Dolemite

The King of all Black Action films, Dolemite is the story of Dolemite, the most bad ass brother in LA. Go with Dolemite from the jail house to the mean streets of LA in search for the man who killed his fellow brother. Get the Unrated version to get the whole gut punching scenes with all the great moments. Need more? This film has a sequel...enjoy.

Every bit as crude and poorly made as I had hoped. It could serve as a "how not to make films 101" in the sheer amount of continuity errors, poor audio, bad acting, bad writing, bad camera cuts and even an instance of bad lip-syncing.

But you can tell the sheer amount of heart and passion that is at the core of this movie, to the point that even with all the violence, gratuitous nudity, and coarse language, there is this odd sense of wholesomeness that occupied the whole picture. There's something about a bunch of friends coming together and making a film with absolutely no clue how to do it, and now given the backstory thanks to Dolemite Is My Name, and knowing the challenges the crew went through as well as their ultimate triumph, I found myself really respecting everything about this hilariously bad film.

That was one hell of a run-on sentence.

1975... before Rudy Ray Moore was hailed as the "Father Of Rap Music" he was touring Black clubs around the nation doing routines from his brisk selling "Party Records". In his spare time and when finances allowed, he would make the opccasional movie on a shoestring budget. This was his first. A classic blaxploitation action movie. The flubs are legendary and have been detailed elsewhere, this looks like a backyard movie, very similar to movies kids would make in their yards with the advent of home Video cameras.

Great flick from a strictly guilty pleasure standpoint. You ignore the errors and weak plot, you see Rudy's obvious pleasure over acting in front of a camera for the first time. I imagine this was a dream come trur for Rudy, he could finally bring his nightclub character Dolemite to the big screen. Of course, Dolemite is an almost mythological character, much bigger than real life, sort of like a Black Paul Bunyan, but Rudy gives an admirable attempt in bringing Dolemite to the screen. This movie had a revival of sorts when Arsenio Hall's TV talk show would feature clips from this movie and also when Arsenio had Rudy Ray on his show. Worth seeing if not taken seriously.

The blaxploitation genre certainly produced some bizarre oddities that's for sure. Dolemite is firmly in this category. On a technical level its appalling, with bad camera work, acting, action and story. The boom mic is visible so often that it really deserves a mention in the credits. But these considerations are ultimately irrelevant. In fact, the sheer scale of the cinematic incompetence is certainly one of the actual joys of the movie. The film-makers just didn't care and seemingly knocked this one out with little concern for such matters.

The rough and ready style of Dolemite kind of seems appropriate though, given the nature of the central character, who is a super-shady bad mutha in a pimp suit. This character, Dolemite, spends most of the film swearing in creative ways. His routines are like proto-rap and seem to have influenced hip-hop culture. The movie is really a superb time-capsule flick. The insane fashions and jive talk are all almost alien in their bizarreness now. While the movie sports various other strange characters such as Reverend Gibbs, the mayor and the Hamburger Pimp. The latter of which actually appears to be out of his head on something or other – I don't think this bloke was really acting! There's also an extended scene near the end in a nightclub that really has to be seen to be believed. It has a priceless performance from a soul act and a crazy dance routine with some guy battering hell out of a drum-kit, it then climaxes with Dolemite's swearing rap thing. It's strange, like the movie in general. This may be super-trashy but it's highly original. It's yet another example of why the 70's ruled when it came to movies.

Stand up comedian Rudy Ray Moore stars as the hip, badass, styling m.f.er pimp hero of the title. He's set up by conniving hoodlum Willie Green (D'Urville Martin, who doubles as director) for possession of drugs and stolen furs. Dolemite is subsequently released from prison so he can dig up the dirt on Willie and his associates. Fortunately for Dolemite, he has people like the formidable Queen Bee (Lady Reed) and his stable of karate chopping hookers at his disposal.

"Dolemite" wins no awards for quality filmmaking. For one thing, a lot of its action is pretty inept, even if the production supposedly had the services of Chuck Norris' karate school. But it IS quality entertainment. It's often hilariously crude and dumb, with some priceless dialogue. It's also pretty damn violent, and there's occasional flashes of female skin to attract viewer interest. The main attraction, though, is Mr. Moore himself, who's given two opportunities on screen to launch into two of his routines, one about a black named Shine who was on board the Titanic, and another about a monkey who attempts revenge on a bullying lion. The script by co-star Jerry Jones (who plays the lawman Blakeley) is deliciously profane.

The performances by all are unceasingly amusing. Moore is much more of a personality than an actor, but he does have a certain charisma about him. Martin is fun as his nemesis. Be on the lookout for hambone thespian Hy Pyke as the corrupt mayor Daley; as can be expected, he tears into the scenery in his typical fashion.

Definitely a blaxploitation classic, even if it's not for all the "right" reasons.

Seven out of 10.