White Chicks

White Chicks (stylized as WHiTE CHiCKS) is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. It also stars Jaime King, Frankie Faison, Lochlyn Munro, and John Heard. In the film, two black male FBI agents go undercover as white women by using whiteface to protect two hotel heiresses from a kidnapping plot targeting socialites.
Principal photography for White Chicks took place in Chilliwack and Victoria in British Columbia, and in The Hamptons in New York. It was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004. The film received generally negative reviews upon release, and was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. It grossed over $113.1 million worldwide, and has since come to be regarded as a cult classic.
In New York City, FBI agents Marcus Anthony II and Kevin Copeland inadvertently ruin a drug bust. Their boss, Chief Elliott Gordon, offers them a reprieve if they escort sisters Brittany and Tiffany Wilson safely to a weekend-long fashion event in the Hamptons. The sisters are the rich, shallow socialite daughters of Wilson Cruiseliners CEO Andrew Wilson, whom the police suspect will become the next victims in a string of high-profile kidnappings. On the drive, the sisters' dog Baby leaps out of the car window, causing Kevin to lose control. The sisters suffer minor facial cuts. With the sisters refusing to be seen with cut faces, Kevin sends them into hiding; he has a makeup expert friend create prosthetic disguises so he and Marcus can replace them.
Kevin as Brittany and Marcus as Tiffany meet the sisters' three best friends – Lisa Anderson, Karen Googlestein, and Tori Wilson – and their rivals: the Vandergeld sisters, Heather and Megan. Unbeknownst to Kevin and Marcus, they are being watched by colleagues, Vincent Gomez and Jake Harper, and Gordon, who are undercover posing as hotel staff. At the hotel, pro basketball player Latrell Spencer is attracted to Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin sets his sights on New York One News reporter, Denise Porter.
At the Vandergelds' annual charity auction, Latrell wins a dinner date at a restaurant with Marcus/Tiffany. While Latrell takes Marcus/Tiffany to a restaurant, Kevin, believing Denise likes rich men, pretends to be Latrell and takes Latrell's car to drive Denise to Latrell's house. There, he hears about criminal Ted Burton turning the tables on Heather and Megan's father, Warren. With Kevin becoming romantically involved with Denise and Marcus/Tiffany unsuccessfully trying to reject Latrell, their combined antics put them under Gomez and Harper's suspicion.
At a nightclub, after winning a dance-off against the Vandergelds, Kevin and Marcus learn from a drunken Karen that Warren is penniless and has been taking loans from her father, meaning that Warren is the mastermind behind the kidnappings. The next day, the real Brittany and Tiffany arrive at the hotel and discover they are being impersonated. They arrive in the Hamptons, intent on exposing their "clones", as does Marcus' wife, Gina, assuming that he is cheating on her. Realizing the Wilsons are being impersonated by men, Gomez and Harper aim to expose them, but accidentally strip down the real Brittany and Tiffany in front of Gordon, resulting in Harper getting punched in the face. After Gomez and Harper are suspended, a furious Gordon fires Kevin and Marcus. Having lost both his job and possibly Gina, Marcus scolds Kevin for always dragging him into trouble.
Later, Kevin and Marcus discover that Warren had embezzled money through his charity. Marcus convinces Kevin to not tell Gordon, to redeem themselves with Gomez and Harper's help. Again posing as the Wilsons, they are chosen for the final fashion show. The Vandergelds are furious the Copelands/Wilsons have replaced them on the catwalk, but the real Brittany and Tiffany also perform in the event. Karen rejects the callous Heath, and Marcus punches him in the face. During the show, the Vandergeld sisters try to sabotage their "rivals", but end up being humiliated by Karen, Lisa, and Tori.
The real Brittany and Tiffany appear and expose Kevin and Marcus, causing mass confusion. Warren begins the kidnapping, but incorrectly captures Marcus/Tiffany and Brittany. This begins a fight between the brothers and Heath and Russ, accomplices in the kidnappings. Warren soon captures the real sisters and explains his financial troubles to his wife and daughters, unaware that his confession is being filmed. In the ensuing scuffle, Kevin is nearly shot trying to protect Denise, Latrell is shot trying to protect Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin shoots Warren in the shoulder.
Marcus and Kevin capture Warren, while Gomez and Harper apprehend Heath and Russ. Afterward, their true identities are revealed, and Latrell is dismayed that Marcus is not white, not that he is a man. Warren, Heath, and Russ are arrested, while Gordon reinstates the brothers, Gomez, and Harper. Marcus clears things with Gina, Kevin and Denise begin a relationship, and Latrell wins over the real Brittany and Tiffany. Tori, Lisa, and Karen admit they liked Brittany and Tiffany a lot more when Marcus and Kevin were them, and the five agree to remain friends and go shopping together.
Filming occurred partly in Chilliwack, British Columbia, including the exterior scenes at the Hamptons and Victoria, British Columbia. Director Keenen Ivory Wayans also co-wrote and co-produced the film with his brothers.
White Chicks was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released on DVD in the United States on October 26, 2004 and also on UMD on November 29, 2005.
The film grossed $19.7 million in its opening weekend, taking the #2 spot. It finished with $70.8 million at the box office in the United States, and $42.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $113.1 million, against a budget of $37 million. The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2004, and opened at #2, behind Shark Tale.
The film was "largely panned" by critics upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 126 reviews, and an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's consensus states that the film is a "scattershot romantic comedy that's silly and obvious." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 41 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
In his negative review, Dave Kehr of New York Times stated that "Most movies require some suspension of disbelief. But White Chicks... requires something more radical than that. A full frontal lobotomy might be a good place to start." Film critic Richard Roeper put the film at #1 on his list of the worst films of 2004, amongst claims of unconvincing prosthetics and racism. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 1 and 1⁄2 stars out of four and said "Here is a film so dreary and conventional that it took an act of the will to keep me in the theater." He subsequently named the film the seventh worst film of 2004. Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly said "A tawdry excuse for a movie, but it has a handful of shameless giggles", and rated the film "C+".
David Rooney of Variety gave a positive review, and stated that the film "scores more hits than misses." USA Today's Mike Clark rated it 3/4, and said "As with every other genre, there's a right way and a wrong way to handle dude-lawman romantic comedies. Chicks does it right a lot of the time."
White Chicks was nominated for five Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Actress for the Wayans brothers in drag, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Couple. It lost in all categories to Catwoman and Fahrenheit 9/11. At the 2004 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Director (Keenan Ivory Wayans), Most Painfully Unfunny romantic Comedy, Worst On-Screen Couple (Shawn and Marlon Wayans), and Least "Special" Special Effects. Its only win was for Most Painfully Unfunny romantic Comedy.
In August 2009, a sequel to the film was announced by Sony, though they later canceled the project. A sequel was confirmed to be in the works in March 2018. On June 30, 2019, Terry Crews confirmed a sequel on the program Watch What Happens Live. Marlon Wayans confirmed that this information was not meant to leak, and that the deal had not yet been confirmed.
On February 23, 2025, Marlon Wayans confirmed in an interview that a sequel would happen after the release of Scary Movie 6, saying “I think it's time. Let's get Scary Movie 6 done, and then we'll go and bring out White Chicks 2."