Dolemite.

Review #1451: Dolemite.

Cast: 
Rudy Ray Moore (Dolemite), Lady Reed (Queen Bee), D'Urville Martin (Willie Green), West Gale (Reverend Gibbs), John Kerry (Mitchell), Jerry Jones (Blakely), Vainus Rackstraw (Creeper), Hy Pyke (Mayor Daley) Directed by D'Urville Martin.

Review: 
"My structure has an art-form flow, and I do what I do as a form of art. I'm a ghetto expressionist, not a dirty old man."

ACTUAL FILM QUOTE: "I'm gonna let 'em know that Dolemite is back on the scene! I'm gonna let 'em know that Dolemite is my name, and fuckin' up motherfuckers is my game!"

What do you expect from a film once described as "the Citizen Kane of kung fu pimping movies"? This was the brainchild of Rudy Ray Moore, who was an comedian and singer after serving in the US Army for the entertainment unit in Germany., after realizing his desire to be an entertainer through seeing a talent contest as a teen. His first persona was "Prince DuMarr" (done at 17 while in Milwaukee), in which he performed a singing and dance act with a turban. He joined the service in 1950 and found himself stationed to perform for fellow service men, for which he served for over two years that helped inspire him to do stand-up comedy. His initial comedy albums (the first in 1961) were moderate hits on release. It was during his time working at Dolphin's of Hollywood that he would first hear about an eccentric drunk named Rico, who would trade his tall tales for money to Moore, which he was soon inspired to use a routine and persona of his own in Dolemite, with the act differing from other comedians of the time with his profanity that included rhymes and music. In 1974, he got the inspiration to further Dolemite into the public consciousness through a motion picture, for which Moore would use the money made from his records to help fund this project to the sum of over a hundred thousand dollars while Jerry Jones would write the script. Moore would prove to have a career in film (of sorts), with a sequel following in The Human Tornado the following year along with a few other blaxploitation films later in the decade while still continuing to do albums that continued until his death in 2008 at the age of 81. A film depicting the film's production was released in 2019 in Dolemite Is My Name, featuring Eddie Murphy as Moore.

It is obvious fairly quickly that this is a nonprofessional kind of film, one where the editing and shot composition seem to fight each other for whose is more obviously ridiculous, and the acting is basically nonexistent. In comparing it to other blaxploitation fare, I would say that this is probably around the level of Shaft's Big Score! (1972) in terms of general entertainment, where you will laugh plenty for this stupefying film (whether with or at what you see) with curiosity in more ways than one. It isn't great by any means, but it is admirably average enough to override flaws that could've sank in less ambitious hands. Perhaps it is like watching one of those so-bad-it's-good films, where you can poke at the holes present here and still smile a bit, such as the supposed martial arts sequences or the key fight between Moore and Martin (who apparently was not too enthusiastic in directing this film) that ends with a liver pulled out of all things. One can't resist watching Moore on screen, who generates plenty of laughs with excitement with too many actions to count. Martin may not be on screen too much as the villain, but he sure makes the confrontation scene between him and Moore worthwhile. You know why this works enough to be recommended as a winner over other certain average "cult classics"? Because this one actually managed to make me actually really care about what could happen next, whether that involved a sling of unmentionable words to make a cheeky insult by our star or where the cardboard cutouts will do next to react to what resembles a vanity project but with kung fu and style. It is a 90 minute amateur explosion that makes for a good curiosity to view and laugh as an irresistible film of its time and era.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.