User reviews

Friday Foster is probably the most fun of all the 70's Pam Grier flicks. Though not as good overall as Coffy or Foxy Brown, both had a certain amount of serious content; not Foxy Brown. Here Pam's intrepid reporter discovers a dangerous plot to eliminate black leaders. She's aided by Yaphett Kotto, hunted by Carl Weathers, and along the way she runs into Scatman Crothers, the guy who played the villan in Bucktown and the hero in Blacula, one of the cast of Across 110th Street and the bartender from the Loveboat. The film is light, but very amusing...I recommend it for Pam Grier fans.

Friday Foster (Pam Grier), an ex-model magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr, the richest black man in America... and things go awry.

I love blaxploitation films and I love Pam Grier (which is pretty much necessary given how much the two overlap). Here she is made out to be a very strong woman in a variety of ways -- head-strong, smart as a whip... and someone who sexually knows what they want (this is a fine line between "easy" and "determined", and Foster walks it well).

Is it the best of its kind? Probably not. But well worth a watch for fans of the genre, with some great supporting actors -- including Scatman Crothers, Eartha Kitt and Carl Weathers, among others. Unfortunately for us, this was Grier's final film with American International Pictures.

What I'm reviewing now was the very last movie Pam Grier made for American International Pictures. She plays the title character as a photographer for a magazine who's on assignment to shoot the arrival of the "black Howard Hughes" Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala). Accompanying her on some of her assignments other than the one I mentioned above is private detective Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto). I'll stop there and just say how fun I found the whole thing and why not with a cast that includes Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Jim Backus, Ted Lange without his mustache that he became famous for when he was cast in "The Love Boat" a few years later, a pre-Apollo Creed Carl Weathers, and Godfrey Cambridge several months before his untimely death. I can't admit that everything that happened made sense but I found myself smiling if not always laughing the whole time I was watching. So on that note, Friday Foster is well worth a look.

"Friday Foster" is certainly not as violent or as sexual as Pam Grier's most notable blaxploitation films, those being "Foxy Brown" and "Coffy". Still, "Friday Foster" is an enjoyable action romp for die-hard fans of blaxploitation films or Pam Grier. As the title character, Grier plays a photographer for a black fashion magazine who stumbles onto an assassination attempt on a prominent black politician at the airport. Soon she discovers a larger conspiracy out to eliminate other black leaders. The film features Yaphet Kotto as her do-good boyfriend, Carl Weathers as a menacing hitman, comedian Godfrey Cambridge as a gay club owner, Earth Kitt - purring as usual - as a fashion designer, and Ted Lange as a sweet-talking pimp. There are many other blaxploitation regulars scattered throughout the film. Grier naturally provides her obligatory nude scenes in obvious places. In this film; it's the shower, a jaccuzzi, and then a bed.

This film doesn't examine the dark side of street life, such as drug addiction or prostitution that was addressed in "Foxy Brown" and "Coffy", but it is still enjoyable if these films are your thing. There is still an abundance of funk music, crazy clothes & furniture, and that unmistakable 70's dialogue:

• "Is she crazy or something?" - "No, she's just all woman." - "Damn... I need a beer!"

"Friday Foster" is a worthy rental or purchase for the hardcore fans.

Pam Grier is back in action in the big screen adaptation of 'Friday Foster'. Friday Foster debuted in January 1970 as the first comic strip to star a black woman. It was syndicated and featured soap operatic story lines drawn in a realistic style, similar to Mary Worth, and starred an ex- model turned photojournalist somewhat like Diahann Carol.

I think a lot of blaxploitation fans have a hard time getting their heads around this movie because it's a different role for Pam Grier than the gritty asskicker she played so well in movies like Coffy. Nonetheless, this film gives Pam an opportunity to show range as an actress. I think Pam Grier is one of the most beautiful actresses in the history of film with real star charisma. It's good to see her getting credit.

Although it has the elements of classic blaxploitation - car chases, shootouts - Friday Foster is fun, light hearted comic strip of a film. Definitely see it.

Friday Foster (1975) is a movie I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows Friday, a photographer, who has a friend and a client murdered by the same assassin. When she gets a photo of the killer the organization behind the assassin sets out to make Friday the next victim.

This movie is directed by Arthur Marks (JD's Revenge) and stars Pam Grier (Coffy), Yaphet Kotto (The Runningman), Godfrey Cambridge (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Carl Weathers (Rocky), Scatman Crothers (The Shining) and Eartha Kitt (Boomerang).

