Pootie Tang

"Pootie Tang" is the ultimate guilty pleasure film. Sometimes I ask myself, "why do I laugh at this?". I don't know why, but it funny as hell. Chris Rock is a genius. I don't know how you come up with a story about a funny talking super hero. Throughout the whole movie, this guy is saying things that doesn't make any sense, but the characters surrounding him all understand. How do you come up something like that?!? And put it into a feature film!!! One liners like "sa da tay" and "sine your pity on the runny kine", are classics. "Pootie Tang" was conceived on the HBO hit The Chris Rock Show, in this spin off movie, Pootie is trying to take all the junk food, drugs and alcohol off the street that is being distributed by Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn). The supporting cast includes The Chris Rock Show regulars including Wanda Sykes. "Pootie Tang" seems like a send up to 70's blaxpoitation films, but at the same time, I don't know what it is. "Pootie Tang" is a mixed bag of funk music, cheesy action and comedy. It all works for "Pootie Tang" making it the most unusual film ever made.

Pootie Tang- rated PG-13 *** out of ****

And so does my wife, a middle-aged hispanic girl. Just in case anyone thought this movie might only appeal to hip, young, black kids.

Heck, even my 70-year-old mother liked it! But she likes anything with Chris Rock in it.

Obviously, this is one of those movies where you have to "get it", but for those who do, it totally rocks! This movie works on so many levels. I loved the message, I loved the characters, and the movie is just hilarious.

I never outright recommend this movie to anyone, as it's too unpredictable. I say, see the previews - if you see anything there you like, chances are you'll love the movie. It's definitely worth checking out.

I'm not saying that Pootie Tang will be for everyone, but for those interested, it is really a gas. Pootie Tang was originated on Chris Rock's HBO show with Crouther playing Tang as the new president elect Pootie Tang telling his campaign in lingo that almost no one could understand but it was still dead pan. Now, he has a movie.

Lance Crouther plays the title character in a short yet entertaining movie about a hero with a belt that helps him against the forces of evil, plus his gift of saying things that have no meaning whatsoever (like ebonics mixed with down syndrome, but it's funny). Chris Rock (in 3 equally hilarious roles), Robert Vaughn and Wanda Sykes also star in this movie with it's only damaging flaw being that after a while it runs out of steam. Worth a look. B+

It's criminal, how underrated this movie is. It's inspired on so many levels, and the encyclopedic knowledge of action films, hip-hop videos, 70s blaxploitation and chop-socky movies is breathtaking. I always think of it in the same class as THE JERK and ZOOLANDER, with a healthy respect for flat-out absurdity and non-stop gags. The filming style is rough, and the actors generally have no polish (an undoubtedly deliberate choice), which makes the sudden flashes of precision so devastatingly funny. Wanda Sykes, in particular, is absolute gold as party girl Biggie Shorty, but the film's full of co-stars - Andy Richter, Dave Attell, Jennifer Coolidge, J.D. Williams, Missy Elliott, and Robert Vaughan - who get their turn on the silliness carousel. I can imagine someone who isn't a fan, or at least an observer, of the above things would hate this movie like poison, but for me, who has seen more Jay-Z videos than I ever wanted to see and who can't help laughing when I see a man use kung-fu to bounce bullets off his hair (a gag too complicated to explain, but seamless on screen), POOTIE TANG is fantastic.

I'd recommend it more, but it's just too hard to describe!

Thing I never understood is that these sort of simplistic and silly comedies often get slammed, while movies from the early days of the genre (the Jim Abrahams and Leslie Nielsen type of comedies) are being loved and considered to be classics, even though the humor and comedy of the movies is just the same. For me it's very simple; when a comedy amuses me and makes me laugh I consider it to be a good and effective one, no matter how bad and silly the movie got done.

It's just the sort of movie in which things simply just happen, without often share a clear connection with each other and without featuring a real solid or clear main-story. It's really simplistic, especially story-wise but lots of its moments are simply funny and therefor this movie does work out as a comedy.

I really won't pretend like "Pootie Tang" is the greatest thing ever. It's often just too simplistic for that and it's story and acting is definitely too much lacking. but there is no denying that this movie simply serves its purpose and I definitely can say that this is a movie that genuinely made me laugh because of how silly and crazy it at times got. Still, at the same time it's also true that the movie doesn't quite live up to its full potential. I mean, the movie never really lives up to its great and promising beginning. But luckily the movie is too short to start to further decline, below the level of average.

Still the funniest Chris Rock comedy I've seen in years.

6/10

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