The Legend of Dolemite

Rudy Ray Moore is an accomplished comedian, musician, and film star. He's an icon of the blaxploitation era with his legendary roles as Dolemite, Petey Wheatstraw, and Tucker Williams, the Disco Godfather. Moore's films have always had a very personal quality to them, shot for cheap and distributed on their own dime. He's got a massive fan base, spanning decades with people drawing on the man for inspiration. THE LEGEND OF DOLEMITE is a short documentary that shares stories from Moore's career and the people that loved him. It explains his early career in dance and his chance meeting with a wino that inspired his most popular character: the bad, bad Dolemite. We learn of his highly successful career as one of the world's first X-rated comedians and the dozens of risqué comedy albums he's released. And, of course, the documentary touches on each of his major motion pictures, from DOLEMITE to DISCO GODFATHER. The movie interviews entertainment icons that heap praise on Moore for inspiring them in their own careers. There are featured interviews with Ice-T, comedian Eddie Griffin, Mike D of the Beastie Boys, and the late Eazy-E who sampled Moore's material in his music more than anyone else.

As interesting as it is to hear how much Moore's work meant to these people, the real interesting interviews come from those who worked close with him. Lady Reed (Queen Bee from the DOLEMITE movies) and Jerry Jones (frequent collaborative screenwriter and Detective Blakely from the DOLEMITE movies) give their personal accounts of how Moore approached them with dreams of entering the world of comedy. The movie is a bit light on material, but it covers a lot of ground in it's one hour run-time. There's a bit of time set aside to cover each of his movies and share a little bit of the background behind them. Really, this movie could've been stretched another 30-45 minutes and I wouldn't have minded. Moore and his crew may not have been runaway successes but they remain icons of a time when African- American cinema was finding its groove. His comedy is hilarious and his movies are unforgettable, and any chance I can find to learn about the man behind the Human Tornado is worth exploring. Fans of Moore and his film catalogue should find enough in THE LEGEND OF DOLEMITE to entertain while giving a taste of the people behind the scenes.

This is the video to check out if you liked Dolemite and The Human Tornado but have no idea where this Dolemite dude came from. Don't expect another blaxploitation romp; this is a documentary with a healthy dose of Rudy Ray Moore standup. You'll learn the history of the Dolemite character and hear from various celebrities how much they dig Dolemite. Let's face it, though. If you like Dolemite and the Human Tornado, you're not as into all that as you are low budget madcap, hysterical stop-motion kung fu, and what Dolemite has to say to those who disrespect him. Rudy's standup act captures some of the glory, but this video is not on par with the actual movies. Rent it if you need to know more about Dolemite than you do now.

Rudy Ray is great, of course, and we're treated to clips from relatively recent performances (yep, he can still do it!) and plenty of prints from his "party record" comedy days, and of course, loads of the clips you love from his four movies. Also, it's a blast hearing him tell his own story--and no one can rhyme like the legend himself! If that were all there were to it, it'd be perfect; unfortunately, we get plenty of inane commentary from people with nothing to say. Worth renting, but you'll want to FF through the scenes Mr. Rude isn't in.