Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

PodBill Just what I expected

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Wizard-8 Probably what might make most people give this particular Blaxploitation movie a look is the promise of "Gordon" from the children's television show "Sesame Street" playing a flamboyant pimp. There definitely is some novelty to get from that, and the movie boasts other attributes such as good production values (including a lot of outrageous clothing choices).However, the end results overall are to some degree a bit unsatisfying. One reason for that is the portrayal of the title character. I was unsure throughout whether we are supposed to be on the side of Willie Dynamite or not. I suspect not... but I'm not sure, one reason maybe being that the character is kind of thin. It's hard to get into the head of this character a lot of the time and get his perspective of things. The script also suffers from the fact that the narrative is more or less a collection of vignettes loosely connected together, rather than one strong story thread.If you like Blaxploitation movies from the 1970s, you'll probably find enough to enjoy here. However, you'll probably still see a fairly large bit of potential that wasn't quite realized.

MartinHafer This film is brought to you by the letter "P". Kids, let's think of some words that start with "P",...In probably the weirdest case of casting I can think of, Roscoe Orman plays the title character--who is a pimp! Years later, Orman would achieve some notoriety playing "Gordon" on SESAME STREET--now THAT'S interesting casting!! Seeing this 70s "super-pimp" all decked out in furs and pimp costume is very, very surreal--especially with the amazingly over-the-top style and language and crazy pimp-mobiles! Now, although Willie is on top of his game, his world begins to crumble when an ex-hooker turned social worker decides that enough is enough. She encourages the prostitutes to dump this jerk and either go into business for themselves or try something legitimate. Willie responds by threatening the lady. She decides to declare war on Willie and things look really, really bad for the pimp-meister.However, when things go worst for Willie, the movie takes a very, very strange twist with the social worker--one that rather blindsided me. While not at all believable, it was certainly an interesting twist.While this is a so-called "blaxploitation" film in many ways (especially due to the lead being a pimp), the film is much different than you'd expect. First, it's story is stronger than the genre--with some complexity. Second, the film isn't all "black and white" with cartoon-like characters and silly stereotypes. The cop who hates Willie the most is a Black cop who's a Muslim. Third, the film lacks the nudity and hard edge you'd normally see. And finally, the story doesn't seem either anti-White or glorify evil by the time it's finished--and as such, is a much more three dimensional film that's worth a look.Needless to say, this film that, at times, glamorizes pimps may seem like the ultimate misogynistic film, but stick with it. Rabid feminists probably should not watch this film or they'll suffer a stroke, but if they'd bear with it, by the end it does have a positive message and is not a "pro-pimp" film like THE MACK!!!

MelissaSchick It is impossible to deny that this film has some hilarious parts. You can't help enjoying the absolutely ridiculous outfits and mannerisms of the pimps.Everything from Willie's beyond gaudy car to even the characters' names (i.e. the white pimp named Milky Way) is pretty entertaining.But it does have some serious (well okay, maybe not serious) implications as well. It is basically set up like most classic tragedies; a man in a position of great power falls due to a tragic flaw. Willie is likable enough not to deserve our hatred, but ruthless enough that we accept that he deserved his fate. Okay, so it's a bad idea to overthink this movie, but it is important to at least recognize that format.Furthermore, its social implications are pretty relevant. It portrayed Black and White characters in both positive and negative stereotypes, as well as providing more well rounded characters to serve as positive rolemodels. It started out glorifying the pimp lifestyle and slowly de-glamorized it as a life of dishonesty, drug addiction, violence, and eventual ruin. It may have really given young kids growing up in ghettoes in that era as made something to think about by slowly exposing the harsh realities of a life outside the law. Especially since it also presented positive Black role models who came from similar situations, like Cora, a prostitute-turned-social worker on a quest to help rescue other young girls from a life on the streets.

sol1218 ******SPOLIERS****** "Willie Dynamite" is miles above the average "Blaxploitation" films made in the 1970's by it's not glorifying the title character in any way but showing him as a ruthless as well as tragic and misguided person. A person who's self-destructive lifestyle as a big time city pimp lead to disaster not only to himself but to all those around him: his women his friends his hangers-on and worst of all his sweet and church-going mother played by Royce Wallace. Back in those days, the 70's, Willie Dynamite, Roscoe Orman, could easily have been made to be a hero for the youth of the inner city ghettos to be looked up to and emulated. Instead the movie wisely chose to show him and his lifestyle for what it was, indifferent and unfeeling. Thats how Willie was to those women who worked the streets and hotels for him selling their hot bodies for the only thing that mattered to him the bottom line: Cold Cash. The film chronicles the rise and fall and in the end redemption of big city pimp Willie Dynamite after he saw his mother collapse in the courthouse, when she found out what Willie really did for a living, and later die in the hospital without Willie being able to tells her that he's sorry for what he did and get her forgiveness. Willie let his mom on to believe that he was a record agent not a pimp.Willie's top hooker Pashen, Joyce Walker, who wanted to get out of the hooker business and become a fashion model after she was shown the light by Cora, Diana Sands, a social worker who tried to save girls like her from being exploited by pimps like Willie. Pashen instead gets sweet-talked back into turning tricks by Willie's and ends up having her pretty face slashed while she was in the womens house of detention waiting to be bailed out by him. Diana Sands steals the movie with her sensitive portrayal of a social worker who knows all too well what life on the streets can do from her sad and abysmal life as a young women and tries to get the girls working for Willie to save themselves from that life like she did. We also see Diana change her opinion about Willie when he's destroyed by his fellow pimps as well as the law and becomes a broken and humbled person instead of the brash and arrogant pimp that she fought with throughout most of the movie. It's Cora's tender and emotional scene with Willie at the end of the film made you want to reach for your handkerchief. Finally Willie himself who went from a cold-hearted and unfeeling person who looked at both his hookers and the Johns who paid for their services only as dollar signs to where he became a sensitive and understanding person by the time the movie ended but it took a walk through hell for Willie to get to that point. The movie also has fine location filming in and around NYC with a great musical soundtrack.It would be unfair for "Willie Dynamite" to be described as a "Blaxploitation" movie; It doesn't exploits it's audience it educates it.