The music, attire, jive and cars in this are awesome. It was also fun to see a young Carl Weathers in this picture. The cast from top to bottom is absolutely awesome and very well selected. There's a great shower scene in this and the phone booth scene was excellent. I enjoyed the conclusion especially the final sequence with Weathers. Oh, and Eartha Kit is always a fun addition to any cast/movie.

Overall this isn't a perfect movie or Grier's best blaxploitation picture but it is definitely worth a viewing for fans of the genre. I would score this a 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

Surprisingly mild vehicle for Pam Grier, targeted at the black urban audiences of the 1970s, isn't terribly good despite a varied roster of bemused supporting talents, including Jim Backus, Yaphet Kotto, Scatman Crothers, Godfrey Cambridge, Carl Weathers from "Rocky", Ted Lange from "The Love Boat", and Eartha Kitt, hamming it up as usual playing a breathless fashion designer. Grier (looking lovely) is cast as a professional shutterbug tracking down an assassination ring who target black politicians. Campy nonsense is hardly "The Manchurian Candidate", though it does have a fresh moment here and there. The assembly-line shootout-climax is tired, and the film's production seems cheesy, but Kotto just about steals the picture as Grier's sidekick. ** from ****

This comic strip adaptation stars delectable 1970s icon Pam Grier as the title character, a fashion photographer in Washington, D.C., who gets caught up in an assassination attempt at an airport. This is just the beginning of the troubles; after her model friend Cloris (Rosalind Miles) is killed during a show, she gets personally involved and does some sleuthing - ably assisted by her friend Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto), a private investigator. Eventually, she discovers a plot to eliminate various black leaders.

Pam truly was a queen of Cool during this time, but her charming personality - and ample assets - can only do so much to enliven what is an underwhelming script (by Orville H. Hampton, based on a screen story by producer & director Arthur Marks). There is some bloody squib action going on, but the action in this movie is largely perfunctory. As in any Blaxploitation flick of this period, there is a certain degree of fun in checking out the fashions and listening to that funky music. (However, the score by Luchi De Jesus leans a little too heavily on a talk box.) Kotto offers one of his loosest ever performances, and is a great match for Pam. Supporting them are an impressive assortment of familiar faces: Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala, an amusingly hammy Eartha Kitt, Jim Backus (who's wasted in what amounts to a cameo role), Scatman Crothers, 'The Love Boat''s Ted Lange, Paul Benjamin, Jason Bernard, Julius Harris, and Carl Weathers in a pre-"Rocky" featured role as a none-too- competent hired killer.

All in all, this is an okay viewing for fans of Pam, but there's nothing terribly distinguished or memorable about it.

Six out of 10.

"Friday Foster" (Pam Grier) is a photographer for a magazine in Los Angeles who is sent on an assignment to get pictures of a reclusive billionaire named "Blake Tarr" (Thalmus Rasulala) who is arriving in secret at a nearby airport. Anyway, as she is photographing him from a hidden vantage point, three armed assassins suddenly appear and attempt to kill him. Although she is fortunate to get several pictures of this incident she also finds herself getting drawn deeper and deeper into a complicated and highly dangerous situation which has serious implications for everyone concerned. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that fans of Pam Grier will probably really like this particular film as she performs in an excellent manner. Unfortunately, she was plagued with a weak script, the plot lacked focus and the director (Arthur Marks) failed to utilize an exceptional supporting cast to their full advantage. Yet, while Pam Grier was able to rise above these obstacles to a certain degree I cannot honestly say the same for her other colleagues--especially Yaphet Kotto (as "Colt Hawkins") whose performance seemed both odd and uneven. In any case, I felt somewhat disappointed in this movie and I have rated it accordingly.

I'm sure many fans used to the action-packed Pam Grier flicks must have hated this film when it came out. FRIDAY FOSTER doesn't feature Grier kicking ass or cussing out a criminal, but does have a great cast, excellent acting by Grier, and a funky score.

Grier stars as Friday Foster (real name? who knows?!), a photojournalist who becomes involved in a scheme to kill off all the black leaders of the world. Chasing criminals, sleeping with politicians, and brushing elbows with hired assassins, Friday saves the day and solves the case in the end.

OK, no Pam Grier kicking ass. So what? Here, this is where Grier got her acting chops. While previously in films like BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA, COFFY & FOXY BROWN, Grier was just a vehicle for action, here she is given a vivid character to perform with and does a superb job. Besides Grier, there are plenty of other blaxploitation regulars to savor: Godfrey Cambridge as a gay suspect; Eartha Kitt as Madame Rena, a flamboyant dress designer (always fun to see her); Carl Weathers as a hired assassin; Thalmus Rasulala as the richest black man in the world; Yaphet Kotto as Friday's cop boyfriend (he's great!); Scatman Crothers as a dirty old man preacher (criminally underused); and "Gilligan's Island" regular Jim Backus in a cameo as a sleazy white politician. Also appearing is Tierre Turner, the annoying little kid from BUCKTOWN, as Friday's kid brother.

