Putney Swope

I can't say how many times that one line has made me laugh or how often I've described that scene to folks not familiar with this film. I saw it the year it was released, I was 19. I don't think there were a dozen people in that East Village theater that night. For years I thought we were the only ones who saw it. Nice to see here that others found it as hysterical as I had, and see it's lasting value despite the time gone by. Rent it, buy it or steal it.... a must see.

When Robert Downey Sr. Passed away recently, I realized that I had only seen bits and pieces of this, his signature film. Even today, one can see how this Underground meets mainstream (by way of the counter-culture) satire struck a chord at the time.

A Madison Avenue advertising firm whose Executive Board "accidentally" votes to elect the sole black man, Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson), as their new chairmen - because they all thought the others would be too racist to vote for him. Swope cans most of the execs and installs people of color to most of the important positions of power. Swope has a white maid and makes a low level white man ride the freight elevator etc. Etc..

The basic kernel of an idea is a good one, and there are moments here. Unfortunately, the tone is dry. So dry as to be arid most of the time. The idea of turning the tables has some punch, but, most of them land pretty softly. The Un-PC tone has only gotten more so over the years.

The highlights are the TV commercials the firm, now dubbed Truth And Soul, Inc., produces - including a standout pimple commercial for 'Face-Off' cream with an interracial couple singing idyllically in the park. These sequences are the only scenes shot in color. They add some life, but, the fim doesn't really have any momentum. There are bits and pieces everywhere but they don't really add up. Swope hires and fires at every whim, but we rarely see anything get actually accomplished, yet the firm is supposedly swimming in cash and has advertisers literally begging to get a piece of Swope's wisdom. Even in a farce, there has to be some verisimilitude.

The mostly little known cast is dotted with performers like Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas and Allan Arbus (Mel Brooks has a blink and you miss it role). The most amusing casting is dwarf actor Pepi Hermine as the German accented President of the United States. Director Downey dubs his voice in for Arnold Johnson, and his gravely delivery dominates the movie. Watching PUTNEY one can't help but notice how Robert Downey Jr.'s voice as the "black man" in TROPIC THUNDER has an uncanny resemblance to his father's here.

PUTNEY SWOPE delivers some jabs, but, in the end, it's one of those films which is more famous for its impact than it is actually successful.

Y'know I never thought I would say this, But Putney Swope may be the hippest ,coolest ,funniest ,thought provoking film of all times. I just can't get enough of this I've seen it about 30 times .I happened to spot it at the now long gone Woolworth dept. store in downtown Newark NJ. This is what film making is supposed to be.Mostly because after so many years ,much of it is still timely and relevant and so funny. I know you deep thinkers out there will "get it" after afew viewings.Hats off to the producers of this ,beats the crap outta most stuff that Hollywood has put out. thanks.

Putney Swope along with a number of other films: Uptight, Zabrieski Point, The Spook who sat by the Door, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy depicted the times of the big change of America like no other. No matter how much conservative America may want to pull the country back to the pre-60's these films show that the change became irreversible. Putney Swope has its problems(editing and much of the acting is amateurish)yet holds up well for being over forty years old. The topics still ring quite true. While viewing this one can't help but wonder if the folks that make the AMC show MADMEN are influenced by this film. The ending, though funny, has a politically horrific feel to it. A foreshadow of 9/11? The irony that Robert Downey is the father of one of America's best and most popular movie stars adds to the entertainment and poignancy.

I heard about this movie when it came out but never got to see it. It must have played on the weekend I was busy. It finally was released to DVD and I bought a copy.

There is no way to rate this film. I have no way of predicting how anyone will respond to it: love, hate, detest, indifferent. Should you watch this movie your response will be somewhere in there.

I would have to say that it is a film for its time. A great deal of what it was satirizing at the time has changed so much that it no longer has any relevance in that sense. I remember at that time one of the demands of young movie goers was that films, indeed everything involving the culture, should be relevant. That was the 'buzz word.' This film was relevant alright, but almost forty years later I have to ask, "relevant to what?" I'm glad I finally got to see it. This film is touted as a comedy. I didn't laugh once while viewing it, though I did appreciate the acerbic wit. Some of it I found downright crude, though I'm sure that was intentional.

I will wait awhile and view it again some time. I have a feeling that I will get different things from it. I may even laugh at the stuff that's intended to be funny.

Would you enjoy this film? I don't know. Should you watch it? Oh yes, you should.