Let's Do It Again

Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier play working class men who want to get rich. They come up with $20,000 for a scheme, but $18,000 of that comes from their lodge's building fund. The men take their wives to New Orleans and, while there, they see an opportunity in an inept boxer, played by Jimmie Walker, who has the opportunity to win the middleweight title. Poitier hypnotizes the boxer and makes him very confident, and the men pose as New York millionaires and place bets with a bookie (well played by John Amos) who later figures out what they did and wants to take advantage of the situation, possibly bringing down rival Biggie Smalls.

Cosby is his usual self, only hipper (especially when he dresses in wild outfits to pretend to be rich). It's a real pleasure to see Poitier in a role that you can laugh at, since most of his characters have been so sophisticated. The two men together are great, especially when they are trying to get out of jams. I especially enjoyed seeing Cosby pretend to be a big-time gangster while talking on the phone. Walker, of course, was one of the best buffoons in 1970s TV, and he doesn't disappoint here. Even when his character is confident and talented, he still has that cartoonish quality about him.

Curtis Mayfield's music, with vocal performances by the Staples Singers, added a lot to the movie.

It wasn't quite a family movie, but it was quite clean compared to similar movies being made today, with very little cursing and not much to really object to.

I had a good time.

July 2008 Update:

A sequel to "Uptown Saturday Night" in every real sense; though Cosby and Poitier play different characters it's the same guys in all but name, the film's title even a blatant reference to this fact. Though this didn't quite match the box office of the former it's arguably slightly the better of the two films, albeit uneven in tone.

As a big fan of Poitier, it has to be said that he's not as good a director as he is an actor, and that his light entertainment gene isn't as developed as it could be. Even dressed up in an outrageous pimp zoot suit he casts a staid presence, a straight, slightly stiff foil to Cosby and a clash of styles against Jimmy Walker's cartoonish boxer.

Back in May 1999 when I posted my original review, I described this as a "sublime vehicle" and "extremely pleasing", giving it 7/10. I can only conclude that I was fooling myself, viewing the film through youthful, Poitier-tinted sunglasses. Let's Do It Again is a decent enough film, but lacks sophistication on any real level and is, at best, undemanding entertainment.

Two years after this movie came out Cosby and Poitier would try it once more, with "A Piece Of The Action", after which Poitier would retire from acting and only make sporadic returns. As a trilogy to retire on, then it's good that Poitier left by putting smiles on people's faces, even though comedy clearly isn't his thing in front of the camera. Indeed, after a stonefaced first half, Poitier indulges in somewhat desperate mugging throughout the second half of this movie, illustrating that he had more success with comedy behind the camera... three years after his retirement from acting he directed Stir Crazy.

Trivia about the film includes a cameo from George Foreman (then a year deposed as heavyweight champion upon the film's release) and the inspiration for Biggie Smalls's nickname. Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Sisters add to a fine soundtrack that's almost as good as the sublime gospel in the first film of this unofficial trilogy.

This time Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby play 2 friends who belong to a group and were supposed to be raising money. They end up trying to train a boxer to beat the current champ by hypnotizing him. They end up getting their wives involved and Denise Nicholas has the best line of all - "Will you tell that girl to get that thing out of my face before I make her eat it?" THey are so over the top that it makes it even better. The supporting cast is pretty much the same as the previous movie. If nothing else, Sidney Poitier is keeping a lot of black actors employed! Once you get into it, you will truly enjoy it. Jimmy Walker isn't even the best part of the movie.

Although not as good as its predecessor, "Uptown Saturday Night", this sequel always provides some good laughs, especially if you overlook the wide-eyed Amos & Andy style acting of the principals (the worst perpetrator, oddly enough, being the typically stoic Sidney Poitier). Minstrel-esque hamming for the camera aside, this one is just plain fun to watch. Calvin Lockhart and John Amos are great comedic villains, almost playing their roles straight amidst the tom-foolery surrounding them.

As an African-American who grew up in the 70's, this and all the other Blaxploitation films provides a nostalgic, although somewhat exaggerated, look at life in the Black community. Put "Let's Do It Again" on a triple-bill with "Car Wash" and "Cooley High" and you'll have an entertaining blast from the past.

I've seen this movie along with Uptown Saturday Night countless times and, this one being the better of the two, and I still crack up. Bill & Sidney are great together and it's a shame they haven't collaborated since the 70's.

Jimmy Walker is simply "down right NAYISTEE!! with laughs".

I'm waiting for the DVD.