Twenty years after “White Chicks” hit theaters, the Wayans brothers’ raucous comedy is getting a fresh look — and sparking a broader debate about what we’ve lost in the shift from freewheeling 2000s humor to today’s more guarded brand of comedy.
In a new culture piece published by The Daily Wire, the film is held up as proof that a once-thriving era of comedy — one where no group was off-limits and slapstick reigned — has all but vanished. The article, which doubles as a Labor Day viewing recommendation, argues that “White Chicks” still lands because it refuses to take itself seriously, even as it skewers everyone in sight.
The plot, for the uninitiated: two disgraced FBI agents, played by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, take on the unglamorous job of protecting two wealthy white socialites in the Hamptons over Labor Day weekend. When the heiresses bail, the brothers impersonate them, diving headfirst into a world of chardonnay-fueled parties, pastel cardigans, and high-society absurdity.
The Joke’s on Everyone
The Daily Wire piece is blunt about what made the film work: it left no one untouched. Black, white, Latino, Asian, skinny, fat, straight, gay, rich, poor — all were fair game. “Triple T-K-A … Time to kick *ss,” as Marlon Wayans’ character Marcus Copeland puts it.
That anything-goes spirit, the article argues, is exactly what’s missing from modern comedy. Today’s films and specials often feel like homework, the piece contends, leaving audiences to decide whether a blank stare or a dry one-liner qualifies as humor. It’s “intellectual, elevated, and award-winning,” the article sniffs — but it doesn’t make you laugh.
“White Chicks” arrived in 2004, a banner year that also gave us “Mean Girls,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” and “Anchorman.” It rode the coattails of early-2000s hits like “Legally Blonde,” “Zoolander,” and “Old School,” and set the stage for the likes of “Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” and “Tropic Thunder” later in the decade.
Those films, the article argues, were “objectively hilarious.” Not every joke aged perfectly, but the willingness to laugh at anything reminded audiences that they once shared a collective sense of humor.
Terry Crews Steals the Show
The piece singles out Terry Crews’ performance as Latrell Spencer, the strutting, unforgettable suitor who arrives at a Hamptons party and declares, “Man, it may be summertime in the Hamptons, but it is snowing up in here.” He delivers lines like “once you go black, you’re gonna need a wheelchair” with such unapologetic bravado that the article calls him a “wild panther in a fenced-in pen of white bunny rabbits.”
It’s the kind of humor, the piece admits, that might give modern audiences pause. But it also insists that most viewers aren’t racist, misogynistic, or homophobic just because they laugh at a joke about race or gender. “Bless our hearts if we can find a way not to take ourselves so seriously,” the article says.
More Than Just Fart Jokes
Amid the slapstick and the 50 Cent sing-alongs, “White Chicks” also sneaks in moments of genuine warmth. The article points to a cornrow-braiding scene where Busy Philipps’ character, Karen Googlestein, opens up about heartbreak, and the undercover agents — still in whiteface — begin to understand “girl problems on a human level.” It’s broad and earnest, the piece says, and unexpectedly moving.
That blend of irreverence and heart is what made the era special, the article suggests. It’s also why the prospect of a sequel has fans buzzing.
A Sequel on the Horizon?
Marlon Wayans has been teasing “White Chicks 2” for years, and in an April interview with Entertainment Tonight, he acknowledged the pressure from fans who’ve been waiting more than two decades.
“These people don’t play about ‘White Chicks,’” Wayans said, breaking into character. “You know who be actin’ crazy? White chicks, like, ‘Are you gonna do it or not?’ And we’re like, ‘Bro, calm down.’ … The Wayans are doing ‘White Chicks 2,’ but … we’re not doing it yet.”
The article notes that even in an era when men impersonating women is often treated with the reverence reserved for saints, the Wayans brothers seem ready to dive back into the chaos — if and when the timing is right.
A Lost Era — or a Sign of Progress?
Not everyone will agree with the article’s premise. Critics might argue that comedy has evolved for good reason, moving away from stereotypes and toward more inclusive storytelling. But the piece makes a nostalgic case for a time when laughter didn’t come with a lecture.
“Entertainment like this doesn’t exist anymore,” the article laments. “Maybe we’ve ‘progressed’ so far up our own navels we’ll never truly laugh at movies again — at least the way Hollywood wants us to.”
For now, “White Chicks” remains a guilty pleasure — a film that asks nothing of its audience except to laugh. And on Labor Day weekend, as the article suggests, that might be exactly the point.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-chicks-proves-why-a-lost-era-of-comedy-matters