Review of Dolemite (1975) by Ken R — 14 Nov 2010

One star: Highly Recommended!

The most entertaining of the Blaxploitation films I've seen, Dolemite succeeds mainly by failing so miserably. Actors forget their lines or mumble them incoherently, plot points make little to no sense including the main plot thread of the film, characters are killed for no crime or cause while murderers are let out of prison for even less cause.

Besides the many plot holes, which likely outnumber actual plot points, the lack of technical direction brings no end to my delight. Blatant continuity errors include a parked car suddenly leaping forward abut 20 feet between shots, characters rapidly changing between sitting down and standing up, characters and crew members visible on screen when they shouldn't be, and the many many MANY boom mikes. I foolishly decided to take a drink each time a boom poked into frame, regretting the game the most during one extended scene where the boom mike was visible 5 different times! The boom got more screen time than the villain!

But the technical flaws help in exactly one area: by serving as a drastic contrast to the film's constant boasting of how badass and awesome it is. In the very first scene, Dolemite calls the prison warden a "rat soup eatin' mother fucker!" I bet he felt bad when the warden immediately let him out of prison just cause he felt like being a nice guy. I didn't even know prison wardens could do that. Later, a character brags about the prostitutes' new found kung fu training. Immediate cut to one of the girls awkwardly kicking a guy out the door. Later, another girl uses her kung fu training to repeatedly slice a prone and helpless henchman with a switchblade! I must have missed that lesson.

Best line (tie): If you ever see a ghost, you cut the motherfucker.".

"Dolemite is my name, and fucking up motherfuckers is my game!".