Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

What up, my brothas! Welcome to my Black Christmas (and I don't mean Q'Uanz'hah, or whatever the hell it is) write off. Come celebrate the best and worst of hard hitting, hard lovin', two fisted, no nonsense blaxploitation flicks ever offered by Hollywood (and of course from outside the studio system, too). The sleazy, the exploitative, the classics, the forgotten and the crap - all examined over the 12 days of Christmas. However, with this comes a disclaimer:

WARNING! Absolutely no one under 18 admitted to this review!

No, seriously. While I do try and keep in mind that epinions is an all-ages site and do try to mind my manners appropriately, there's no point in being polite when discussing movies like these. Salty language may and will creep in from time to time.

And with that, on to THE MACK! Can you dig it?

Blacksploitation is a strange, strange beast. You have boiled icons like Pam Grier and Richard Roundtree kickin' mucho grande ass and takin' names, you have reinterpreted horror icons like Blacula, introspective character studies like The Final Comedown or goofy comedy with Rudy Ray Moore rhyming and rapping his way through Dolemite. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of a niche genre that is so wildly diversified as this one. And as varied as the subject matter is the quality - which is all over the map. Which more or less defines The Mack: all over the map.

Meet Goldie (Max Julien, otherwise known as the co-writer of Cleopatra Jones). Goldie is having a bad night after getting involved in a gunfight, rolling his car in the getaway, before running afoul of two racist cops and landing in prison for the next five years. On his release, Goldie heads right back to his old stomping grounds of Oakland, California in hopes of picking up where he left off.

In the local pool hall, Goldie meets a wise old Obi-Wan figure (If Alec Gunness was an old black pimp, that is) who instructs him in the ways of working the bitches. Goldie takes it one step further - he won't just become a pimp, he will become the greatest pimp Oakland has ever seen! He wastes little time in gathering some of southern California sexiest young ladies for his harem, and enlisting his old friend Slim (Richard Pryor, who despite figuring prominently on the box and in the promotional material, is barely in the film) to manage his operation.

But not everyone is thrilled by Goldie's actions. His brother Olinga (Roger Mosley - T.C. from Magnum, P.I.!), a black-power activist who's focused on bettering the black man's station in life by cleaning up the streets and stopping crime is constantly butting heads with Goldie. Of course Goldies old boss The Fatman (played by George Murdock - God in Star Trek 5!) and the two corrupt cops who sent Goldie up the river all want to send Goldie back to the Little Leagues so they can move in on his operation for themselves. Is Goldie tough enough to beat The Man at his own game?

(Stupid trivia of the day: The term "Mack" is a shortened version of the word mackerel, and the mackerel's tendency to guide other fish to their potential mates)

We'll get this out of the way right off the bat: The Mack is a pretty scattershot affair. The story is really fragmented series of vignettes - subplots are set up and dropped without warning or wrapped up abruptly, characters pop up only to fade away before roaring back into the story. The acting is less than stellar in places and the low budge nature of the film really shows its ugly head throughout the show. In short, this is far from a perfect film.

That said - wow, what a great flick!

For starters, it's real. The screenplay was rewritten by Julien, Pryor and director Michael Campus from Robert J. Poole's original treatment (which, as rumor has it, was written on toilet paper while Bobbie was in The Big House). These three added memorable, realistic dialogue and an honest and thoughtful look of the role of the pimp in the black community. What they didn't rewrite was improvised on the set by the real Pimps involved in production.

Oh, didn't I mention that? Frank Ward was the big crime boss of Oakland at the time, and in exchange for his protection and services he asked to be included in the movie. The infamous Players Ball scene (think an academy award ceremony for pimps, complete with red carpets and police escorts) was a real event with real pimps, and real hoes. Aside from a small handful of players in the film, the majority of the background was filled with the real thing. There's a feeling of a the documentary style realism permeating The Mack. It's an honest and unflinching glimpse of life in Oakland in the early 70's.

