Movie Details
| Title: | The Guy from Harlem | |
| Director: | Rene Martinez Jr. | |
| Year: | 1977 | |
| Genre: | Soul Cinema | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 04.23.08 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (1)
- The Six Thousand Dollar Nigger
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 04.23.08 | Weird Wednesday | Man, that guy from Harlem, he's a bad dude. Watch out. I seriously didn't know that Harlem was this magical experience playground for anyone wishing to be a detective, but I do now because it seems like ANYONE from Harlem can be a superman if they move down to Florida. Ahh, there's the rub. So the main thing about this movie is that it's inept, meaning it's cheap and bad and all the actors in it are bad and everything about it is bad. Lars described it in his intro by mentioning that a friend of his was surprised there was even a print of it because he thought it "fell out of someone's ass." And yes, it is that bad. I think they had one studio to make the whole movie because every room has the same carpet and the same phone and the same bottle of J&B scotch and the same bad lighting and the script and acting were such that I more than once thought to myself that I was watching an old 70s porno without the sex... and that's fun! I had a blast with this movie... Yes it's inept but I also got a feeling that a bunch of guys were like "hey, this movie making thing is nothing! Let's make a movie!" Of course, sometimes that works (Mean Streets) and sometimes it doesn't. It really freaked me out that the titular guy from Harlem looked so much like Will Ferrell. Same eyes, same lips, same faux-intensity... Eerie. I did think that the best performance and perhaps best scenes in the film revolved around my main man Wildman Steve. It's interesting that he's credited as "Steve Gallon" here and therefore has two entries in IMDb. I did a few google searches and found out a lot about the comedian, including that he passed away in 2004. I am retroactively sad because talk about an extra special Alamo guest... whew! Even in this movie where he's supposed to be playing a worried drug dealer, he can't help but throw in that bravado and energy that I remember so well from Super Soul Brother. There were an awful lot of awesome line readings in this but up there amongst the top was his last line where he says "ahHA! I feel better." I also love his thug in the pink get-up and everything he did. The next time I see a girl wearing the same color as me I'll make sure to sit on her desk and ask her out. hmmm, what else to say about this... Is there anything TO say? It was a lot of fun and hah HAH! I feel better. |
