A crass comedy that wouldn’t get made today sneaks its way onto the streaming charts

White Chicks, a comedy classic courtesy of the Wayans Brothers that sees the famous comedic siblings play two ‘white’ women, has found its way to the streaming charts.

The movie, released in 2004, came out in a different cultural reality and it remains a curious testament to the days before iPhones and social media justice. Despite this, it remains a cult classic and has even made its way onto the streaming charts, according to FlixPatrol.

The movie cracked the Netflix top ten in the past few days in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and a number of other Central and South American countries. It’s also cracked that metric in Australia, Canada, Iceland, Germany, and Croatia.

Despite its popularity, it’s hard to imagine the movie would come out in our current social climate. Here’s the synopsis:

Two FBI agent brothers, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, accidentally foil a drug bust. As punishment, they are forced to escort a pair of socialites to the Hamptons, where they’re going to be used as bait for a kidnapper. But when the girls realize the FBI’s plan, they refuse to go. Left without options, Marcus and Kevin decide to pose as the sisters, transforming themselves from African-American men into a pair of blonde, white women.

The film stars Shawn and Marlon Wayans, along with Jaime King, Frankie Faison and Maitland Ward. It was directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.

The movie was a big hit when it came out in June of 2004, grossing $113 million on a budget of $37 million. However, it was not a favorite with critics at the time and was nominated for five Razzie awards. The movie’s critical score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at 15 percent – hardly a critical darling.

In an interview with EW about the cult status of the movie, Shawn Wayans said he got the idea from two of the most popular celebrities of the era.

“I was in my robe, walking around my house one night, and the idea hit me. I read an article about Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton. They were on the cover of FHM. They were getting in fights and stuff and acting real rowdy and raunchy. And I just thought it would be funny for me and Marlon to play two white girls like this.”

Marlon Wayans said he thought the idea was ridiculous at first.

He tells me in my sleep and I’m like, “Go to sleep, you’re sleep-deprived. What do you mean play two white women?” I hung up on him and called him back the next day, and we got together and he throws this article down, like, “This is what we should do.” And I was like, “Okay, you were high.” I’m like, “How?!” And we went through it and started talking about it, and then we realized it could be done. I think Some Like It Hot just crystalized it for us, like, “Yeah, we could do this.”

White Chicks is currently streaming on Netflix.