Blu-ray Review: Willie Dynamite (1974)

Willie Dynamite (Roscoe Orman…who you may know as Gordon from Sesame Street) cruises the streets in a lavender automobile roughly the size of a small continent while wearing a lampshade as a hat (go ahead and convince me otherwise) as his theme song plays (Willie! Oh, Willie D.!!) before collecting a hefty sum for the snapper he sold the local Shriner convention. But as fate would have it, pimpin’ ain’t easy, and Willie must contend with a late trick…and not a top earner as well. At least he can rely on the camaraderie of his pimp peers…peers who take the advice of Bell (Roger Robinson in a performance so flamboyant it would make Elton John blush) and decide to play the game in delineated territories in order to maximize profits and stay ahead of the law…a plan that goes over like a fart in a submarine to enterprisin’ Willie D. Before long, our hero has to deal with the ever-growing static plaguing his life as everyone from the fuzz to a no-nonsense social worker (Diana Sands) to his fellow pimps try and put Willie out of the game…but he won’t go down without a fight (and a poorly choreographed one at that)!
Filled to the tilted brim with outrageous characters and even more outrageous fashions, Willie Dynamite is one hell of an entertaining entry in the blaxploitation sub-genre! Orman makes for a charming and likable hero…even when he is a complete piece of shit as a human being, and Sands is fantastic as his tough as nails femme foil. The main reason the film is so successful, minus all that hoo-ha listed up yonder is that through all of the gritty street livin’ the picture still maintains an element of humor that makes a tale laced with the ass-trade, rampant drug use, and battery towards women palatable…which is no easy feat.
As for bonus content, this Arrow Video release is rather light, with only an audio commentary by critic and lecturer Sergio Mims (and quite the informative and engaging conversation it is), and the film’s theatrical trailer present.
Full of tacky fashions, huge cars, and straight pimpin’; Willie Dynamite is an enjoyable blaxploitation romp bolstered by a great cast and is not to be missed by fans of the genre!