Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Dolemite's my name, and f***ing up muthaf*ckas is my game!

I first read about Rudy Ray Moore's 1975 blaxploitation film "Dolemite" in "The Film Snob's Dictionary."
The authors described the title character as a "lady killer in pimp attire who annihilated his nemeses with kung fu moves and withering jive."
Hmmm... I was intrigued.
Then I read a Los Angeles Times story about the "Dolemite" phenomenon, headlined "A movie so bad it's great."
"Dolemite" influenced filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and rap artists such as Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg.
Then I began to read online reviews. Invariably, they contained variations of the description "so badly made it's mesmerizing."
"The boom mic plays a starring role," read one such review.
I was hooked. I ordered "Dolemite" from Amazon. It arrived yesterday, and I watched it last night.
Yes, the boom mic sneaks into far too many shots.
Yes, Moore's kung-fu kicks come NOWHERE NEAR their target.
Yes, every other word out of his mouth is "muthaf*cka(s)."
Yes, the plot makes little sense.
However, this film is as entertaining as it is over the top and I laughed throughout at the unintentional and intentional humor (Moore was a standup comic).
I can see why "Dolemite" has achieved cult status.
I will henceforth venerate it in part because of the following exchange, when crooked, white cop Mitchell attempts to taunt Dolemite during yet another frame-up attempt...
MITCHELL: "Now, I know you think you're smart, see, 'cause you got all them flashy clothes, that big car there. You got all them black b*tches workin' for you."
DOLEMITE: "You forgot about the white ones."

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