Friday Foster (1975) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

Pam Grier is back and she's ... um .. doing some stuff.
She plays the part of a photographer for a D.C. glossy. She thinks she's got a great scoop when she gets an exclusive on a mysterious black zillionaire coming to town secretly. The scoop turns out to be much more impressive than she thought when she ends up filming his attempted assassination, including clear shots of the would-be killers.

NUDITY REPORT

see main commentary
And then there's a plot to kill all the black leaders in America. Is it generated by the zillionaire - faking his own assassination to divert suspicion, or is it the slimy black senator? Or neither? Or what?

The film does feature many interesting black actors like Godfrey Cambridge, Scatman Crothers, Thalmus Rasulala, Carl Weathers, and Yaphet Kotto, but they mostly have poor dialogue or ludicrous roles. Kotto is the only one who was able to bring a solid dimension to his character.

It also features:

  • Mr Howell from Gilligan's Island, in a completely irrelevant and confusing scene in which he appears to be playing the part of Mr Howell from Gilligan's Island, except in a wheelchair. This was apparently an affirmative action hiring.
  • Isaac the Bartender from Love Boat, playing the part of a flashy and lovable pimp, a fine role model for all children, and wearing some of Huggy Bear's old outfits.

I's really a pretty lame movie, in that the plot is confusing, one chase scene includes scenes edited out of order, and the resolution to the uninteresting mystery involves somebody who really wasn't integral to the heart of the plot up to that point. Furthermore, when the movie ends, you still don't know why the baddie did what he did, except maybe to impress Mr Howell. Maybe he was hot for Lovey.

On the other hand, it has a nice clear look, on good film stock, and the transfer is colorful and clear.

DVD info from Amazon.

  • Widescreen letterboxed, 1.85:1

  • No features except the trailer

But here are the key issues:
  • Pam wears colorful, stylish outfits.
  • Pam had a great hair stylist and looked great.
  • Pam took a shower, a bath, and had a love scene. However, there are no looks at her booty or her wool. Breasts only, and even those are not satisfying, lingering, full-on looks. Her shower is seen from the side, from the waist up. Her bath has her nipples barely visible above the bubbles. He love scene clearly shows her breasts, but not for very long. Fortunately, all three scenes are in good light.

The Critics Vote

  • Maltin 2/4

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.3
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C-. If you don't mind a grade-b blaxploitation flick with some T&A, it's barely OK.

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