'Whiteboys' wraps racial question

What do you get when you mix many drugs, one gun, several black gangstas and three whiteboys in one large Midwestern city?

A serious comedic film that questions racial differences and the habits of character linked to them.

"Whiteboys," the new film by "Slam" director Marc Levin, is strictly an American tale. No other culture could be the highway for this sparking, combustable engine of racial politics that focuses on societal reaction to a culture group that can't find a secure placement in modern America, save pop-music charts.

New York City performance artist Danny Hoch stars as a corn-fed, Iowa-raised white male who acts and thinks like a "brother." His interest in gangsta rap runs far deeper than mere appreciation. He speaks and presents himself as a traditional black American rapper would present himself to a paying public.

The main tension of the film lies between Flip's self perception and how he is viewed by the outside world, by blacks and whites and everything in between. The white youth of his hometown, represented by a three-person gang of beefy skinheads, don't take kindly to those differences, and clashes ensue at the local carnival. Much of Hoch's performance is hilarious, as his determination for "ghetto speak" often confuses the average Iowan.

Not limiting his mirror of gangsta rap to the music and the image itself, Flip also tries to recreate the drug-infested environment that plagues the gangsta rap image. A house party visited by police eventually lands him in jail for disobeying an officer.

Rap artist Snoop Doggy Dogg makes a guest appearance during a fantasy scene that finds Flip in a prim and proper prison where dinner is served on silver platter and lit by candle light, a perception distorted by his white background. Dogg lends his rap skills as he joins Hochs for a solid commentary on the deluded justice of Flip's fantasy.

Flip longs for Chicago, where he can be set up with some homies who will sell him the drugs to deal back in Iowa. His confusion of identity swims in a world of 40 ounce malt liquor, and begins to drown when he isn't taken seriously by anyone.

Even Flip's sole black friend, Khalid, played by Eugene Byrd, doesn't find Flip's black-ness amusing. For reasons unexplained, the upper-middle class cola-drinking Khalid chooses to pal around with Flip and friends, who seem to be less-educated and have a larger penchant for trouble. He agrees to accompany them to Chicago and take them to an acquaintance who can fulfill all of their mind-altering needs. Their trip into the South Side's Cabrini Green sets the screen for a humorous encounter between gold chain-laden dealers and whiteboy Flip. The film reaffirms what many already know: You can take a whiteboy out of the sticks, but you can take the sticks out of the whiteboy.

Flip's mother offers an emotional turn on the opposite end of the lower class spectrum. When he and mom go shopping, he throws a pack of gum into the pile of food necessities. His mother breaks into tears as she publicly announces that the family's food stamps won't pay for luxuries such as gum.

Flip's parents also confront him about his choice in clothing. In a family where the father is slaving to make ends meet, the money for the clothes becomes an issue. His blue collar father asks him why he chooses to act the way he does. It's on the inside, he says, and is irrelevant to the color of his skin, a statement that turns "Whiteboys" from a comedy/rap flick into a cultural statement by addressing the freedom of expression that is still being persecuted in what is believed to be a supremely tolerant and diverse society.

Flip's confusion of identity is mapped out in a zany ending fantasy scene that finds him at a music industry reception set in the corn fields of Iowa. Those in attendance, including his parents and illuminaries from the gangsta industry, greet him and celebrate. But soon others appear, including a white dress-donning Klan member, police officers and army guys. Flip runs through the maze of corn, unable to find security or comfort. Levin's fast-paced shots and imaginative predicaments offer an artistic presentation of the material.

As a white rapper, Hoch can't compete with the best of them. Most of the material in the film was taken from plays he has written and performed in New York. His talents are defined by his perception of self in relation to the rest of the world and of the white rapper, a profession that is quickly etching a new style in modern music with such successes as Eminem and Kid Rock.

Whether Flip is viewed as a laughing stock or as an example of yet another classification of American culture, Hoch's performance is outstanding. Through serious moments and laugh-out-loud one-liners, his affinity for modern street language is superb. Hoch is the sole power of the film, both as star and co-writer, with Garth Belcon. Without Hoch, the film would surely lack in statement and importance.

09-10-99