by Daniel White
Pam Grier is the titular (heh heh) heroine in director/writer Jack Hill's Foxy Brown (1974). An iconic role for the cult film favorite, she (almost) singlehandedly carries this seventies blaxploitation classic.
I say almost because her supporting cast of players ain't too shabby either. Especially Antonio Fargas as her ne'er do well brother, Link, and Kathryn Loder as a sloe-eyed villainess. Fargas provides the humor and Loder the camp factor, each helping to elevate this revenge fantasy flick.
It's far from perfect, but loads of fun, and with our leading lady displaying plenty of skin, sass and kickass moves, impossible not to enjoy. Who needs a decent screenplay when you have Pam Grier pummeling foes and flashing boobies? Foxy is a force to be reckoned with. Whether rescuing Link from a pair of homicidal goons, battling a bevy of butch gals in a gay bar, or setting fire to a couple of racist rapists, Foxy gets the job done! Foxy is invincible, Foxy is indestructible, Foxy is forever!
It's a literally unbelievable, at times cartooonish free-for-all that never strives for realism but always achieves satisfaction. Satisfaction for Foxy as she takes down the bad guys (looking fierce in outfits designed by Ruthie West) and satisfaction for us, the moviegoer.
The main titles are jaw-dropping, in a good way! Choreographed by Anita Mann, with effects by IMAGIC INC., they're incredibly funky. With the groovy music of Willie Hutch playing and our Pam dancing, they set the appropriate tone for what is about to unfold.
1974 gave us the prestigious Chinatown, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and A Woman Under the Influence. Foxy Brown belongs alongside them as well. It may not be as polished and well-crafted as those three gems, but culturally, it's just as important. An American International Pictures release, co-starring one of Rob Zombie's favorite actors, Sid Haig, as a lecherous pilot whom Foxy takes for a ride, Foxy Brown is currently streaming on Tubi.
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