Dolemite

The infamous DOLEMITE from 1975 was every bit as bad as I was expecting.  But quite surprisingly, it was also quite dull in stretches. Say what? Yes, it's true.  Actor and producer Rudy Ray Moore, adapting his stand up comedy routine into a feature, can't sustain an hour and a half without some yawn inducing attempts at character development for a decent sized cast.  Many such scenes slow the main action of a nightclub owner/pimp named Dolemite who exacts revenge on his arch rival Willie Green (played by D'Urville Martin, who also directed), who had him framed on a possession charge, leading to time in the joint.  Time is spent with a worldly preacher, corrupt cops, a corrupt mayor, and a "Hamburger Pimp", the latter of whom is admittedly much funnier than Mr. Moore, who also pads the running time with one of his vulgar routines.  Much of which is painfully dumb and virtually laughless.  Guess I'm the wrong audience.

Moore in fact is also an awful actor, and he's not alone here.  Everyone is terrible, sporting some of the worst thespianship this side of porn.  Of course, it is solid gold in its own low rent way.  Amusing for a time, then becomes tiresome.  So does the running gag that Dolemite's fighting skills are nil, yet he is usually shown knocking out his opponents.  His bevy of ladies of the evening are also billed as a squad of martial artists, but....Yeah, RRM was going tongue in cheek, but apparently his screenwriter, Jerry Jones, originally wanted to make a more serious drama about racism and corruption.  Didn't quite work out that way, but the film became a sizable hit, a gamble that paid off for Moore, who put up his own funds.

I could describe DOLEMITE's plot, and its countless holes, the gaps in logic, the multiple technical deficiencies (the poor sound editing alone had me laughing out loud), and more.  If the behind the scenes recount of this year's DOLEMITE IS MY NAME is to be believed, maybe some of these things can be forgiven.  Audiences certainly didn't care, and this became a beloved cult classic, delivering plenty of violence and T & A.  And some undeniably great dialogue, much peppered with that old standby, "motherfucker."  I mostly had a good time, and I always love the '70s vibe, but for blaxploitation, give me a Pam Grier (Or even Fred Williamson) pic any day over this nonsense.