Willie Dynamite [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

There are some other things too that set it apart from other films of the era, including the injections at times of Dolemite style humor, including Willie's revenge on a rival gangster by stripping him of his threads down to his shoelaces and leaving him in his birthday suit down by the waterfront, and in general the behaviour of the white lodge members at the hotel, who during a knife fight between two rival groups of prostitutes seem to be able to say little than, "Yes, please !" and "Thank you, Ma'am" in the backround for no reason whatsoever. And I agree, the the film is definitely almost cartoonish at times... very interestingly cut... really has the feel of those early '70s America International films.

Overall, whether you'd award this one best of the genre (in many ways it does rival the Mack) or feel it deserves a Golden Turkey Award, I'd have to say, it is an entertaining watch by any standard... Somebody tell me where that guy got his threads.. especially the green suit on the cover ! ! !

(P.S. Funky, though sparse soundtrack by the late great J.J. Johnson ! ! ! )

The story starts off with our anti-hero, Willie Dynamite (who was the bald Black guy on Sesame Street. You'll never look at Oscar the Grouch the same again) under seige from all sides, as he is set upon by an old flame-turned-social worker, the cops, and a wickedly funny pimp named "Bell" (played by Roger Robinson) who wants to take Willie's dynamite hoes because he won't join the newly formed pimp organized front.

And my God, the outfits.
Willie sports some of the most outlandish stuff you've ever seen, and when he walks down a set of courthouse stairs, prepare to be rewinding the tape a few times.

To top it all off, it has a moralty play woven throughout that you both admire and despise: you dig it because it's cool to have a movie from that time with a moral, but without being preachy; you despise it because it can only mean the end of Willie, who, despite his lifestyle, you come to like. Or maybe it's the white fez with triple tassles. I'm not sure.

But while Willie is great, the character to watch for is Bell, who steals every scene he's in. He's the cat that does the speech that's clipped into "American Pimp" about vision, and it's even funnier when you have it in context.

A well-done farce that pushes all the right buttons, and a perfect movie to watch with a bunch of your wacky friends or REALLY cool family.