Foxy Brown, 1974.
Directed by Jack Hill.
Starring Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter, Kathryn Loder, Harry Holcombe and Sid Haig.
SYNOPSIS:
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
“She’s brown sugar and spice but if you don’t treat her nice she’ll put you on ice!”
That’s one of four taglines attributed to Foxy Brown, but rest assured that all of them rhyme. They’re also indicative of just how much fun the film is to this day, and while there is more than just fun to this 1974 Blaxploitation classic it’s this aspect that dominates upon first viewing. One year prior Pam Grier and writer/director Jack Hill came together for “Coffy,” the story of a black woman who sought out her own vigilante justice after drug dealers took the life of her sister, and while Foxy Brown was intended as a sequel it became its own film after the studio lost faith in sequels and demanded something else. This certainly explains the similarities in plot as Foxy Brown is the story of a black woman who seeks out her own brand of vigilante justice after the murder of a loved one. Having lost $20,000 in a business gone bad Foxy’s brother Link, played by Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear himself), informs the not-quite-the-mob that Foxy’s boyfriend (who was an undercover agent within their organisation but has since gone into hiding) is at her house in exchange for his debt being cleared. Her man is killed and Foxy’s revenge begins with her infiltrating a high-class escort ring before unleashing her fury on anyone corrupt or stupid enough to be in her way.
The plot is also perhaps the least interesting part of this particular whole as it’s the music, set design, direction, wardrobe, dialogue, performances and everything inbetween that coalesce to form perhaps the seminal Blaxploitation film. The life cycle of a sub-genre is one of inspiration, iteration, perfection and stagnation, but Foxy Brown falls squarely into perfection within its genre. The glut of commercialised clones that followed may have ultimately killed the genre, but they did not detract from Foxy Brown, nor did they diminish its impact upon release; specifically that of its protagonist. The idea of a female lead was even less appealing to studio executives then than it is now, and once you factor in Foxy’s colour, her demeanour, and actions within the film it’s clear that this kind of forward progress could only have originated within the genre of Blaxploitation. Foxy is capable, smart, strong, beautiful and ruthless – unafraid to take a life but without ever seeming callous. Having a black woman dispensing her own justice towards white businessmen (whose business happened to be drugs) was one step forward, but the film takes another by having Foxy’s adversary -Miss Katherine Wall- also be a woman, played wonderfully wicked by a wide-eyed Kathryn Loder. The racial overtones are obviously front and centre throughout, but to varying degrees of subtlety; Link’s speech about the difficulty of not fitting into the handful of socially acceptable roles for a black man at that time being a more grounded and affecting example, with the moustache-twirling hillbillies on the other end. The validity of vigilante justice isn’t given much consideration, but this is not that film. This is a film in which the goal is to showcase every aspect of its lead and encourage empowerment – “It’s as American as apple pie,” is the extent of the film’s internal debate regarding vigilante justice.
The Blu-ray transfer – overseen personally by Jack Hill – is particularly well done, maintaining a level of grain necessary in films decades old (for an example of just how terrible a film can look robbed of this grain see the Predator Blu-ray). The colour palette throughout remain intact and vibrant, with Pam Grier’s outfits being the perfect vessel for any primary colours. Alongside a handful of features discussing the nature of the Blaxploitation genre is a commentary from Jack Hill in which he relates numerous anecdotes and insights regarding the film, particularly in his thoughts and dealings with various studios executives.
Foxy Brown is many things to many people; the apex of a genre, a love letter to Pam Grier, an inspiration to film-makers, an unconventional step forward for women in film, but the most accurate assessment belongs to Foxy’s brother Link: “That’s my sister, and she’s a whole lotta woman.”
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
John Lucking
Originally published June 24, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
