White Boy Rick (2018)

Awards
- 2 nominations

Trivia
During the last week of principal photography in Cleveland, production was briefly halted on two separate occasions due to exchanges of gunfire in neighborhoods near the set.

Goofs
The bulk of this story is set in the early/mid '80s. However, Wershe Sr. tells his son that he is seeing someone about a "40 Cal". The .40 S&W cartridge debuted on January 17, 1990.

Quotes
Richard Wershe Sr.: Straight talk? Your mother and I. We didn't plan on Dawn.
Richard Wershe Sr.: We didn't plan on you either, but in the end things worked out.
Rick Wershe Jr.: Dawn is a junkie, I'm shitting into a bag. Well that turned out well.
Richard Wershe Sr.: What can I say, you know? I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy.

Crazy credits
The end credits are preceded by a brief summary of Rick and his family's fate, as well as that of Rick's criminal associates and the police officers he helped put in prison. There is also a short audio tape of the real Rick speaking about his prison time and hopes for the future when he leaves.

Connections
Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Matthew McConaughey/Taran Killam/Lady Antebellum/Sean Kinney (2018)

Soundtracks
Cocaine Blues (Live)
Written by Red Arnall (as T.J. Arnall) and William Nichols
Performed by Johnny Cash
Courtesy of Columbia Nashville
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
Published by Unichappell Music Inc. on behalf of itself and Elvis Presley Music, Inc. (BMI)

I was expecting a movie that showed the rise (and fall) of the youngest gangster in America, but I ended up getting a movie with an identity crisis. It didn't know if it wanted to be a crime drama or a family drama. Too many details were skipped or fast forwarded, like Rick's rise to power in the second half of the movie. Then it all comes down crashing so fast, I felt like they ran out of time trying to tell the story. The acting was average, I didn't see any particular standout performances, and it was hard to feel empathy for any character. Overall, an okay movie, worth streaming maybe somewhere down the road.