A Fan-Favorite Marlon Wayans Film Is Climbing The Streaming Charts
A Marlon Wayans flick is trending right now and this one deserves checking back in on. It's become something of a cult classic.
This article is more than 2 years old
People love the Wayans Brothers, but even the comedy duo themselves may be wondering why, out of the blue, their 2004 comedy White Chicks is in the top five most-watched movies on HBO Max, the exclusive streaming home for the film. The movie, in which Shawn and Marlon Wayans go under heavy makeup to impersonate two white girls, has been sitting firmly at number 3 in the HBO Max top ten for the past week, according to ranking provided by FlixPatrol.
With summer currently baking much of the United States, it stands to reason that people are staying indoors and re-watching some of their favorite films, and White Chicks certainly has a strong fan following, who love quoting lines from the film. HBO Max is also offering the uncut-and-unrated version of the PG-13 film, which may be encouraging fans to go back and watch it to see new jokes. Check out Marlon Wayans in the trailer below.
Shawn and Marlon Wayans play two disgraced FBI agents Kevin and Marcus Copeland in White Chicks, who are assigned to help stop the possible kidnapping of two hotel heiress sisters. They decide to impersonate the sisters themselves, which means using lots of heavy makeup to appear as two white girls. The usual culture-clash hijinks ensue, as the Wayans try to fit into snobby, white, upper-crust society.
Marlon Wayans admitted in an interview that the Wilson girls are based on the Hilton sisters, and as you might expect, the jokes write themselves. The film was originally titled The Miltons, a more direct reference to the Hiltons they were trying to spoof. The film’s jokes also explored white privilege long before it became a part of our national conversation, as this particular scene shows.
And it’s good to know that joining Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayams, the film’s supporting cast is near-perfect, with Frankie Faison (Do the Right Thing) playing their boss, Maitland Ward and Anne Dudek (Mad Men) playing the Wilson sisters, who they are supposed to protect. Busy Philipps (Cougar Town). Jaime King (Sin City), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) and Brittany Daniel (That 70s Show) play socialites who hang out with the Copeland brothers as they navigate high society. The film is directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the eldest Wayans brother, who also directed the cult hit I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and directed most of the Wayans brothers’ other films over the years He also co-wrote the film with his brothers.
After a five-season run of The Wayans Bros. on the WB, Shawn and Marlon Wayans jumped to the big screen, releasing the horror spoof Scary Movie in 2000. A sequel followed in 2001, and White Chicks was their follow-up in 2004. Movies like Little Man and the A Haunted House spoofs followed.
Part of the film’s staying power may be due to the fact that it has some classically funny moments. One of White Chicks’ iconic moments has been a viral video sensation for years and features Latrell Spencer (Terry Crews) seducing Marcus Copeland (played by Marlon Wayans) with the song “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. In a surprising twist, Crews admitted that he too is a fan of the song.
The film wasn’t exactly a critical hit for Marlon Wayans and company. It scored an abysmal 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, with no major critics giving it their approval. As you might expect, critics took large issue with the low-brow humor, and didn’t find it did much to address the racial problems in our society by making light of them. “Brainless racial/social commentary,” Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness said in his dismissive, thumbs-down review.
Most of the other major critics dismissed it as unoriginal and unfunny. It even went on to be nominated for five Razzie Awards, including worst picture and worst actresses for Marlon Wayans and his brother. It only rated a 55% with moviegoers, although years of airings on cable might have softened that opinion a bit.
Even so, White Chicks was a box office hit for Marlon Wayans, making nearly $20 million it opening weekend. It went on to make over $113 million worldwide. Even though it’s been almost 20 years, the possibility of a sequel still exists. Terry Crews revealed that one was been in the works, although nothing official has been announced. However, Marlon Wayans has said that the world needs a White Chicks 2 now more than ever. He points out that our currently woke, uptight society needs to learn to loosen up and laugh again. And he thinks a politically incorrect film like White Chicks 2 would be just the thing we all need.
