Dear White People

R

Released Oct 17, 2014

1 hr. 46 min.

Comedy

Drama

Romance

List

91%

134 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

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Critics Consensus

Dear White People adds a welcome new voice to cinema's oft-neglected discussion of race, tackling its timely themes with intelligence, honesty, and gratifyingly sharp wit.

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Paul G

Good idea, terrible delivery. This movie takes boring to new levels.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Khurt K

More racist trash. Show creator Justin Simien is a Black Supremist race grifter, he does not care about uplifting or inspiring black Americans, he only cares about making money for himself by exploiting the plight of the black American by deliberately creating a show to profit off of current racial divisions.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/13/23

Full Review

Jason S

I recently watched the movie Dear White People, and it was one of the most disappointing movies I've seen in a while. The film had a great premise, with fascinating characters, and the potential to explore some deep topics on identity, race, and racism. However, it lacked any real depth or complexity to the ideas it was tackling, and I found the movie often times trying too hard to be funny. The movie also had some issues with pacing and dialogue. It often felt like the characters were speaking in long, lagging monologues that felt more didactic than natural in how they were delivered. Furthermore, the movie tried to hammer home the importance of racism and discrimination by having every single character (even the white characters) constantly talking about it. This forced dialogue felt clumsy, and it seemed like the movie's attempt to be "woke" actually caused it to become preachy and heavy-handed. The movie also had a lack of cohesiveness in its plot. It felt like there was no real narrative arc, and most of the characters seemed to have no real purpose in the story. Even the central character Sam, who was the one we were supposed to be invested in the most, felt like his story was never really developed. In the end, I was very disappointed with Dear White People. The movie had a great premise and could have had a lot of potential to explore interesting topics, but was bogged down by its muddled story, awkward dialogue, and a lack of development in its characters. Unfortunately, I give this movie only 1 star.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

jim t

Contrary to what the title might suggest, Dear White People has no political axe to grind. Forget the ostensible motif of race politics and race relations. The true focus is on inter-personal human relations (boy girl, father son, peer relations) which are way more complicated, interesting and mysterious. The genius of this movie is how well it captures that complexity. Clever provacative dialogue is delivered by appealing, talented players. No racial platitutude, cliche or trope is left unexamined or unskewered. The good writing is complemented by excellent shooting. A simple scene at the end where a couple rehash what went wrong and make up is so well done that it might be the highlight of the story. There's a surprise punch line scene that ends it all. I finished this movie with both eyes open which is my equivalent of two thumbs up.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/01/23

Full Review

jack j

There's too much tension in this movie to enjoy the rare funny moments.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

A A

This goes without saying, it was bigoted from the outset. the odd chuckles it provides are far outweighed by the racial tension it works up in its audiences.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/22

Full Review

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Justin Simien

Director

Tyler James Williams

Lionel Higgins

Tessa Thompson

Sam White

Kyle Gallner

Kurt Fletcher

Teyonah Parris

Coleandra 'Coco' Conners

Brandon P Bell

Troy Fairbanks

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22%

36%

Jake Squared

44%

55%

Quitters

92%

72%

Frank

94%

92%

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82%

53%

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Shadow and Act Staff

Shadow and Act

It’s remarkable how Simien keeps his film moving at such a breakneck pace, each line a reference to or a commentary on pressing sociological concerns that are rarely spoken about this openly.

Sep 13, 2022

Full Review

Phoebe Robinson

Bitch Media

Despite the chances not taken in terms of storytelling and filmmaking, there are also plenty of reasons to be excited about Dear White People. Simien took what started out as a crowd-funded film and turned it into a pop culture phenomenon.

Jan 22, 2021

Full Review

Jenna Marotta

indieWire

...the film explores how two members of the same race can have vastly different experiences depending on how dark their skin is, as well as why certain people can say and act one way, but not others.

Mar 31, 2020

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a sharp, smart, ambitious satire of race, racism, privilege, prejudice, and power at an Ivy League college that has drawn comparisons to Spike Lee.

Aug 20, 2023

Full Review

Katie Smith-Wong

Flick Feast

Dear White People is sharp, entertaining and probably the coolest film of LFF 2014.

Rated: 4.5/5

Nov 20, 2019

Full Review

Ryan Syrek

The Reader (Omaha, NE)

Dear White People deploys a full arsenal of intellectual weaponry to talk about race and much more in a way most can't or won't. It is hilarious. It is brilliant. It is vital. And it's Simien's first outing. More please.

Rated: A

Jul 30, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

Director: Justin Simien
Executive Producer: Leonid Lebedev, Stephanie Allain
Screenwriter: Justin Simien
Distributor: Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Duly Noted Inc., Homegrown Pictures, Code Red
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M

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