Malibu's Most Wanted

Malibu's Most Wanted (2003) is a comedy directed by John Whitesell — watch it online on iFILM. Jamie Kennedy (who also co-wrote the script) plays Brad Gluckman, a wealthy kid from Malibu who is completely convinced he belongs in hip-hop. Tay Diggs, Anthony Anderson and Regina Hall co-star, with Blair Underwood and Ryan O'Neal as the panicking political father.

Brad's dad Bill is running for governor of California. Brad's rapping hobby is a problem. His campaign handlers hire two Black actors to abduct Brad and drag him through what they imagine "real" street life looks like — hoping the shock knocks the rap persona out of him. It does not go as planned. The comedy runs on the collision between Brad's sincere, unshakeable self-image and everyone else's certainty that they know better.

Kennedy keeps Brad credulous rather than stupid — the joke isn't that he's a fool, it's that he genuinely believes himself. For a studio comedy of its era, that one distinction is what holds the film together. Stream Malibu's Most Wanted (2003) online on iFILM.