Le coup à refaire

I hadn't seen this movie since it came out. It was a pleasant and very funny surprise then and it still is. As others have said it's Bill Cosby's movie and he makes the most of it. Portier shows a somewhat more annoying side to his personality, doing more than his fair share of mugging but that and the cliché gangster/boxer motif aside or perhaps because of it this movie is very very funny. Jimmy J.J. Walker steals the movie as a very unlikely middleweight boxer. Denise Nicholas is beautiful and sexy and there's a score that could be sampled to death to make a new funky soundtrack for a party. I don't understand the low rating but then comedies generally get lower ratings for some reason.But don't let that discourage you. My general criteria for a comedy is if it makes me laugh out loud on at least three occasions then it gets an automatic 7. I give this one an 8.

Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier play working class men who want to get rich. They come up with $20,000 for a scheme, but $18,000 of that comes from their lodge's building fund. The men take their wives to New Orleans and, while there, they see an opportunity in an inept boxer, played by Jimmie Walker, who has the opportunity to win the middleweight title. Poitier hypnotizes the boxer and makes him very confident, and the men pose as New York millionaires and place bets with a bookie (well played by John Amos) who later figures out what they did and wants to take advantage of the situation, possibly bringing down rival Biggie Smalls.

Cosby is his usual self, only hipper (especially when he dresses in wild outfits to pretend to be rich). It's a real pleasure to see Poitier in a role that you can laugh at, since most of his characters have been so sophisticated. The two men together are great, especially when they are trying to get out of jams. I especially enjoyed seeing Cosby pretend to be a big-time gangster while talking on the phone. Walker, of course, was one of the best buffoons in 1970s TV, and he doesn't disappoint here. Even when his character is confident and talented, he still has that cartoonish quality about him.

Curtis Mayfield's music, with vocal performances by the Staples Singers, added a lot to the movie.

It wasn't quite a family movie, but it was quite clean compared to similar movies being made today, with very little cursing and not much to really object to.

I had a good time.

Cosby and Poitier shine in this comedy/adventure about two brothers who try to pull off a con in the hope of raising money for a new temple. The results are perfect with both raising lots of laughs in the tradition of the great Amos 'n' Andy. A great buddy picture!

This is my favorite of the Bill Cosby/Sidney Poitier trilogy from the 70's. The chemistry between these two is fantastic.

Cosby and Poitier are friends and lodge brothers who are trying to save their lodge from demolition. They decide to take the meager building fund and place bets on a boxing match. The catch? The fighter they are going to bet on is a 5 to 1 underdog, and a hapless Jimmie Walker. Walker keeps getting knocked out by his sparring partners! How do they hope to win? Hypnosis!

The actors are all first rate and there is fun all around. These films were a nice contrast to the "Blaxploitation" films of the 70's, as they provided more positive roles for many black actors. John Amos and Calvin Lockhart are rival gangsters who take the bets and then go after Cosby and Poitier. Denise Nicholas shines as Cosby's wife and the always great Ossie Davis is the leader of the lodge.

Fans of the Cosby Show may be surprised by Cosby in these films. There is a great scene where Cosby and Nicholas engage in a bit of "dirty" talk in a restaurant. This is not Cliff and Claire Huxtable!

Poitier directed these films and shows great ability. The scenes are staged well and the shots are never dull. It's a shame he didn't direct more.

This film is worth it, if only for the scenes of Cosby trying to pass himself off as a gangster. His outfit has to be seen to be believed. Check this and Uptown Saturday Night and A Piece of the Action sometime.

July 2008 Update:

A sequel to "Uptown Saturday Night" in every real sense; though Cosby and Poitier play different characters it's the same guys in all but name, the film's title even a blatant reference to this fact. Though this didn't quite match the box office of the former it's arguably slightly the better of the two films, albeit uneven in tone.

As a big fan of Poitier, it has to be said that he's not as good a director as he is an actor, and that his light entertainment gene isn't as developed as it could be. Even dressed up in an outrageous pimp zoot suit he casts a staid presence, a straight, slightly stiff foil to Cosby and a clash of styles against Jimmy Walker's cartoonish boxer.

Back in May 1999 when I posted my original review, I described this as a "sublime vehicle" and "extremely pleasing", giving it 7/10. I can only conclude that I was fooling myself, viewing the film through youthful, Poitier-tinted sunglasses. Let's Do It Again is a decent enough film, but lacks sophistication on any real level and is, at best, undemanding entertainment.

Two years after this movie came out Cosby and Poitier would try it once more, with "A Piece Of The Action", after which Poitier would retire from acting and only make sporadic returns. As a trilogy to retire on, then it's good that Poitier left by putting smiles on people's faces, even though comedy clearly isn't his thing in front of the camera. Indeed, after a stonefaced first half, Poitier indulges in somewhat desperate mugging throughout the second half of this movie, illustrating that he had more success with comedy behind the camera... three years after his retirement from acting he directed Stir Crazy.

Trivia about the film includes a cameo from George Foreman (then a year deposed as heavyweight champion upon the film's release) and the inspiration for Biggie Smalls's nickname. Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Sisters add to a fine soundtrack that's almost as good as the sublime gospel in the first film of this unofficial trilogy.