Pootie Tang: Quase um Super-Homem

It's criminal, how underrated this movie is. It's inspired on so many levels, and the encyclopedic knowledge of action films, hip-hop videos, 70s blaxploitation and chop-socky movies is breathtaking. I always think of it in the same class as THE JERK and ZOOLANDER, with a healthy respect for flat-out absurdity and non-stop gags. The filming style is rough, and the actors generally have no polish (an undoubtedly deliberate choice), which makes the sudden flashes of precision so devastatingly funny. Wanda Sykes, in particular, is absolute gold as party girl Biggie Shorty, but the film's full of co-stars - Andy Richter, Dave Attell, Jennifer Coolidge, J.D. Williams, Missy Elliott, and Robert Vaughan - who get their turn on the silliness carousel. I can imagine someone who isn't a fan, or at least an observer, of the above things would hate this movie like poison, but for me, who has seen more Jay-Z videos than I ever wanted to see and who can't help laughing when I see a man use kung-fu to bounce bullets off his hair (a gag too complicated to explain, but seamless on screen), POOTIE TANG is fantastic.

I'd recommend it more, but it's just too hard to describe!

It's easy to pick out what people would object to in this movie. It really is little more than a sketch comedy bit extended to 80 minutes, it really only has one joke and it really is pure silliness. But I thought it was really funny. Some of it, like Pootie's defending himself with his braid, was even brilliantly silly. Having seen it three days ago, I have already forgotten virtually the entire movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it at the time, and my girlfriend, who is less tolerant of pure silliness than I am, laughed throughout. It did run out of momentum a little as it went along, with a great first half hour followed by diminishing returns on that one joke, but there was enough fun through to keep us watching. 7/10

For those of you put off by the comments below, of which a large percentage are rather negative, well don't go see it. If some of teh good revies below don't make you want to see it either, don't go see it. I'm not surprised Pootie Tang isn't a big hit, but don't expect it to fall off the face of the earth. It probably will, for about ten years, but then it'll be back.

My rationale behind this is that this movie is shades, more than just shades, it's practically a sequel, of the ridiculous Rudy Ray Moore movies of the seventies, including Dolemite and Disco Godfather. In the former, Moore played Dolemite, a successful standup comic (Created in his own standup act) who is also a pimp and crimefighter in his spare time. Pootie Tang is a character created by Louis C.K. with actor Lance Crother, who is a successful hip hop artist, who is also a ladies man and a crimefighter in his spare time. See what I'm talking about?

There are more similarities. Each film is low budget, and often quite amateurish. Both films are made by people who obviously don't have all the mechanics of filmmaking down (Dolemite's boom mike pops into shots so much it might as well have gotten a supporting cast credit, Pootie Tang features possibly THE WORST narration in the history of film). Both also have quite a bit of social satire, plus additional humor derived from the sheer stupidity of the filmmaking.

Pootie Tang is, in itself, a bad idea for a movie. Who wants to watch 80 minutes of a character who speaks in gibberish? It's a joke that's funny for 3 minutes on the Chris Rock Show, but grows very old after an hour and a half (The audience I was with was hysterical...for ten minutes. Eventually half walked out). There are some jokes that work (I liked Pootie's new hit single, and also the tense climactic standoff between Pootie and Dirty) but a lot of other material doesn't (Cameos by Andy Ricter and David Cross are totally wasted). Plus the movie doesn't know if it's a movie, a movie clip, a friend retelling something, or what. It has a bad sense of pacing and flow (Using little Batman-esque cut scenes to break stuff up) and at least a dozen head-scratch-inducing moments.

For all of these reasons, the movie will be back. Mark my words. People a decade from now will watch this movie and laugh at its lame bits, and also the smart ones. For the average viewer, it's not worth seeing. For the devoted follower of movies that are bizarre, inexplicable, and just plain silly, it might be the best out-there movie of the year.

I'm more into classic drama and the epic scene, but when I do get into a comedy it has to be absolutely senseless. I don't want to see any formulaic structure from the drama side of things crossing over - which a lot of Holly-comedies have - it has to take on its own form and the Chris Rock produced "Tang" does that. The cheese fact is a perfect 10 on the scale and the creative powers that be told this story with precision. I believe this will be a cult classic, not to mention it far out played "Undercover Brother" which was released on a healthier production and marketing budget that same year. Chris Rock should be proud of his producer role and Lance Crouther was the funniest black-man stereotype I've ever seen. Finally, I remember going to a Blockbuster a few years back with some friends to buy the DVD, it was such a cult hit that some kid had stole the disk and left the DVD jacket on the for sale shelf... That says something. True stupidity is an acquired taste which only few can actually understand. And I would bet a few Franks that comedic geniuses are serious people 90 percent of the time. But when they let loose, look out.

I'm not saying that Pootie Tang will be for everyone, but for those interested, it is really a gas. Pootie Tang was originated on Chris Rock's HBO show with Crouther playing Tang as the new president elect Pootie Tang telling his campaign in lingo that almost no one could understand but it was still dead pan. Now, he has a movie.

Lance Crouther plays the title character in a short yet entertaining movie about a hero with a belt that helps him against the forces of evil, plus his gift of saying things that have no meaning whatsoever (like ebonics mixed with down syndrome, but it's funny). Chris Rock (in 3 equally hilarious roles), Robert Vaughn and Wanda Sykes also star in this movie with it's only damaging flaw being that after a while it runs out of steam. Worth a look. B+