This is a fairly tepid slice of blaxploitation that is apparently the pilot of a short lived TV series. I didn't know that at the time, but it makes a lot of sense now. It concerns the typically foxy, feisty black woman who, this time, is a cop. There is a small point of interest in that, because this was on television, it was probably required that she be a cop, that is, on the side of official "decency," as opposed to being a street vigilante or average woman moved to take the law into her own hands. But be aware that that point of interest is not actually IN the movie.
This movie does stand out a little bit because it was based on a novel, and as such it actually has characters, an attempt at a subtext, and a somewhat decent story. Christie is a big-haired detective who portrays prostitutes in order to bring killers to justice. In her first confrontation, she seems terrified, and goes on a long time begging for her life before she finally karate-chops the guys' ass. Well, why did she wait so long? There is also a small point of scandal when a john she refuses calls her "ni--r," and she retorts: "Ni--r lover." And this was on TV!
Eventually the story proper starts, and Christie is deployed to get close to Helena, the girlfriend of a wanted drug dealer. There is a lot of subtext given lip service about how Christie and Helena share similar backgrounds and "are the same person," but it is not developed at all. But Christie's character is surprisingly developed; she's very bold and sassy, very in-your-face in a somewhat friendly way (like Kojak), and she has style.
In the utter high point of the film, Christie breaks into Helena's apartment to look around. She looks around at the décor, and says "Tacky." She goes upstairs, and next to the bed are six buttons, each of which plays a different kind of music (presumably for accompaniment to sex). At the third selection, a Mantovani-type orchestral thing, Christie wrinkles her nose and says "Oh! Tacky. Tacky lady."
There are a few other points of mild amusement:
The first time Helena is introduced, she is wearing a ridiculously HUGE hat that is supposed to be 'chic.' Christie's boss (who is incessantly coming on to her) takes her to this hideous restaurant, which Christie refers to as a "fancy bistro." That's about it.
There is a fairly decent "twist," again showing that this story came from a novel, but then they just go catch the bad guy, who doesn't put up any kind of fight, and the movie ends. In the last scene, Christie, feeling good from nailing the bad guy, agrees to sleep with her boss. The end.
--- Hey, check out Cinema de Merde, my website devoted to bad and cheesy movies. You can get the url from my email address above...
This movie does stand out a little bit because it was based on a novel, and as such it actually has characters, an attempt at a subtext, and a somewhat decent story. Christie is a big-haired detective who portrays prostitutes in order to bring killers to justice. In her first confrontation, she seems terrified, and goes on a long time begging for her life before she finally karate-chops the guys' ass. Well, why did she wait so long? There is also a small point of scandal when a john she refuses calls her "ni--r," and she retorts: "Ni--r lover." And this was on TV!
Eventually the story proper starts, and Christie is deployed to get close to Helena, the girlfriend of a wanted drug dealer. There is a lot of subtext given lip service about how Christie and Helena share similar backgrounds and "are the same person," but it is not developed at all. But Christie's character is surprisingly developed; she's very bold and sassy, very in-your-face in a somewhat friendly way (like Kojak), and she has style.
In the utter high point of the film, Christie breaks into Helena's apartment to look around. She looks around at the décor, and says "Tacky." She goes upstairs, and next to the bed are six buttons, each of which plays a different kind of music (presumably for accompaniment to sex). At the third selection, a Mantovani-type orchestral thing, Christie wrinkles her nose and says "Oh! Tacky. Tacky lady."
There are a few other points of mild amusement:
The first time Helena is introduced, she is wearing a ridiculously HUGE hat that is supposed to be 'chic.' Christie's boss (who is incessantly coming on to her) takes her to this hideous restaurant, which Christie refers to as a "fancy bistro." That's about it.
There is a fairly decent "twist," again showing that this story came from a novel, but then they just go catch the bad guy, who doesn't put up any kind of fight, and the movie ends. In the last scene, Christie, feeling good from nailing the bad guy, agrees to sleep with her boss. The end.
--- Hey, check out Cinema de Merde, my website devoted to bad and cheesy movies. You can get the url from my email address above...