Coffy - Die Raubkatze

By 1973 AIP had struck paydirt many times over with Black Caesar and its sequel, the two Slaughter films, several black/horror hybrids like Blacula, and of course the jungle prison sleazies, and now their first black superchick flick Coffy went into production. Jack Hill (The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage) was at the helm again, along with the tried-and-tested formula of Pam Grier and Sid Haig. Coffy is a nurse by day and avenging angel at night, tracking down the dealers who got her sister hooked on the Big H. She opens the film blowing the head off a dealer with a shotgun, then follows the trail of dead bodies to a bald hood named Omar and her crooked politician boyfriend, who she shoots in the balls. "Revenge is a virtue", the soundtrack blares; critics applauded the liberated ballsy lead character while decrying the level of sex and sadism. As revenge actioners go, Coffy don't come better. Grier in her first lead role is a sensation. Little wonder Tarantino tailor-made a film for her.

Coffy is a superior Pam Grier movie (far superior to Sheba-Baby) and one that typifies the best of blaxsploitation. Grier avenges her little sister's near-fatal drug addiction by killing any sleazy monster even remotely connected with the narcotics trade. The violence will satisfy aficionados: a shotgun blast to the head, a brutal gangland execution in which the victim is tied up and dragged behind a car, and a show-stopping all-female brawl in which Coffy single-handedly takes on a crew of prostitutes at a party -- ripping the tops off of each one who comes within range and even hiding razor blades in her hair for the unlucky girl who dares to pull it. Brilliant tag line: Coffy -- she'll cream you.

What a great film! After seeing "Friday Foster" last week which was a quite disappointment Pam found back to old qualities with this movie! The nerve-straining and tame political correctness of "Friday Foster" is fortunately totally missing, because "Coffy" follows straight up to some unwritten genre laws: the white are the bad guys, black ones the good - that´s how the rules of blaxploitation normally function! The story is simple: nurse Coffy takes revenge for her little sister, who was maltreated by the drug syndicate. Sometimes the film reminded me on Michael Winner´s "Death Wish", however Charles Bronson is a little milk boy in comparison to the tough and sexy Coffy: Pam shows her breasts every five minutes and when she doesn´t she kills a dozens of people instead. The scene when she blows away the head of an evil pimp is next to William Lustig´s "Maniac" the greatest headshot ever featured in a film! Loved also the hilarious girl brawl at the buffet! A great fun flick!!

Coffy has a sister who's addicted, receiving treatment as she's become quite afflicted, so she's taken up the fight, to remove all those who plight, those who peddle, push, promote, will be evicted.

A wonderful performance from Pam Grier who uses all of her assets (and some) as she takes revenge on those who inflict pain and misery through their drug dealing and deception. More than ably supported by Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui and Allan Arbus as those she seeks to rid; I only recently came across this 1973 classic and it's opened a door to the cult filmmaker that is Jack Hill, and the wonderful worlds that he conjured.

The first half of this film is interesting enough, with a strong and smart African-American woman in the lead role (Pam Grier of course), using her brains and body to seek vengeance on drug dealers who messed up her sister. It has a heavy 70's B-movie vibe to it, and there were times when it felt like the feminist aspects of Grier's character were undercut by things like women's tops flying open at what seems like every possible moment. However, the film really picks up steam is in the second half, which has interesting moments in the plot, action scenes that hold together well, and a few social messages delivered as well. Seriously, if the film hadn't gotten carried away in places early on, I think it would be much better regarded, and even as it is, it feels underrated to me.

It's an action movie first and foremost, and an entertaining one at that, but I loved how it talked about the overall system of drugs, starting with poverty being a factor in the chain stretching from users to pushers to all the way back to poor farmers in faraway places, many of whom are people of color. At the top in this system are the affluent, and a chain of mostly white businessmen, corrupt police, and corrupt politicians. The film doesn't hit us over the head with this, and there are good and bad African-American characters, as well as good and bad cops. With that said, images like the rope being put around a black man's neck and then him being dragged from a car, as well as a rich white guy getting off on using slurs and denigrating "exotic" women are pretty meaningful in addition to powerful.

It's really Pam Grier who makes this film though. She simply radiates beauty and strength, and the look in her eyes at times is every bit as mesmerizing as her often talked about body. Her acting may be a little uneven in places but it didn't bother me in the slightest, and I loved her overall performance, which had high entertainment value.

My favorite quote is from the politician (Booker Bradshaw), who is an interesting character in his own right: "You know, you've been listening to my political speeches. I thought you'd be more intelligent than to listen to crap like that."