DOLEMITE: An Inner City Celluloid Legend Is Born
The triumph of blaxploitation cinema was representation.Some viewers and critics quibbled with the validity/positivity of charactersand plotlines involved in these films but no one can deny that a lot oftalented black performers and filmmakers got their first chance to createentertainment for their own previously ignored segment of the viewing public inthis subgenre of exploitation.
And it wasn't just top black actors joining thefray. Lots of different performers jumpedthrough that window of opportunity in an attempt to expand whatever fanbasethey had developed elsewhere into something grander. Rudy Ray Moore, singer, comedian andall-around nightclub performer, is a memorable example of this latter group.After achieving underground fame via party albums and live performances, he sawblaxploitation as a way to hit the big time - and he put his personal moneyinto a film venture.
Dolemitewas the result and it was as ragtag and crude as any indie blaxploitationeffort you care to mention - but it also allowed Moore to establish a brief butcolorful career as a movie star for the inner city.
The film is a reflection of the larger-than-life personaMoore had created on his comedy albums. After being framed by the cops, he'ssprung from jail by a sympathetic warden and sent back to the streets undercoverto get the people responsible. The obvious bad guy is rival pimp Willie Green(D'Urville Martin, who also directed) but the conspiracy also involves crookedDetective Mitchell (John Kerry) and political corruption in the ghetto thatconnects Green to the city's halls of power.
That said, Dolemite's got the help of business partnerQueen Bee (Lady Reed) and she's trained his stable of girls in the art of kungfu. There's also assistance from Blakeley (Jerry Jones, also the screenwriter),who is also interested in ghetto corruption. Hastily choreographed fights andlots of rhyming ensue...
As a film, Dolemiteis a mess. Jones' script is erratic in plotting and structure, including abizarre final 15 minutes that allows Jones to take over and reduces Moore to asupporting player in his own film. Martin was a neer-do-well director whoopenly disparaged the project to his collaborators and declined to put inserious effort. Thus, the filmmaking here is as raw as it gets - lots of scenesare covered in a rudimentary way, relying heavily on static mastershots - andthere's no end of fluffed lines and other gaffes in the finished product. Theactors are left to their own devices so performances range from barely-there towildly over the top. Even Moore is off his game at times, appearing hungover ina couple of scenes. The martial arts will remind you when you and your palsimitated kung-fu movies on the playground.
As a cultural event, Dolemite is a mindblower. Even whenhis line deliveries are off, Moore is a force of nature on screen: strutting,rhyming and just having a hell of a good time creating his own cinematicmythos. The film wisely makes room for him to do a few of his famous routines,"Shine On The Titanic" and "The Signifying Monkey," andthese moments allow you to see how his mixture of scabrous humor, outlandishstorytelling and crisp rhymes was an influence on hip-hop.
It also helps that the passage of decades has allowedthe film to age into a fascinating time capsule. Even with the indifferentMartin at the helm, the film delivers a singular combo of funky sounds, ghettofabulous decor/outfits, threadbare but gleeful action, pimpadelic cheesecakeand street-level comedy that makes it one of a kind. The lopsided plottingensures that each reel offers surprises you can't predict - and the film exudesa lively "let's put on a show" kind of excitement that keeps itcompelling no matter how many times it slips off the rails.
In short, Dolemitemay not always work the way it was intended but it's an unforgettable relic ofa time when anybody could get a movie made and get it out to an audience ifthey had the right level of intestinal fortitude. Achieving representation against all odds wasMoore's triumph here - and it set the stage for him and his collaborators tocreate a singular body work that is like its own genre within blaxploitation.
Blu-RayNotes: Dolemitewas a staple of the VHS and DVD eras but it has found its best home videorepresentation in the blu-ray/DVD set from Vinegar Syndrome. It offers animpressively colorful and detailed transfer as well as some cool supplements,including the first part of a multi-segment documentary, "I, Dolemite,"that is spread across all four of Vinegar Syndrome's Rudy Ray Moore releases.
To read Schlockmania's film review of Dolemite Is My Name, click here.
And for an analysis of Dolemite's unforgettable trailer, click here.