Review of Foxy Brown

Introduction

I first encountered Pam Grier in Tarantino`s Jackie Brown and was intrigued enough to check out Foxy Brown.

The music and opening title sequence spouts the super-bad Ms Foxy Brown in a James Bond style opening. If you ever needed to be transplanted back to the 70s this will do it. Pam Grier, along with Richard Roundtree`s Shaft, are the quintessential blaxploitation icons of the 70s. Definitely not for the faint-hearted politically correct audience.

The concept is simple: Foxy`s undercover narcotics cop boyfriend is murdered and she avenges his death. That`s all there is to it.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 16:9 enhanced video transfer, Foxy Brown won`t win any awards for the quality of the video, but the fashion of the time will certainly raise some smiles. Colours fare well and detail isn`t bad. There`s the occasional bit of dirt but this is to be expected from MGM`s back catalogue.

Audio

This is typical MGM fare for an older title with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack doing as good a job as one can expect. The dialogue is clear, as are the music and sound effects. It`s functional and works. There are four other 2.0 dubbed tracks too.

Features

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1:54) - "When Foxy Brown comes to town, all the brothers gather round. Cos she can really shake `em down.". This trailer is well worth seeing after the film because it`s funny. I never thought I`d hear voiceover man jiving with rhyming couplets. Class.

As with most MGM titles there are lots of subtitles.

Conclusion

"A chick with drive, who don`t take no jive."

Well, this is Pam Grier and she looks good dishing out her brand of revenge medicine to the bad guys. While the film is a formulaic action film I did enjoy it. I think the over the top clichéd dialogue delivered by black stereotypes keeping the upper hand is so silly that you`re compelled to watch. Add in Grier`s charismatic delivery and it makes it even more fun. Her screen brother, Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear from Starsky And Hutch) adds a rogue element to the story, as do the white villains of the piece.

This campy film wasn`t made with depth of character in mind or first-rate acting but it was made with tongue firmly in cheek. Whatever you do, don`t take this film seriously. Just wait till you see the fighting choreography, you`ll have a chuckle or shake your head smiling at dialogue delivery. Colourful costumes, big shiny afro`s, interesting fashion choices and extra heavy wah-wah adds to the all round colour of the period.

Despite this being a plain average blaxploitation movie, Foxy Brown is none the less fun and trashy to watch. Most definitely worth seeing if you like Pam Grier.