Movie review: ‘White Chicks’

FloridaGator80

Beginning with the debut in 1990 of Keenen Ivory Wayans’ “In Living Color,” I’ve enjoyed the work of the entire Wayans family. From the even earlier “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” through 2006’s “LiTTLEMAN,” the Wayans family has made me laugh until I cry. You simply can’t ask for any more from entertainers. Better yet, they’re intelligent, insightful and not afraid to push any boundary – and these are the trademarks of every successful comedian. Best yet, their insouciance about whether someone could be offended just makes it all the funnier. Today, I’ll look at my favorite of theirs: “White Chicks.” You’ll have no trouble finding it, so … go watch it. Now!

‘White Chicks’
(2004; 109 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and starring Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Terry Crews)

THESE GUYS ARE RICH WOMEN … AND FBI AGENTS

(NOTE: I updated links on July 20, 2015. I expanded and reorganized this review with additional trivia and opinion and again updated links on March 18, 2020. I again expanded the review on April 24, 2025.)

Just say the name Wayans and I’ll laugh. Brothers Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn (among their big family) are the point guys for the bring-tears-to-your-eyes comedy: they push the envelope, challenge convention and do it all by their smarts, creativity and complete lack of any fear of offending anyone.

Both the Wayans brothers and the Farrelly brothers make great films (“I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” vs. “There’s Something About Mary” or “Scary Movie” vs. “Shallow Hal” – click here to read my review), but while the Wayans are a bit more prolific, both families have a knack for comedy details and moviemaking so enjoyable that fans keep coming back for more. At the same time, I’ll go out on a limb and say that Keenen Ivory Wayans is nearly the directing equal to the Farrellys when comparing each’s best films.

It’s obvious that the Wayans and the Farrelly brothers make different style of movie, but they’re both just so down-home, side-splitting funny that I’ll always favorably compare them.

This is a promotional “still” photo from the movie “White Chicks.”

For years I told friends that “White Chicks” is the best movie they hadn’t seen (and they usually kept their prejudice against such slapstick and crude comedy and refused to watch), but it has since been replaced in that role by “Thank You for Smoking” (click here to read my review) and then that one was usurped by the absolute killer horror flick “Zombieland” (click here to read my review). My title of “best you haven’t seen” is not defined by a genre.

This is a promotional “still” photo from the movie “White Chicks.”

So, back to the review …

In “White Chicks,” Marlon and Shawn play FBI agents “Marcus Copeland” and “Kevin Copeland.” They’re in their boss’ bad graces and accept a bottom-of-the-barrel assignment to get back into his favor. However, it involves picking up a couple of vapid, Paris Hilton-like heiresses at the airport.

Of course, there are problems from the get-go when the guys are forced to begin impersonating the sisters. Black men made up to look like white women? No problem here. The Wayans know their audience will go quite a way(an)s to suspend its disbelief. While they look like fake white women, they are fall-down funny from beginning to end and you don’t mind the horrid disguises that never would have fooled anyone. The Wayans’ manage to pull of the whole black-white thing with verve and aplomb.

Although the plot is about the potential kidnapping of the heiresses and fraud by a supposed rich, hoity-toity father, the film is a series of great comedic scenes for Marlon and Shawn. Along with the over-the-top performance by Terry Crews as pro basketball player “Latrell Spencer,” the brothers just put it all out and pull it off. Oh, the good guys are vindicated at the end, solve the case and get back on their boss’ good side.

This is a promotional “still” photo from the movie “White Chicks.”

Shawn is the more impetuous of the duo and is also in the bad graces of his wife, who suspects he’s cheating on her. Shawn has the most outrageous scene when as one of the heiresses she has dinner with Crews. He’s over-the-top (I’m already tired of the phrase, but it is so apt) sexual and the dinner dissolves into gross jokes, minor exposure below a belly button and flatulence that even makes Shawn’s dog cringe.

Marlon is the more mature (just by a few degrees) of the pair, but he follows along as Shawn gets into situations. He is calm, collected and looking to find a woman of his own. This leads to his pretending to be Crews while the restaurant scene plays out and uses his house to impress a TV reporter. It’s not as funny as the restaurant, but he’s forced to move fast with a maid and Crews’ dog.

Both Shawn and Marlon have been together (with Keenen Ivory directing) in “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” (both had bit parts as “pedestrian”), the “Scary Movie” franchise, “LiTTLEMAN” and here. Shawn has also been in “New Blood” while Marlon has also been in “The Heat” and Eddie Murphy’s “Norbit.” Neither has had a prolific acting career, but it’s all quality work – but not always in a quality film.

