The Final Comedown

"The Final Comedown" wants to "say something" about racism and inner-city violence; unfortunately, the message is invalidated by the nonsensical script, the amateurish production, and the heavy-handed polemics. How heavy-handed, you ask? To give you just one example, a black doctor comes out of his hiding place, unarmed, with his hands up in the air, ready to surrender to the police: one of the (all-white) cops says "Don't shoot him, he's a doctor", to which another cop replies: "So what? He's still a n****r", and proceeds to shoot him in cold blood. The cops are portrayed as ignorant, racist killers, even though at the end there are just as many dead people among them as there are among the black people who staged the riot. And this whole event was meant somehow to "sensitize" the white folks to the demeaning treatment of the black folks, when in fact something like this can only breed more hate and violence on both sides. Pamela Jones, as Williams' girlfriend, briefly lights up the screen with her smile and body, particularly in a tender sex scene, and elevates the rating of this movie from 1 to 2 out of 10.

I was really touched by this film. I thought the cinematography was excellent in it. It's a pretty depressing movie, and it shouldn't be looked down upon just because it's propaganda. It's well edited and well crafted. Reminded me of the battleship potemkin in this regard.

Though labeled as a blaxploitation film, this is essentially a preachy character study about a young man from the slums, who is pressured into becoming a militant gang member, but is fatally wounded during a police shootout. The rest of the movie is mostly told in flashbacks, leading up to the showdown between the cops and the gang members. The movie is just sluggish with its pace. Because New World Pictures lost money when they picked it up for distribution, the movie was re-shot in 1976 with new footage and released under its new title Blast!, with new footage directed by Allan Arkush.

Far more than the majority of exploitation-oriented releases that defined "blaxploitation," this 1972 is inspired by the prior "Sweet Sweetback" in its flashback structure and overt Black Power agenda. It's not primarily about violence and T&A, though there's some of both. Billy Dee Williams (in a role strikingly different to his in "Lady Sings the Blues" that same year) plays an angry young man gradually radicalized by racial injustices, leading to his being besieged by police as a Panthers-type leader in the present-tense framing sequences.

"Final Comedown" is no zenith of the cinematic arts--it's dated and crude at times. But it also makes an effort not to be cartoonish: There are scenes in which some white people (notably a Jewish couple, an employment-office secretary, and some SDS types) are outraged by the racism of other white people. There are also scenes that rather charmingly exist just to promote local (I'm presuming L.A.) black-owned businesses, a diner and Africanist clothes store included.

The film touches on a lot of then (still?) relevant points, from Vietnam War post-traumatic stress to drug addiction. It's not subtle or slick, but it really tries to articulate all complicated causes for Black Power rage, not just exploit them as a trendy attitude a la Superfly, Slaughter, Shaft, Rudy Ray Moore (much as I love that guy!), etc. Some eventual cruel ironies are well-judged, though it must be said the overall narrative shaping as well as the huge death-toll shootout sequences are pretty clumsy.

This isn't exactly a good film, but it reflects its precise cultural moment in ways more mainstream films seldom did/do. Despite all rough edges it's a more complicated and intelligent narrative airing of U.S. racial tensions circa 1972 than many better-known films. In that sense it's the antithesis of the terrific current parody "Black Dynamite," which made fun of the period's tritest "blaxploitation" films. This one isn't laughable--it's a serious statement. (Though the major histrionics by veteran actress Maidie Norman as Williams' mother are pretty humorous.)

THE FINAL COMEDOWN is a cheap blaxploitation vehicle for actor Billy Dee Williams, later to achieve worldwide fame and recognition for his role in the STAR WARS films. His appearance here is something of a star-making turn for the actor, who burns up the screen as the black revolutionary determined to stand up to the racist white cops who are making his life a nightmare.

This is an undeniably cheap film that's plenty rough around the edges, although it's an interesting picture for sure. It avoids the usual stereotypes of sex and violence that often prop up this genre, even though both are present throughout the running time, most noticeably during a lengthy and gratuitous sex scene. Instead it provides a kind of social commentary exploring the issues of the times, and the racism inherent in 1970s society.

The grungy vibe of THE FINAL COMEDOWN gives it a realistic appearance even though it isn't particularly satisfying on a visceral or emotional level. The supporting cast is a well-judged one and I was amused to see a younger R.G. Armstrong, still looking old even at this stage of his career. This isn't the kind of film that's going to set anyone's world on fire - it's obscure for a reason - but fans of the stars or genre will find themselves intrigued by it.