While FRIDAY FOSTER might not be action-packed and an excellent Grier action vehicle, blaxploitation doesn't get any better than this. I might even say this is Grier's best 70s film besides COFFY, if only because she does her best acting job here. Recommended.

It's a problem with audiences, certainly white ones, who only access the sub-genre through tropes. Unfortunately, these stereotypes are fetishized constructions of blackness in America. Sex, violence, hyper-masculinity, vice. Friday Foster enjoys defying the traditions of its filmic context.

There are two types of Pam Grier fans: those who want to see her breasts and shoot a gun, and others who appreciate her adroit delivery, acumen and presence. In a way, she embodies the very polarity of blaxploitation, which builds a dichotomy of black caricatures as well as authentic depictions of blackness.

This film is remarkable for not only its gender fluidity and subtle feminist undertones, but also for the bevy of massive black talent. It's also funny as hell, winking a constant satirical eye at the audience. This type of self-consciousness separates FF from other films of the genre. It also should remind viewers of the complexity, nuance and importance of post-soul black media and performances as vital to our broader understanding of American culture.

"Friday Foster" - the reputation of this work is more legendary than the film itself. I was quite disappointed when I saw it for the first time, because it didn´t deliver the typical kickass madness you normally get from a Pam Grier movie! The storyline is tame, the forced political correctness is only pesky and the whole stuff lacks in violence and sex, so prepare for blaxploitation in its mildest form! If you want to be entertained somehow watch out for the performances of genre greats like Yaphet Kotto, Carl Weathers, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers or Thalmus Rasulala! Their fine acting improves this average film considerably. Main actress Pam Grier is convincing in the lead, but she´s not that sexy and tough as she was in "Coffy" or "Foxy Brown"! A quite unspectacular film, nothing special at all!

Poor Yarbro (Carl Weathers). When attempting to kill Friday Foster (Pam Grier), he catches her coming out of the shower. Can any man focus on the task at hand when faced with all that beauty? No wonder he slips in trying to accomplish his mission.

A typical blaxplotation film about an assignation attempt uncovered by our intrepid hero Friday, who just won't quit in her search for truth, justice, and a couple of roles in the hay with Senator Hart (Paul Benjamin) and Ford Mallotte (Godfrey Cambridge). But, it is buddy Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto) who ends up with the prize. Lucky man! Also featuring Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, and Ted Lange, this 70s trip is just the thing to get the juices flowing. The lovely Pam never fails to delight.

"Man, the girl's got more balls than brains. She nuts or what?" "She's just all woman, lieutenant." "Damn, I need a beer!"

A funky soundtrack, car chases, shootouts, and the legendary Pam Grier dominate this drama from 1975. It's a film loaded with star power, as aside from Grier, it's got Eartha Kitt(!), Carl Weathers, Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, and Scatman Crothers. Unfortunately, this fine cast is let down by the script. While Friday Foster is entertaining and has its moments, it became tiresome as its silly plot unfolded.

This film is a fascinating (and frustrating) mix of contradictions, having feminism in its strong lead character but at the same time, enjoying quite a bit of ogling (that shower scene comes to mind). There are many "normal" black characters, but there are also rather lazy, stereotypical parts, like the pimp who wants Friday to join his "bevy of beauties." The message at the end, the need for black unity, is meaningful, but along the way there are moments that defy credibility and the story is awfully muddled in its second half. I love that little smile Pam Grier gives us at the end while flanked by two powerful men, and her charisma is almost enough for me to give the film a higher rating, but I was disappointed, and wish it had been better written.

I really love Blaxploitation pictures, Pam Grier is the Queen of this genre, all those black pussycats, really hot, those black characters speaking in a unusual slang, those far-fetched mannerism on the seventies, all this made it a unique genre, However Friday Foster stakes at his own character, as a vehicle to Pam Grier.

She playing an unethical practices girl along the picture, making sex with everyone, every night sleeps on a different bed, to find out who is the Black Widow, a shallow plot and implausible, the casting is amazing gathering the most prolific black actors including the old Scatman Crothers and Eartha Kitt, let it see easily, but don't expect too much!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1994 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6.5.

