Putney Swope

As you can see from this original poster, PUTNEY SWOPE is an in-your-face swipe in the face of consumerism. Capitalism gets a pretty good left jab, too. Timely? Possibly. Robert Downey (Sr.), underground filmmaker extraordinare, concocted this truly odd 1969 assemblage of some of the most oblique humor you'll find, anywhere. And that humor runs a wide gamut-obscure to universal, subtle to blatant, dated to contemporary, and of course, sublime to ridiculous.

Madison Ave. We spy on a roundtable of weary admen who bemoan their downed profits. They strategize, philosphize, and tell painfully unfunny jokes. The CEO comes in, delivers an incoherent attempt at a pep talk, and then keels over and dies. Since the company bylaws state that the successor is to be named by democratic means, the men take a vote. Surprise! Nearly everyone votes for the only black man in the room, Mr. Putney Swope. A truly twisted victory, as each voter attempted to vote for the least likely candidate (and the rules say they can't vote for themselves). Too bad they all had the same idea.

"The changes I make will be minimal," Putney states as he assumes the head of the table. "I won't rock the boat. Rockin' the boat's a drag. You gotta sink it!" Smash cut. Next thing we know, the stuffy old whities have been replaced with a new staff of blacks. The company's new name: Truth & Soul, Inc. Will this new regime continue the deceptive methodology to separate the public from their money?

Not exactly. But soon advertsiers are lining up in the hall. There are more accounts than ever. The dollars flood in, literally. And curiously, they are not put in The Man's bank, but rather in a large glass tank in the garage-now that's timely!

Putney lays out the rules-no ads for alcohol, cigarettes, or "war toys." Instead, acne cream and airlines provide the cash cows, and these commercials are some of the highlights of this disorganized movie. Unlike the rest of this low-budgeter, the commercials are in color.

However, the new staff produces a series of ads so clever and engaging that eventually, consumers wind up staying home to watch the ads rather than going out and buying the products! And there are internal problems. One employee known as the Arab continuously mounts his campaign against Putney, loudly proclaiming that he has sold out his "brothers". Putney fires people with barely a thought. A key employee refuses to work unless he marries her. The token white employee asks why the others are making more money for doing the same job.

"If I pay you more, than I have to pay them more, and then we're right back where we started."

"I didn't think of it that way."

"And that's why you make less money. You don't think."

There's also that white delivery guy, who continuously ignores the staff's demands that he use the service elevator, who tries to assassinate Putney.

As well, the President of the U.S., a jolly, marijuana-toking dwarf, threatens Putney's agency with constant picketers and bad press unless they do a flattering car commercial for the German model Boorman 6. But the Prez is only responding in kind to pressure from the Boorman chair, a bestacled, bald-headed fascist. And will Putney finally cave in to the requests for the contraband products we spoke of?

PUTNEY SWOPE is a frustrating experience. The opening board meeting is so perfectly timed, scripted, and executed, I thought I was watching the making of a true classic. The tete-e-tetes among a group of stuffy old execs was so bizarre and hilarious, rife with corporate jabs that Sinclair Lewis would've enjoyed.

Once Putney and his soul team take control, we get a fractured pastiche of half-baked ideas, dated gags and references, and some poor pacing. Downey has taken a truly inspired premise and essentially blown it. The last half hour really falls apart, until the trenchant (and on-target) finale. Individual scenes do work, with many very astute political and social statements. The best scene involves a series of Black Panther-like anarchists who approach Putney in their attempts to get him to finance their own agendas. Also in the room is a more pacifistic type who wants the airtime for his peaceful views.

The film is consistently amusing, even funny. I was reminded of some of the SCTV episodes from the 70s/80s. Many skits were utterly fascinating, if not knee-slappingly funny. And baffling. Much like PUTNEY SWOPE. Maybe I was born too late. In fact, this movie first screened the year I was born. A lot of the jokes whizzed right by me. I wasn't hip to the zeitgeist, you dig.

Nevertheless, this movie is still worth a look, and it is a minor classic. This is one for the time capsule. One of the most interesting asspects is that the film conatins a fair share of nudity and vulgar language, far more than was common for the time. But again, this was considered "underground."

Downey is, as you know, the father of RD Jr. On the commentary, Sr. states that Jr. may attempt a remake. In this bizarro economic age, with the possibility of the nationalization of the financial markets, it could be interesting. Imagine a commercial for the First Bank & Trust of the U.S.A.! Putney would've liked it.