Don't Play Us Cheap

Always have loved this movie. Entertaining, funny and creepy all at the same time.

After months of this being listed as "long wait" on Netflix, I finally got the disc of this movie from them just today. It was the fact this was Melvin Van Peebles' follow-up to his hit Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song that got me wanting to watch this as well as the fact it was originally a stage musical he wrote. What a thrill to see future TV stars like Esther "Good Times" Rolle and Mabel "What's Happening?!" King here though my favorite of the singing cast was Joshie Armstead when she warbled "You Cut Up the Clothes in the Closet of My Dreams". All those songs and some of the loud dialogue can be exhausting but this was never boring, let me tell you! I was also thrilled to find out the musical director was Harold Wheeler who I know as the conductor of the band and singers on "Dancing with the Stars", at least he was until last season. So on that note, I recommend Don't Play Us Cheap.

My review was written in June 1990 after watching the movie at MoMA's screening room.

Melvin Van Peebles' film of his play "Don't Play Us Cheap" is an entertaining artifact made 18 year ago. Put on the shelf after having only benefit screenings in 1972/73, pic offers some terrific musical numbers and an ebullient look at black culture of a generation back.

Utilizing the same cast that he directed on Broadway, Van Peelbes creates the atmosphere of a house party in Harlem that's a direct forerunner of the Hudlin Brothers recent hit "House Party".

His fantasy premise of an imp and little devil creating the party to spoil it out of pure meanness allows the filmmaker's militant themes to be expressed in humor and whimsy.

Among the dozen tunes composed by Van Peebles is a show-stopping number "Quittin' Time" sung by lanky George (Ooppee) McCurn. It's a sterling example of the power of recording musical numbers in direct sound, a technique revived for the occasion (two years before Peter Bogdanovich' similarly inclined "At Long Last Love") by Van Peebles, who went to the trouble of building sets in New Mexico and using mobile sound trucks for that purpose.

There's also an extremely complex roundelay of four songs sung together which comes off impressively. Hurting the film's overall impact is van Peebles' use of visual tricks left over from the '60s, particularly superimpositions, that stunt the live performance feel. In particular, coloratura Rhetta Hughes' big number is ruined by the disconcerting multiple images of her overlaid on screen.

Fantasy elements climax with black comedy of topliner Esther Rolle smashing the little devil in the form of a cockroach with a rolled up newspaper. Rolle is in great form as the party hostess, ably supported by an ensemble cast.

Tech credits range from topnotch sound recording to shaky camerawork.. Most setups are filmed using the multiple camera method and both focus and framing are too loose at times. Editing, credited to the filmmaker, is haphazard where a seamless approach would have benefited the "live" feel.

Pic deserves a second round of look-sees by potential distributors, as it sharfes he sme time capsule qualities that finally earned "The Plot Against Harry" a latter-day release.

If you enjoy avant-garde films and/or cult and/or low budget black (afro-american)comedy, then you are probably already a fan of Melvin Van Peebles. I love telling people about this film because it's so simple yet profound and a whole lot of fun! It feels like this film was originally a stage play cause it all takes place in one flat. The music is bluesy, gospel and folk and yes chile it's low budget, but that's the point. It's great to see black actors like Mabel King and Esther Rolle doing work that you can tell they actually enjoyed doing for a change!!!! Not only did Melvin Van Peebles write the script, but he also composed all of the music. With the exception of Esther Rolle the cast has great, soulful voices, but even the monotoned throaty voice of Rolle adds great character to the film. It's the rawness and honesty of this movie that makes it so great...Besides I'm sure Miss Rolle knows she can't sing!

On the positive side, the movie is very creatively done. However there is a big elephant in the room. And I don't mean Mabel King.

The sound track sucks. There is so much screaming, inappropriate laughing and loud talking that you can barely make sense of the dialog.

Further, the backing musical track is also often louder than the speaking parts and hence, you can't understand what anyone is saying.

For a "musical" they sure didnt get actors who could sing. People are off key and just simply horrible.

The costuming too is just horrible. It's as if the entire production was stitched together by someone on crack.