Dolemite
SPlDEY
Vegas 3,375 Posts
"Some folks say that Willie Green was the baddest motherfucker the world ever seen. But I want you to hold onto your seats, and hold onto them tight. Cause you now getting ready to see the story of me. Yes, me! The badass, Dolemite!"
Dolemite is a bit difficult to describe to people right now. His movies were dirty, crass, low budget, soft porn, blaxploitation flicks. Rudy Ray Moore couldn't sing, dance, or act. However, he was highly entertaining.
Eddie and Charlie Murphy were clearly inspired by him, and this year we get a Dolemite remake. Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Rudy Ray Moore records are all pretty similar in a way that you could've gotten in trouble for listening to them. In our sensitive eared, politically correct, triggered society could a Dolemite even exist?
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Anyway Eddie should make a sequel called "Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil's Son In Law... Is My Name"
I feel like Clarence Carter had a very obvious Rudy Ray Moore influence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqNlTN6WkUc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqNlTN6WkUc
ODB was definitely inspired by Dolemite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXTzm5GtqVo
I feel like the last good true blaxploitation flick we got was Black Dynamite. The character Bullhorn is absolutely copying the speaking style of Rudy Ray Moore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq6qBb8Vr1w
- damo
Read this bitd when I was discovering all those films - solid:
Edit:
Dolemite Is My Name is a film and not a series.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8526872/
If you're talking about the OG, then yeah, Human Tornado was "Dolemite 2". I think there were other sequels laaaaaater, but those first two are
Do you think that a family friendly take on Dolemite would even work on Netflix? Regardless of Eddie Murphy leading the project.
Even Tarantino couldn't translate the appeal of Grindhouse movies to the mainstream. Dolemite was offensive, sexist, pornagraphic, cringe humor. It's sort of reminds me of that Disaster Artist take on Tommy Wiseau.
I'm sort of anticipating it to suck, but I think that Dolemite was a very interesting subject that we haven't really touched much on Soul Strut in the past. What kind of musical gems could we unearth?
- Diego
I agree. I don't know his private life was like, but given the material he produced, it would seem impossible to sanitize the story for today's mainstream audience. I would be surprised if it's as raw as it ought to be.
Did you all see Eddie on Comedians in Cars... recently?
I agree - there's a very interesting story behind the material, I'm sure.
b/w
That first Sam Jackson Shaft sequel was kinda *yawn*. Haven't watched any of the others.
I agree, though, that "grindhouse" as a genre can't be dragged into this century in any recognizable state. There are definitely grindhouse films getting made now, but for streaming platforms and mid-grade TV channels, or independently, and not along the same lines.
For example, I know a guy who has carved out a niche in NZ making very low budget Samoa/NZ-set Samoan-centered movies aimed at Samoan audiences, in the country itself but also in the US/Aus/NZ diaspora, and seems to be making really good returns on being the only person doing that. Indeed the only person doing any kind of regular Polynesian-oriented stories. But the movies aren't 70s-style gritty line-stepping, they're light-hearted, warm and generally pretty family friendly. I'd argue that's occupying a similar market segment to what Blaxploitation used to, but in different historical conditions with a different type of content as a result.
b/w A friend of mine recently made a film about Gary: https://vimeo.com/user954548
I motherfucking enjoyed it! Everything works so well: the soundtrack which weaves in and out of every scene effectively (original music by Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys too), the costumes (Ruth Carter returns to her seemingly favorite decade once again!), the use of Los Angeles landmarks (the Dunbar and Orpheum but no Total Experience?) and, of course, Eddie Murphy who did this with obvious enthusiasm and as a loving tribute. I don't think it could have been played by, or green lighted involving, any another actor.
The aforementioned writing duo who appeared post screening; veterans of the outsider-legend biopic (Ed Wood, Larry Flynt, Andy Kaufman, the Keanes and, soon, John McAfee), had this one in the making for 16 years before enough interest was generated and Netflix jumped on board. They've come a long way from "Problem Child", that's for sure.
Observations, some of which can be spoilers...
Mike Epps is great as Jimmy Lynch and Wesley Snipes is real fun as a name-dropping, somewhat haughty D'urville Martin who is occasionally and humorously taken down a notch ("I worked with Roman Polanski!", "that's right, you were in 'Rosemary's Baby'!", "yeah, as the elevator guy!"). Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Lady Reed / Queen Bee was one of the best. I've never seen her in anything listed on IMDB as I am out of the loop with what's on TV these days. Hope she goes far. Snoop and Chris Rock play DJs. Ron Cephas Jones and Bob Odenkirk have uncredited appearances as the rhyming, story-telling drunk who inspires Moore's Dolemite persona and a shady record exec, respectively.
So yeah, this is recommended. I thought this is more entertaining than, say, the equally detailed, nostalgic, similarly themed but ultimately purposeless "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood", despite Tarantino's film having more hype and star power behind it. This one made better use of film footage, posters, reenactments and other visual cues.
It's worth mentioning this doesn't cover an entire lifetime as, for example, the James Brown or Ray Charles ones do. It opens with his day job working at Dolphins Of Hollywood (represented by the interior of Pasadena record shop Poo-Bah. I knew it looked familiar!), after he's had a few 45s and LPs under his belt but before he hit the big time with his raunchy material. In real life, this was 1970 (making the vinyl porny intro scene slightly anachronistic. You'll see.). It goes no further than the premier of the first Dolemite film. To answer Spidey, the film does not mention his supposed homosexuality (if the claims from his manager several years back are to be believed), although his reluctance to talk about his personal life is touched on. Putting his poor, abusive rural upbringing behind him plays a significant part in the character development, though.
SHAME ON YOUR ENTERTAINMENT