Going into this, one might expect a outrageous, action-packed romp with plenty of bullets and ass kicking. While there are some explosive moments (the fate of Pretty Tony comes to mind) and funny bits (that great dialogue), The Mack attempts to play it straight. We see how Goldie is seduced by his new life (never mind the women he uses: witness the creepy as hell planetarium hypnosis sequence) despite wanting a better life for the people in his community. Goldie may have wanted to be the most successful businessman in his profession, but it all brings him down in the end.

Oh, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the excellent music by Willie Hutch. While he's no Issac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield, he delivers some smooth funky music to Mack to.

RUDY RAY MOORE OR PAM GRIER? No
BREASTS ON DISPLAY: 4
A BRUTHA GETS SOME: 0 times
MUSICAL NUMBERS: 2.5
EXPLOSIONS: 1
ROUNDS FIRED: 57
HANDRAIL DEATHS: 0
CAR CHASES: 0
AFROS: 375
F BOMBS DROPPED: 234
WHITEYS THAT GET IT: 3
BEST LINE: Now remember, a pimp is only as good as his product - and his product is women. Now, you got to go out there and get the best ones you can find, and you got to work them bitches like nobody ever worked them before. And never forget - anyone can control a woman's body, see. But the key is to control the mind. You see, pimping is big business and it's been going on since the beginning of time. And it's going to continue straight ahead until somebody up there turns off the lights on this small planet. Can you dig it?
SEVENTIES FASHION SENSIBILITIES: 97%
SOUL POWER 100%

THE DVD -
The print betrays the movie's low budget nature, looking like it was shot originally on 16mm. The film is grainy and murky and dark. While it enhances the 42nd street grind house theater atmosphere the film should be seen in, it's not anything you'd want to show off the home theater setup on. On the audio front, The Mack sports a remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1, and DTS. For purists, the original mono audio is also included.

THE EXTRAS -
With your usual blaxploitation DVD offering (I'm looking at you MGM), we're usually lucky to get a trailer. Surprisingly, The Mack actually comes with extras! Not many, but we do get some.

The prize is the documentary Mackin' Ain't Easy. Comprised mainly talking-head interviews of Julien, director Campus, and other crew members and black filmmakers and film historians, Mackin' lays everything out - and it's DAMN interesting! Learn how the Black Panthers tried to take control of the film! Discover the lurid subculture of the pimping world! See how 1972 Oakland was war zone, and how the filmmakers were assaulted several times! If the money wasn't running out, the studio was threatening to shut the production down, or the Gangsters wanted a piece of the action or the Black Panthers were paying midnight visits to the producer's hotel room to give 'helpful' advice. It's a fascinating 40 minutes of stories that almost seem too crazy to be true! It's a wonder that The Mack ever got made.

The commentary track sports seven participants, which is usually a recipe for disaster - the more voices you hear on a commentary, the harder it becomes to keep them straight. Not so here - New Line recorded everyone separately and edited the track into one nice seamless track. That takes away the spontaneity of a live track with everyone playing off each other, it does eliminate the dead air - so it's a double edged sword.

My great regret? No original trailer. As a rule, blaxploitation trailers are always fun and I'd have loved to see how they pitched The Mack. Ah well, it's still a great package.

THE BOTTOM LINE -
There's a certain danger to dismissing blaxploitation movies as over-the-top mindless camp - and while I cant defend Dolomite, they all weren't like that. Occasionally you get an ambitious production team that attempted to rise above the schlock and deliver a serious film. While it may not succeed on every point, you have to give The Mack credit for trying.

ON THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLACK CHRISTMAS, MY SOUL BRUTHAS GAVE TO ME. . . .
12) BLACULA
11) JACKIE BROWN
10) THE FINAL COMEDOWN
09) SHAFT IN AFRICA
08) UNDERCOVER BROTHER
07) DOLEMITE
06) BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA
05) MEAN JOHHNY BARROWS
04) TROUBLE MAN
03) SUPERFLY
02) THE MACK
And a LADY COCOA in a pear tree. . . .




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age