching for 15 years in a town that shall remain nameless and all my students except one have been whitebread with vanilla flavoring and sprinkles.
Some of them dress street with baggy jeans and FUBU’s latest threads they discuss with hand signals. It’s sometimes near impossible to keep a straight face in front of these wannabe tough kids, especially when their soccer mom comes pick them up for the one-mile trip home after school.
This is not a documentary though the opening sequence feels like one. Malibu’s Most Wanted is a pretty good comedy that does poke fun at wannabe rappers. Jamie Kennedy, who I despise most of the time, is very good as B-rad a white kid from the ‘bu whose only street cred is his mansion’s driveway leads to one.
His father (a rather stiff Ryan O’Neal) is running for g-nor and B-rad is more than willing to help with the ensuing disastrous results. G-nor hires a couple of real brothers, one from Julliard, the other from the Pasadena Playhouse, to knock some white into B-rad.
Aside from the banner B-rad puts up for his dad’s speech to the women of Malibu, this movie is quite funny and different. A favorite scene is where B-rad’s crew plays the dozens with some primo Yo Mama jokes ‘bu style of course.
The movie has some rather original twists and turns and solid performances all around.
The ending is quite original. It also does not waste a hell of a lot of time getting the jokes in and the story done.
If you have not seen Malibu’s Most Wanted, it is certainly worth your time.
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