Pootie Tang (2001)

Lance Crouther as "Pootie Tang"
Wanda Sykes as "Biggie Shorty"
J.B. Smoove as "Trucky"
Robert Vaughn as "Dick Lecter"
Jennifer Coolidge as "Ireenie"
Reg E. Cathey as "Dirty Dee"
Chris Rock as "Pootie's Father/JB/Radio DJ"

Written and directed by Louis C.K.

You know, I've been thinking about this review ever since I left the theater, and...my God, I just don't know how to attack this one. The most obvious thing to do would be to ask exactly why this movie was made. Seriously, why? It's a proven fact that most movies based on sketch comedy characters rarely work, so why try again with a character that can barely be understood?

"Pootie Tang" is, of course, based on the character of the same name from HBO's late, great "Chris Rock Show." Pootie was a fairly one-note recurring character on the talk/comedy show, stopping by to spout his peculiar brand of nonsense for brief periods. While Pootie was actually pretty funny on TV, he can't hold up as well in a feature film. No, he can't really hold up at all. In fact, there is a point where all of his nonsense-speak becomes quite repetitive and grating. Couldn't they have at least given him some new phrases? Ah well...

No, the problem is that they made this movie to begin with. During the film, I desperately tried to grasp some sort of reason for this dreadful piece of celluloid, and then I remembered seeing Chris Rock on Oprah sometime ago, promoting "Down to Earth" (his "Heaven Can Wait" remake). Oprah asked him why he walked away from "The Chris Rock Show," and he told her that it was all fun and games until his friends left the show to do other things. At that point, it became a real job. So I figured it out: the entire movie was one big joke or party, or something. So in that case, I'm sure the cast had a lot of fun making the film (as well as between takes), and most of the cast seems to throw a lot of energy into their roles. That still doesn't make this a good movie.

Guess I should get on with the rest of it...

Pootie Tang is a superstar, a multimedia threat. He is not only an actor and recording artist, but also a superhero and a role model, warning kids not to do drugs, eat fast food, smoke, or drink malt liquor. This is great for kids, but terrible for drug dealer Dirty Dee (Reg E. Cathey, who I used to love on PBS' "Square One TV"), and LecterCorp., headed by the malevolent Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn, even worse here than he was in Superman III). Lecter sends the evil Ireenie (Jennifer Coolidge) to seduce Pootie into signing over his image and likeness to LecterCorp., so that they may use his name to sell their products.

Ireenie discovers that Pootie's powers come from his belt, which was given to Pootie by his dying father (Rock, in one of three roles). Pootie's father warned him about letting women come between him and the belt, but he didn't warn Pootie about this woman. She succeeds in taking Pootie unawares, forcing him to sign his name over, and stealing his belt. The resultant spread of LecterCorp ads featuring Pootie drives him into disgrace, and with the help of Biggie Shorty (Wanda Sykes), he flees to her family's old farm. There, he rediscovers his confidence and gets himself ready for the big showdown against Lecter and Dirty Dee.

Thankfully, this film clocks in at a merciful 79 minutes, though it would have been even more merciful had it never existed. The plot is half-baked, especially when anti-commercialism parodies have been done to death. The film is annoyingly self-referential, especially with its use of the narrator, Trucky (J.B. Smoove), Pootie's "main damie" (best friend). Characters are introduced with kaleidoscopic title cards, scenes are explained as they go...can't I just watch the movie for myself?

The fight scenes are actually sort of entertaining, even though they ape Bullet Time quite a bit (that's fine, it just makes John Gaeta a rich man), except for the last one, which sees Biggie and Pootie square off against...himself, times about a hundred, sort of. Never have I been witness to a more annoying use of cuts and slow motion. Very hard to watch.

I won't say that "Pootie Tang" is completely without merit. There are some funny scenes in the picture, such as many of Rock's scenes, especially as Pootie's father. That the movie goes for broke much of the time in finding laughs is also somewhat admirable. Unfortunately, while its heart is in the right place, many jokes fall flat, even Pootie himself, whose Pootie-speak becomes repetitive enough to be almost torturous. At least Lance Crouther tries to give Pootie some emotional depth, but this isn't the story for it.

I don't think I've ever written a review for this site where I have flat out said, "Don't see this movie." Well, I knew there would come a time when a movie finally drives me to snap. "Pootie Tang" may not be that movie, but it came very close; I was seriously considering walking out after an hour, but I remembered that there were only 15-20 minutes left. I haven't walked out on a movie since "Fled," but if "Pootie Tang" is any indication, I might actually flee future releases sometime soon.

7.8.01

Home