Now, a look at some of the rest of the cast …

  • Although everyone is out there in “White Chicks,” there is no one more “out there” than Crews. He is blatantly sexual at all times, enjoys showing his body off (there’s a funny scene where the girls are talking about waxing while getting sun at the beach and he looms over them while oiled up and wearing only a Speedo) and manages to convince you he IS that character. Crews has shown his versatility from being in “Bridesmaids” to “Soul Plane,” but none of his roles equal this one. He’s been in the “Scary Movie” franchise with the Wayans and I liked him in the unlikable “Idiocracy” that features the talentless Dax Shepard. Crews did “conventional” in “Draft Day” with Kevin Costner (click here to read my review).

The jokes keep coming and the boys bring some intelligence to the vapid heiresses and their friends spot the difference but go with it since the guys dressed up as girls are so much fun. The friends are …

  • Busy Phillips as “Karen Googlestein,” Jessica Caulffiel as “Tori Wilson” and Jennifer Carpenter as “Lisa Anderson.” All three are interchangeable in their acting in this effort, but Phillips comes out the best of the trio. Phillips has been in “Made of Honor” while Caulffiel was in “Legally Blonde” and its sequel and Carpenter was in “Quarantine.”

The bad girls are …

  • Jamie King and Brittany Daniel play the heiresses’ nemesis sisters “Heather and Megan Vandergeld.” Both are just as empty and beautiful as all the other women, but they do have a great turn in a dance contest with the boys and their friends. King has been in “Sin City” and TV’s “Hart of Dixie” while Daniel has been in “Joe Dirt” and “Broken Lizard’s” “Club Dread” (she was also in “LiTTLEMAN”).

Rounding out the supporting cast are …

  • Veteran supporting actor Frankie Faison is the boys’ longsuffering boss FBI Section Chief “Elliot Gordon” and he yet again does a commendable job and this time it’s keeping a straight face in front of the Wayans. Faison is smooth and commanding and has been in “The Silence of the Lambs” (click here to read my review), “Red Dragon” and “Hannibal” (all about the infamous character “Dr. Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter” made famous by Anthony Hopkins).
  • Primetime Emmy nominee John Heard plays “Warren Vandergeld,” who is the bad guy here. It’s too small of a role for him to get any traction here, still he’s a professional, competent actor who was in a quite a variety of projects in his prolific career (he had 180 acting credits from the first in ) that includes the little-remembered but powerful “Betrayed” (click here to read my review) and was nominated for his work as a recurring but doomed character in HBO’s “The Sopranos.” He’s mostly recognized as the father in the first two “Home Alone” films (click here to read my review). Heard died at 71 in 2017 of a heart attack.
  • Lochlyn Munro, who plays “Agent Jake Harper” (no apparent relation to the “Two and a Half Men” character), often works with the Wayans family. He was in “LiTTLEMAN” and “Scary Movie” and away from them I liked him best in an episode of TV’s “Monk” as a mobster’s henchman.

A written review just can’t do justice to the hilarity of any of the best scenes and jokes. However, I’ll give it somewhat of a go …

Individual scenes of note include the dance-off; shopping with the girls; the restaurant scene where “pigging out” reaches a whole new level; and then the climactic “White Party” at the end where everything becomes clear. “What do you mean broke? Like Martha Stewart broke or MC Hammer broke?” one girl asks her father. The sisters wail at the MC Hammer answer and finally all the loose ends wind up tied to put a wrap on the film.

“White Chicks” is much better than the 41st ranking it received at U.S. theaters in 2004. It earned $70.8 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. However, it added millions more worldwide and its final total was $113 million on a $38 million budget, according to Wiki. It trailed far, far behind the stunning $441.2 million made by the No. 1 film that year: “Shrek 2” (it would take “The Dark Knight” four years later to top that number). Here are the other films from that year that I’ve reviewed for my blog:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Phillips’ birth name is Elizabeth Jean Philipps; supporting actor Maitland Ward’s birth name is Ashley Maitland Welkos; and Munro’s full birth name is Richard Laughlain Munro.
  • The airport in New York where Marlon and Shawn pick up the heiresses is actually Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
  • The original title was to be “The Miltons” as a joke on Paris Hilton and her family. Thank goodness someone thought a little further out … “White Chicks” is the perfect title for this flick.
  • Heard plays a father to daughters named “Megan” and “Heather” in this one. He played the uncle to girls named “Megan” and “Heather” in the “Home Alone” franchise (click here to read my review).
  • Here are the rides for some of the characters: “Tori” with a, 2002 BMW 3 Cabrio; “Kevin” with a, 2003 Chevrolet Suburban LS; and “Latrell” with a 1997 Aston Martin DB7 Volante.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “At the charity ball at The Royal Hamptons Hotel, a sign is displayed above the stage for the Southampton Nuclear Opposition Benefit. The first letters of the words spell the word ‘SNOB,’ probably referring to the many wealthy people who live or holiday in the Hamptons.”

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