POOTIE TANG

reviewed by: ReelReviewz@aol.com

 

MOVIE BIASES: Pootie Tang on the Chris Rock Show? Hilarious. A Pootie Tang movie? Ridiculous.

MAJOR PLAYERS: Lance Crouther (The Chris Rock Show), Wanda Sykes (The Chris Rock Show), and Chris Rock (uh, you know).

"Tippy ta on my capatown." Don't understand? Good. There is your movie. Birthed from a hilarious recurring sketch from "The Chris Rock Show," Pootie Tang is one of the more ridiculous ideas to hit the big screen in recent memory. And despite the fun you can clearly see everyone involved having, this is still a sketch in search of a movie.

"Wah da tah." I could've just made that up but chances are it came straight from Pootie Tang's mouth. Pootie (Crouther) is a lean, relaxed hair, tinted glasses wearing, gibberish speaking, pop superhero. His greatest claim to fame outside of his numerous endorsement deals for children and good causes and the like is his worldwide pop smash hit, a single that has absolutely no words or music at all. Women love him, like the headphone and hot pants wearing, booty shaking, around the way girl Biggie Shorty (Sykes), and brothas all want to be him, since he's such a tough, retro, cool cat. Pootie is one "kick ass artiste." But when Pootie's magical belt is stolen, one that is so quick it deflects bullets, this proves to be his proverbial Kryptonite. Suffering at the hands of an evil conglomerate owner (Robert Vaughn??) and trying to stay away from the (literally) dirty gangster Dirty D (Reg E. Cathey), will Pootie come back to duty?

As cartoonish superhero Pootie Tang, Lance Crouther really has no performance to rate. I mean, what the hell is he saying?!? You gotta love how bored he makes Pootie seem by all the fame, though, yawning when a woman accosts him in the elevator and setting out a bowl of MILK for her when she camps outside his apartment (and he is so charismatic, she actually licks from it, too!). I might just invoke yet another REEL DEAL Crush on Wanda Sykes who, as the flossy, perpetually dancing Biggie Shorty, truly serves no purpose whatsoever in this movie. I just love seeing Sykes' one part ghetto, one part down home, and all parts lovable personality. She's like that crazy aunt who exists just to say stuff like Biggie Shorty does in the movie: "I'mma catch you, Pootie Tang. You skinny, wonderful man, you." Jennifer Coolidge, also known as Stifler's mom in "American Pie" and as Mrs. Wellington in "Down to Earth" has successfully cornered the market on whory vamps as Ireenie in this flick. Chris Rock and Mario Joyner's tag team trash talkers are kinda pointless and annoying.

Which could also be used to describe this movie. Energetically directed and written by Louis C.K., "Pootie Tang" is funny at times, stupid the rest of the time. I get the spoofs on the hip hop game, blaxploitation movies, and the like. But an 80 minute movie with 10 credited producers comes up with stuff like Pootie's dad being mauled by a gorilla in the middle of a steel mill? It doesn't make any sense. But then neither does anything coming out of Pootie Tang's mouth. A movie like this is made for the soundtrack (which I hate to admit is kinda hot) and for celeb cameo fests (is that Gwyneth hugging up Pootie Tang?), but of course it is. Before you give "Pootie Tang" the "nay-no," realize that this movie is silly, pointless, and harmless. Sa da tay, baby. Sa da tay. .

@@ REELS (TWO REELS) Extra medium.

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