SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Organnall Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Michael_Elliott Petey Wheatstraw (1977) ** (out of 4) Rudy Ray Moore is back, this time playing the title character, a comedian who is doubled crossed by a couple jerks. Petey is shot dead in the streets and his spirit is visited by Lucifer who offers him a deal. If Petey agrees to marry his daughter and have a son, Petey can continue life and be given a magical pimp stick. Petey takes the deal and enjoys the powers that the stick gives him but when it comes time to pay he wants no part of Lucifer's daughter.After DOLEMITE and its sequel THE HUMAN TORPEDO, Moore found himself playing a new character and while it's not nearly as entertaining as the earlier movies, if you're a fan of the comic then there's plenty to enjoy here. If you're coming to this film expecting to see anything like THE HUMAN TORPEDO then you had better check yourself because this film is something completely different. As wild as the story sounds, the film is actually pretty straight-forward without too many campy or over-the-top moments.The direction they took this film is somewhat shocking because it barely registers a R-rating until the final fifteen-minutes when we finally get some exploitation moments including a weird orgy sequence and some nudity. Everything before that is pretty much a straight but bizarre drama dealing with Petey being murdered but then given a chance to seek revenge on the men behind it. All of this is played rather straight and it is entertaining but I'm just not sure the blaxploitation crowd are going to enjoy something straight when it comes to Moore.The film finally reaches some high marks at the end when Lucifer and his servants come for revenge. The make up on the devils is quite generic but it makes for some fun. As usual Moore doesn't give a great performance but he's certainly quite the character and he manages to make the role fun and keep the viewer interested in what's going on. The supporting cast is nice and for the most part fans of Moore should enjoy this one.

HughBennie-777 What this Rudy Ray Moore action-comedy lacks in pace and skill (not like "Human Tornado" was a bastion of mature, professional film-making) it makes up for in sheer sloppy insanity. The grafting of a supernatural thriller onto Moore's usual urban scenario enables some of the funniest, bug-eyed, ethnic performances on record. And the implausibilities are hundred-fold. Whether it be the film's ridiculously costumed demons attacking ghetto toughs with kung-fu, an orgy of she-devils seducing Moore, as he whoops and giggles straight at the camera, ridiculous, feel-good montages, or the film's opening: the arrival of Petey Wheatstraw as a fully developed 9 year old boy, birthed straight out of his mommy's uterus following the discharge of a watermelon, there's plenty to enjoy. Yes, watermelons figure prominently in the movie, almost as much as the black supporting cast's hyper-gesticulating mugging and other raunchy, offensive material--and this doesn't include the sight of Moore's flabby body packed into tight polyester leisure suits, or the man's bare feet. One bad guy, disciplined by an avenging Moore, poops his pants and this sequence is celebrated almost as much as the comedy team antics of Leroy & Skillet, Skillet being a bulbous, muskrat-resembling criminal who weighs at least 600 pounds, most of the weight distributed throughout the ass area. This man's performance is more reason to see the movie than the nudity, doo-doo humor, awful karate fights, and funk score. Still, unlike the infinitely superior "Human Tornado" or even the tighter "Dolemite", what passes for a script here is about the most trampled, dismembered, impossible-to-figure-out, narrative mess, additionally hindered by too many lengthy scenes and abandoned characters. Yet it definitely beats Moore's unwatchable "Disco Godfather". For all the man's commitment to the project, Moore is disappointing, whereas Skillet is the true genius presence of the movie.

treshon I had trouble watching Dolemite (horrible acting) one month ago and Disco Godfather (crazy-a** halucination scenes, going on very long!) today!!! BUT!!! - Petey Wheatstraw had me laughing pretty much through the entire thing - watermelons, Petey's magical gift he recieved from the Devil, and Leroy & Skillet - hahahaha!!! Great actors, funny as hell! If you want to check out a Rudy Ray Moore film, check out this one! It's got a GREAT soundtrack, and the acting is better than his others (although I haven't seen Human Tornado in a while, very funny Kung-Fu moves by Rudy).

batzu some of the most racially offensive acts on film, beautiful! see this movie, and everything else rudy ray did in the 70s, you won't be disappointed. (spoiler) the opening scene has petey being born (as a 7 or 8 year old boy) following a watermelon. then he gets p***ed at his daddy for being hit in the head when ever his parents got busy. unflinchingly ridiculously over the top hilarity. the theme song is great also!