February 11th, 2019
Writer: Jerry Jones and Rudy Ray Moore
Starring: Rudy Ray Moore, Jerry Jones, D'Urville Martin
Budget: $100,000
Quote: "I got your boy hanging. You no-business, born-insecure, junkyard motherfucker!"
Trivia: At one point, the New York Times called the film as the "Citizen Kane" of Blaxploitation (Black Exploitation films).
Dolemite. Dolemite. Where do I begin? Dolemite is the blaxploitation classic. Bar none. Shaft and Super Fly might have had more success (thanks largely to the soundtracks by Issac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield no doubt), but Dolemite was the movie that really took the pimp-turned-vigilante idea and really ran with it. By the time Dolemite came out in 1975, the blaxploitation film genre was already in full swing having begun in 1971 with Sweet Sweetback's Baadassssss Song (a movie I'm looking forward to reviewing soon). Sweet Sweetback and the blaxploitation films that followed generally have a nearly all black cast, black heroes (usually criminals turned vigilantes), funk soundtracks, and heavy use of violence and sex. Dolemite takes all these elements and dives in head first.
But what really makes Dolemite the classic that it is, is blaxploitation auteur Rudy Ray Moore, the man who stars in, co-directed, co-wrote, and produced the film. Rudy Ray Moore got his start as a comedian whose comedy was considered too vulgar for most audiences. His film, like his comedy, is a culmination of his "zero fucks" attitude. Sure, this results in poorly choreographed fight scenes, bad film editing, and a boom mic that is visible in half a dozen scenes, but it also resulted in a fucking bad ass film! Dolemite becomes the embodiment of the fast talking and smooth walking pimp who gets all the girls and beats the shit out of anyone who stands in his way. Understanding that the game is rigged, Dolemite refuses to play by their rules, becoming the street hero that ganster rap would emulate a little over a decade later.
The plot is simple: The movie begins with Dolemite getting out of prison after being set up by a rival pimp named Willie Green. Dolemite, along with madame Queen Bee and their squad of karate fighting hookers go out to get revenge on Willie Green and the white cops that continually harass them. The movie culminates in a huge bash at Dolemite's club where he fights off Willie Green and kills ever last mother fucker.
What makes Dolemite so loved is the "zero fucks" he gives in the production of the movie. It lacks aesthetics but more than makes up for that in energy and heart. It is apparent that Moore truly loved this film and put his soul into it. It also gives Moore the opportunity to insert some social commentary on race relations, abuse of authority, drug's corrosion of urban communities, black separatism, et cetera. Unlike Super Fly, which glorified drug culture, Dolemite recognizes the harmful effects that drugs have on a community. The search for the individuals who are flooding the community with drugs is a major plot point and the infamous "Hamburger Pimp" serves as a painful lesson on drug addiction.
...I could go on about the social messages in the film, but what is really important is that it is just a fun fucking movie. From the karate hookers to Dolemite's dirty stories to the Hamburger Pimp's interaction at a burger stand, the movie is weird and hilarious. Rudy as Dolemite is one of the baddest ass mother fuckers you'll ever meet. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't had the pleasure yet! Can you dig it?
...what's your thoughts?
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