Top Issue For the New Hialeah Mayor? The Movie The Rip, Clearly

Newly elected Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo is not thrilled with his city’s portrayal in the new Netflix movie The Rip.

The Netflix movie, produced by and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, is inspired by a 2016 drug raid in Miami Lakes, during which Miami-Dade County police officers discovered $24 million hidden inside five-gallon Home Depot buckets in the attic of a stash house belonging to a marijuana trafficker. It became the largest money seizure in Miami-Dade County history.

To Calvo’s disappointment, though the film is based on events that took place in Miami Lakes, the fictional adaptation is primarily set in Hialeah. The new mayor claims the portrayal makes The City of Progress look unsafe and perpetuates stereotypes about the city.

“We understand this production could have been filmed in Miami Lakes, where the event actually happened, but they chose Hialeah because our city is iconic,” Calvo said in a statement posted on Instagram. “However, that choice comes with responsibility. Hialeah is not a stereotype, and we are not unsafe. We are a proud, hardworking community and one of the safest large cities in Florida based on published rankings.” While the mayor did not cite sources for those rankings, personal finance company WalletHub ranked Hialeah as one of the safest cities in America last year. (For what it’s worth, just a month later, the same source ranked Hialeah among the worst places to celebrate Thanksgiving in the country.)

The mayor went on to write that he would consider taking legal action should a film portrayal defame his city.

“If any portrayal crosses the line into defamation or deliberate mischaracterization, we will explore every option available to defend Hialeah, including legal options if necessary,” 28-year-old Calvo said. “And to the public: don’t let a screen tell you what Hialeah is. Come visit, support our small businesses, and meet our residents. I invite you to experience the real Hialeah for yourself. Because this is RIP. Reform. Integrity. Progress.”

Calvo’s Instagram followers did not appear to feel quite as strongly.

“Bruh, it’s just a movie 😂 calm down,” one Instagram user wrote. “You just took seat.”

Another added, “Bro, it’s a movie. Let’s relax and unclench the cheeks.”

One user quipped, “Bryan, I’ve been DMing you and calling your office since before you were elected and haven’t heard back. Yet you have the time for this statement.”

Others reiterated that the movie was filmed nowhere near South Florida. That should have been pretty clear, given that the homes and trees featured in the movie look more like those found in California.

“Brother, they shot the movie in L.A.,” read one comment.

And another: “It wasn’t even filmed in FL. lol.”

One user tried to put it all in perspective: “Bro acting like Scarface part 2 was filmed in his city.”