Based on a comic strip, this movie was colorful and believable as one. Pam Grier as a fashion photographer getting mixed up in romance and intrigue sounds like a great idea but this movie never pulls it off. All I can recommend is the off the wall supporting cast. Not by casting unusual actors but the parts these actors play. With the exception of Eartha Kitt and Scatman Crothers playing what one would expect, the others play characters that they would not be known for in later years. Take Ted Lange: remembered for the happy go-lucky Issac on "The Love Boat", here he is the stereotypical pimp with the clothes and dialogue to match. Yaphet Kotto, is the comic sidekick; I don't think I have ever seen him smile as much as he did in this movie. Carl Weathers as the silent killer is also a little strange. Jim Backus gets prominent billing and he is in the movie for just two minutes! Well, it's a fast 90 minutes and there are worse things to watch.

Pam Grier and Yaphet Kotto worked on three films together. In this one, Friday is a photographer, who is sent to take photos at the airport on new years eve. Tierre Turner, who plays her younger brother, would go on to be a stunt man. Co-stars Jim Backus, Eartha Kitt. Carl Weathers, Scatman Crothers, Ted Lange. Nothing wrong with that cast. Eartha, in all her purring glory, is the emcee for her fashion show where another murder occurs. People are getting murdered faster than they can be questioned. And who is Blake Tarr? That name keeps coming up. Co-stars Thalmus Rasulala and Jason Bernard both died quite young, in their 50s. It's fun to follow Friday around town, as she tries to bluff her way into everyone's house. Directed by Art Marks; his only other film I have heard is Roommates. Based on the comic strip, with the same story line and characters. Check it out at wikipedia dot com.

I don't understand all the negative reviews this film has received on this site--it's a total hoot. It may not have the story or grittiness of Coffy or Foxy Brown, but it has all the fun elements, and plenty of 'em. I watched Foxy Brown expecting a hilarious time capsule of black 70s style, slang, and b-grade action, and was surprised that it was actually a great movie. THIS is the movie I expected, and it is great just for being what it is.

My favorite scene of all is when Ted Lange (Isaac from Love Boat) drives up in his Cadillac, trying to persuade Friday to join his harem. Pam is hilarious in this scene, as is Lange, with his WONDERFUL speech about his ladies' fine clothes, ride, heavy blow, and best of all, they each have their own personal health and welfare plan! Then cut to the 'ladies,' who are THE skankiest trash you could imagine. Friday refuses, and Fancy says 'Well, at least you have to admit my sh*t is… HEEEEAAAAAAAVVVVVVYYYYYYY!' I'm sorry, who can resist this?

MINUTES after this we see Carl Weathers in his red-and-white plaid jacket with mirrored sunglasses! Then Chloris (friend of Friday's) throws MASSIVE shade at Friday for not running at her beck and call! Then Eartha Kitt delivers this speech about her new fashion collection, called 'the four seasons of S-E-X…. rrroooawwww!' As you can see the hits come fast and furious in this little gem.

Special mention must be made of the fashion show. Four women come out VERY dramatically, as this insipid music repeats its four-bar melody over and over and over. They never alter the expression on their faces, they engage in these vogue-type gestures that are stiff and ridiculous… after a certain point it becomes this sort of alien pantomime bearing no relation to anything human. Was this supposed, at one time, to be sexy? Is this what all our 'sexy' Britney's and co. will look like in 30 years? Take special note of the one in white--she looks like the creature from the black lagoon or that floating head from 'Zardoz,' and NEVER alters her living corpse expression.

Pam is great and fun as ever, and she has more to DO here than in Foxy Brown or Coffy, much as I love them. Here she plays more of a human with a sense of humor. There is also a parade of FIIIIINE-lookin' men ('You don't forget the fine-lookin' ones' says Friday), including Carl Weathers and Thalamus Rasulala.

There were also quite a few snappy little one-liners that went by so fast they're almost hard to catch. Anyway, not the best Pam Grier movie in terms of quality, but maybe the best in terms of fun, laughs, and just WAYYYY out-there 70s mojo.

--- Check out my website devoted to bad and cheesy movies: www.cinemademerde.com

Pam Grier looks desirable and gives a playful, likable performance as Friday Foster, another one of her patented liberated and resourseful heroines, but she leaves most of the physical stuff to her male co-star, Yaphet Kotto, this time around. These two make a great pair and it's a mystery why they didn't work together more often. The rest of the cast is solid as well, right down to the boy who plays Pam's little brother, who has some very funny line readings. The film itself is not among Pam's most exciting: the story is muddled, and some promising action sequences (like a car chase....in which she drives a hearse!) fall flat (kudos to the stuntmen jumping from rooftop to rooftop, though). But the well-chosen cast, the bright colors, and the funky dialogue & score keep it fun enough. (**)