Dolemite

"Dolemite" was definitely not made for a "rat-soup-eatin', insecure honky MF" like me but I liked it anyway. The movie is a 'Blaxploitation classic' (which some people may consider an oxymoron) – it's hard to say what's worse: the acting or the karate fights, but it's also hard to say what's better: the pimp suits or the funk. I find it amusing that these extremely crude, subversive, counterculture movies now show up, unedited, on TV Turner Classic Movies – it's like seeing poisonous snakes in a display case at a petting zoo. Times have certainly changed. Worth watching for its own sake as well as from a cultural history perspective, as a lot of modern comedy and rap culture are rooted in movies like this.

1975... before Rudy Ray Moore was hailed as the "Father Of Rap Music" he was touring Black clubs around the nation doing routines from his brisk selling "Party Records". In his spare time and when finances allowed, he would make the opccasional movie on a shoestring budget. This was his first. A classic blaxploitation action movie. The flubs are legendary and have been detailed elsewhere, this looks like a backyard movie, very similar to movies kids would make in their yards with the advent of home Video cameras.

Great flick from a strictly guilty pleasure standpoint. You ignore the errors and weak plot, you see Rudy's obvious pleasure over acting in front of a camera for the first time. I imagine this was a dream come trur for Rudy, he could finally bring his nightclub character Dolemite to the big screen. Of course, Dolemite is an almost mythological character, much bigger than real life, sort of like a Black Paul Bunyan, but Rudy gives an admirable attempt in bringing Dolemite to the screen. This movie had a revival of sorts when Arsenio Hall's TV talk show would feature clips from this movie and also when Arsenio had Rudy Ray on his show. Worth seeing if not taken seriously.

Every bit as crude and poorly made as I had hoped. It could serve as a "how not to make films 101" in the sheer amount of continuity errors, poor audio, bad acting, bad writing, bad camera cuts and even an instance of bad lip-syncing.

But you can tell the sheer amount of heart and passion that is at the core of this movie, to the point that even with all the violence, gratuitous nudity, and coarse language, there is this odd sense of wholesomeness that occupied the whole picture. There's something about a bunch of friends coming together and making a film with absolutely no clue how to do it, and now given the backstory thanks to Dolemite Is My Name, and knowing the challenges the crew went through as well as their ultimate triumph, I found myself really respecting everything about this hilariously bad film.

That was one hell of a run-on sentence.

Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore) is a pimp and a pusher. He gets set up by the FBI and his rival Willie Green. In prison, he is given a second chance by the warden with mutual friends Queen Bee and the governor. Crime has risen despite Dolemite's incarceration. He is to go back into the community to root out the real crime lord.

After watching Eddie Murphy's Dolemite biopic, I had to see the real thing. The production is better than I expected. The acting is surely amateurish. Moore himself is a bit stiff on the screen but has some genuine charisma. Best of all, he knows who he is. The writing gets messier in the second half. There is fun in this blaxploitation. I love his rap comedy on the streets. It has a purity to the scene. I also love watching the real thing after watching the Eddie Murphy recreations. This is fun.

Stand up comedian Rudy Ray Moore stars as the hip, badass, styling m.f.er pimp hero of the title. He's set up by conniving hoodlum Willie Green (D'Urville Martin, who doubles as director) for possession of drugs and stolen furs. Dolemite is subsequently released from prison so he can dig up the dirt on Willie and his associates. Fortunately for Dolemite, he has people like the formidable Queen Bee (Lady Reed) and his stable of karate chopping hookers at his disposal.

"Dolemite" wins no awards for quality filmmaking. For one thing, a lot of its action is pretty inept, even if the production supposedly had the services of Chuck Norris' karate school. But it IS quality entertainment. It's often hilariously crude and dumb, with some priceless dialogue. It's also pretty damn violent, and there's occasional flashes of female skin to attract viewer interest. The main attraction, though, is Mr. Moore himself, who's given two opportunities on screen to launch into two of his routines, one about a black named Shine who was on board the Titanic, and another about a monkey who attempts revenge on a bullying lion. The script by co-star Jerry Jones (who plays the lawman Blakeley) is deliciously profane.

The performances by all are unceasingly amusing. Moore is much more of a personality than an actor, but he does have a certain charisma about him. Martin is fun as his nemesis. Be on the lookout for hambone thespian Hy Pyke as the corrupt mayor Daley; as can be expected, he tears into the scenery in his typical fashion.

Definitely a blaxploitation classic, even if it's not for all the "right" reasons.

Seven out of 10.