Foxy Brown

This was one of the most violent, nonhorror films that I can recall from the 1970s. Beyond the blaxploitation label, Foxy Brown is a solid adventure film, that remains timely to this day. Kudos to Jack Hill, who worked up another treasure with the lovely Ms. Grier. Peter Brown and Kathryn Loder truly deliver unforgettable performances as depraved, sadistic villains, who love each other, but care little for anyone else. The love their characters share is a contrast to the evil that Mr. Elias and Ms. Wall do. As a note, I try to keep things in perspective, and stick to reviewing each film that I write about. But to whoever chooses to read this particular comment, please keep something in mind about the blaxploitation films:

1. They are action films, for the most part, beyond race. 2. These movies were made to play up the social issues of the time, and even today; so yes, most of the villains were white--deal with it!! 3. Because the blaxploitation films were produced in Hollywood, you should take note that the strong, physical prowess exhibited by the heroes and heroines of the films eventually find their way into the mainstream, as the Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Commando, and Cobra movies of the 1980s and 1990s utilize the same, over-the-top action in urban settings. These films, with white leads, are more inline with the blaxploitation formula, than Dirty Harry and Death Wish pics; the Eastwood and Bronson characters mainly used their guns, and rarely duked it out with any villains.

So maybe I am rambling, but my point is this: enjoy each film for what it's worth. And keep in mind, the target audience for blaxploitation movies was ignored by studios during the decades before the 1970s. If you are white, and like blaxploitation, or of any race and think of these movies as cliched slices of the 1970s, please open your minds and keep a proper perspective of the times.

In 1973, the film "Coffy" made Pam Grier a star, a permanent icon of the blaxploitation films of the era, and a symbol of female empowerment in the face of racial tension. She also kicked a whole lot of tail. Writer and director of "Coffy", Jack Hill, had finished a script for a sequel when the studio decided at the last minute that it didn't want to film a sequel to "Coffy." Re-working his script, Hill gave birth to what could arguably the seminal female blaxploitation film: "Foxy Brown."

Foxy Brown (Pam Grier) is a strong woman striving for a better world. While she attempts to help her drug-dealing brother Link (Antonio Fargas) change his ways, she waits for her federal cop boyfriend Dalton (Terry Carter) to recover from plastic surgery designed to hide him from the drug lords he informed on. Renaming himself Michael, he plans to run away with Foxy to a new life. All of his plans crumble, however, when Link discovers Michael's true identity, and informs on him for a hefty sum to the devious Miss Katherine (Katheryn Loder) and the suave Stve Elias (Peter Brown). When Katherine's goons kill Michael in Foxy's house, Foxy swears revenge. She infiltrates a call girl ring run by Katherine in an attempt to bring the crime lord down in the name of vengeance.

Hill has created an iconic character in Foxy Brown, a character who has been copied and referenced to varying degrees of success since her inception (most shamefully in Beyonce Knowles' character of Foxy Cleopatra in "Austin Powers in Goldmember"). It's not difficult to see why. As embodied by Grier, Foxy is the ultimate female: beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and undeniably fierce. Grier is such a pleasure to watch on screen that you sometimes forget about the lack of support she has around her or the simplistic morals of the story.

Loder's Miss Katherine Wall is a villainess of operatic proportions, filled with delightful malice and sadistic impulse. Brown's Steve is just as good, every inch the handsome mid-70s man. Fargas is also memorable as the weasely and cowardly Link, but outside of these three, the supporting players are only adequate. While Junita Brown's doomed call girl has her moments, the rest of the supporting cast is fairly flat, with line readings not having the right amount of emotion (either too much or too little) and often hitting just off-key of the psychological and emotional core that they need to strike.

While Hill's script taps deep into the racial biases of the 70s, and is filled with the appropriate amount of slang and tension, his characters are often moral absolutes with little in shades of grey or complex motivations. Often, this exists on a similar plane to race: with the exception of Dalton/Michael's fellow agents, every white person in the film is shown as uncaring at best, evil of the highest order at worst. By the same token, with the exception of Link and a fellow dope dealer, the black characters are heroic and upright. In the context of the film, the conceit is appropriate, but it can lead to some viewers being upset or failing to take into account the politics of the time that would lead to such a depiction and dismissing the film out of hand.

Despite these flaws, "Foxy Brown" is definitely a film to watch not just for historical value, but for the remarkable performance of Pam Grier, an actress just as strong and beautiful today as she was in 1974. Whenever she's on the screen, you immediately forget about any imperfections in the movie. As the theme song says, she is "superbad." And that's good. 7 out of 10.

Pam Grier is absolutely dazzling in her outfits in this film, of which there are about a dozen. She's obviously the reason to watch this film, and her character, Foxy Brown, is a strong, smart, sexy black woman, which is a wonderful thing. Aside from Grier's charms, the film features revenge for a brutal rape sequence and entertaining grindhouse moments, so it's no wonder it's a Tarantino favorite. Despite the B-movie vibe with a script that seemed written by a high school boy (apologies to Jack Hill), the film has a feminist streak to it because of its lead character.

As for the exploitation elements, I have to say, it was tough to hear a black man say this when asked about getting a normal job: "Foxy look, I'm a black man, and I don't know how to sing, and I don't know how to dance, and I don't know how to preach to no congregation. I'm too small to be a football hero, and I'm too ugly to be elected mayor." It just reinforces all of the stereotypical roles usually assigned to African-Americans by Hollywood (though in the film, we do see a black man with a normal job briefly as he attempts to rescue his wife from sex slavery). On the other hand, I guess you could view it as a statement on limited opportunities in a white man's world, and the film does critiques the racism of its white characters as well as corruption in the justice system.

If you're willing to put up with low production quality (or laugh along with it) and enjoy the sight of Pam Grier dole out some beatings, this could be your film. I liked Coffy from the preceding year a little bit more, but this one is entertaining too.

Foxy Brown has seen her boyfriend taken out, a tip off from her brother there's no doubt, now revenge is on her mind, drug dealing villains she will find, along with others, they'll receive almighty clout - amongst other things.

Another absolutely wonderful Pam Grier performance, what's not to like about a black women dolling out justice with style, elegance and class against a load of craven drug pushers and peddlers. A little bit racy in places, certainly of its time, and wholly unrepresentative of reality, but it moves along at pace, there are some great fight scenes, and the leading lady keeps you glued to the screen throughout.

Damn, this movie is so supa-bad it's supa-good! Pam Grier is great as the jive talkin' lady who's out for revenge after some snow-pushing honkies didn't treat her so nice. There's no messin' around with Foxy Brown! The clothes, the characters, and especially the talk (dig this, jive that) is so '70's it seems to be a parody.

What's bad about this film is the excessive violence (Foxy's drugging and raping and her gruesome revenge), but maybe it's necessary in order to have a film like this. Throw censorship to the wind and have a no-holds-barred action/revenge flick, complete with mutha-f***er this and that, pickle jar prothetics, and propeller dismemberments.

The trailer for this flick is the coolest. If it doesn't make you dig Foxy straight up, you're in the wrong scene!