Retrospective: Darktown Strutters (1975)

[Jerry Saravia]

DARKTOWN STRUTTERS (1975)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars

Blaxploitation pictures were crude, humorous, abrupt and violent.
"Darktown Strutters" may not be the best parody of such pictures but
it does capture the zing, the crudeness and the abruptness so well
that it gets a pass as one rollickingly good time at the movies.

Describing this movie may give away some genuine surprises but I'll do
my best not to spoil anything. Trina Sparks (whom some may recognize
as Thumper from "Diamonds are Forever") is Syreena, the leader of a
black Queen motorcycle gang, and she is looking for her mother,
Cinderella! Her kung-fu practicing brother has no idea where she is.
The pimps don't know either, but maybe a certain Col. Sanders-
lookalike chicken tycoon (Norman Bartold) might have some idea. This
leads to an underground cave with prisoners, including the Dramatics
band performing one of their own show-stopping tunes no less! Added to
this farcical hodgepodge of blaxploitation pictures cliches, perhaps a
dig at specifically Pam Grier's own films, are racist Keystone Cops
that drive police cars with oversized flashing sirens; walls that come
toppling down in houses and apartments; a black-face minstrel show in
the tycoon's mansion that may leave some offended (oh, well, such
scenes were commonplace at one time); drag queens; three kids who
harass an ice-cream man by finishing each other's sentences; lots of
giant-sized ribs; hilariously speeded-up and anarchic bike chases and
car chases that are probably as exciting as the real thing; and a
finale involving cloning and a contraption that makes babies that may
just leave you in stitches.

"Darktown Strutters" (also known as "Get Down and Boogie") is not for
all tastes but its histrionic level of cartoonish tomfoolery coupled
with some digs at the genre and, undoubtedly, white L.A. cops left me
in good spirits. Almost fifteen years later, we got the similar "I'm
Gonna Git You Sucka," aimed at parodying the same genre. I'd say a
double-bill would be fitting.


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