Disco Godfather

Another blaxploitation home run from Rudy Ray Moore, star of Petey Wheatstraw and the Dolemite films. Cheap, amateurish, often unintentionally hilarious film about one man's crusade to rid of the streets of "the whack" -- aka angel dust or PCP -- after his nephew Bucky freaks out on the drug. If you've seen a Rudy Ray Moore film before, you know what kind of craziness to expect. If you haven't, you're in for a treat.

First, take whatever you know about movies and throw it out the window. There is no professional filmmaking going on here. It's all crudely staged, badly acted, and poorly written. Well, assuming it's actually written at all. I get the feeling with Moore's films a large amount of the dialogue is made up on the spot. Now this sounds fairly terrible and on an artistic and technical level it is. But you don't watch these movies because they're actually good films. You watch them because they are so bad they're funny.

The action scenes are a farce. Grown men pretending to use kung-fu on one another, emulating what they saw in Bruce Lee movies. Hands and feet supposedly striking but not coming within a foot of their target. There's a hilariously bad sex scene between Moore and a woman that should come as a surprise to no one, given Moore's somewhat effeminate mannerisms.

One of my favorite scenes is where the frustrated doctor cries out to God: "Where are you Mister? Are you with us or just in our minds?" Who would have thought you would find religious metaphysics in a movie called Disco Godfather? But the highlights of the movie for most people would be the PCP hallucination scenes, as well as just about any line Moore delivers in his trademark amateur style.

If you enjoy blaxploitation films or if you enjoy poorly made films that are good for unintended laughs, then give Disco Godfather a shot. While you're at it, try out some of Moore's other movies. Especially Petey Wheatsraw, the Devil's Son-in-Law.

What can possibly be said about "Godfather" that hasn't already been repeated countless times in previous reviews? The plot is relatively simple: disco entrepreneur Rudy Ray pulls no punches against drug-pushers after his nephew gets "whacked out" on angel dust (PCP) one evening at the Blueberry Hill discotheque.

But to run down the plot of Disco Godfather without commenting on the stylistics would be the same as explaining the delightful flavor of a fudge brownie by listing the ingredients.

Foremost, this movie is the quintessential blacksploitation flick, complete with vigilante crime-fighting, brightly colored polyester outfits, and throbbing, string-instrumented dance music. Anybody who comes to the movie with a love for these often humorous elements of seventies blacksploitation will enjoy Rudy Ray's vigorous performance and whacky one-liners.

And as with most of Rudy's other works, the believability of the plot and the logical coherence of the characters' actions take a backseat to glamour (wasn't that was the seventies were all about, anyway)? Between the incredible hallucination sequences, the traces of a plot occasionally catch the viewer's eye only to vanish once more beneath layers of pointless (but entertaining) kung-fu, dancing, drug use, and gratuitous sex.

Watch this only if you have a stomach for the glitzy superficialness of the seventies or if you're a yuckster looking for a good laugh.

Rudy Ray Moore's performance in the Disco Godfather is a thing of beauty. Classic lines include "Why, Why 143?", "You call him in Florida little lady, I got a friend out there.......alone", "Call the ambulance and when they get here, tell the driver what he has hayad". All great, and the continued run ins with telephone man are classics as well. Nothing can keep the laughs from coming when he attempts to knock the phone man out with the wrench, and then exclaims "Damn!". Great movie, a little slow at times(the drug political speech) but definitely good enough to put your weight on it put your weight on it put your weight on it!

Rudy Ray Moore is at his most amusing in this late-in-the-game Blaxploitation entry, playing Tucker Williams, the bombastic owner of a disco nightclub. When Tuckers' nephew Bucky (Julius J. Carry III, "The Last Dragon") flips out after taking angel dust, Tucker vows to do his part in eliminating this nasty drug from the streets of the 'hood. His nemesis will be the flamboyant Stinger Ray (Hawthorne James, "Speed"), a legitimate businessman who also dabbles in crime, and who wants to create a new basketball league that will hire castoffs from the NBA.

"Disco Godfather" is not particularly slick or distinguished, but it still does its job, entertaining solidly for 98 straight minutes. It alternates between taking itself seriously as a message movie, and pulling out all the stops in various music / dance sequences. The soundtrack is great funky stuff all the way, serving as perfect accompaniment for these wacky goings-on. In addition to various martial arts action scenes, the film gives us assorted doses of surrealism in the attempt to approximate the hallucinations that the drug users experience. It's weird, wild, consistently amusing nonsense.

RRM is fun, and is particularly hilarious when the script calls for him to emote. He's enthusiastically supported by old cohorts like Lady Reed (as Mrs. Edwards) and Jerry Jones (as Dr. Fred Mathis). James is a hoot as the villain, while Carry has an appealing presence as the kid who could potentially be throwing his basketball career down the drain. A young Keith David ("The Thing" '82, "They Live") makes his uncredited film debut in a bit role as a club patron.

Fun stuff overall.

Seven out of 10.

"Put your weight on it, put your weight on it!" Rudy Ray Moore scores big with another memorable blaxploitation hit. That's right, Rudy's back and he brought with him a great theme song boasting his title as the Disco Godfather. Rudy plays ex-cop Tucker Williams who's become the best DJ in town. But when his nephew Bucky turns to drugs, then Rudy Ray turns into Dolemite.....whoops, I mean the a$$ whooping, drug bashing, head whacking, Godfather of the Disco. They don't get much funnier than The Disco Godfather. Especially the PCP trips that Bucky endures and the drug ward of the hospital where everyone is "whacked" out of their heads. It's not as good as Dolemite, but Rudy's still the man. Can you dig it? So if you're looking for a good time, then Rudy Ray is "your tower of power, the man of the hour, too darn sweet to be sour!"