Is Pootie Tang (2001) an Underrated Masterpiece?
Let’s talk about Pootie Tang.
The film came out in 2001 after the character appeared on The Chris Rock Show several times, and was a considerable box office bomb, earning back only $3 million of its $7 million budget. The film was also absolutely gutted by critics at the time. Critics said the film “bordered on audience abuse”, and famed film critic Roger Ebert even gave his two cents by giving the film a half-star out of four. Ebert even went so far as to say that the film was “not in a releasable condition”. The movie has since gone on to become the butt of jokes; the film is actually used as a punchline in Scary Movie 3. Many esteemed critics have been vocal about their dislike of this film, yet I can’t seem to see where they are coming from.
Pootie Tang is absolutely hysterical, and I find it to be a stunning example of what a good farce movie should be.
What is “farce”? Some may confuse farce with parody, and they are indeed similar concepts in that they either may mock or ridicule something. The key difference between them is in the execution of it. With parody, there is always an underlying commentary within the mockery of its subjects — often adding elements of satire and irony within depictions of their subjects. Farce is a bit more juvenile; it is defined as “a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and thus improbable.” Those bolded words are the bread and butter of what makes a farce, a farce. Parody is much more subtle than farce is, and rightly so. The goal of a farce is not to make some sort of statement, the goal is simply to entertain. This is where I think the critics lost their way in reviewing this film — they treated it as a parody and not a farce, which are two totally different interpretations of this movie.
Lance Crouther stars as Pootie Tang, an homage to the Blaxploitation film genre and the leading men that came with them. The basic plot summary of the film is that Pootie Tang tries his best to stop “corporate America”, with “corporate America” taking the form of LecterCorp, led by the evil Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn). Pootie Tang is like taking Youngblood Priest from Super Fly and combining him with Dr. Seuss. He has a very unique way of speaking, being virtually unintelligible to the audience while the characters in the film itself can understand him without a problem. He is described as being “too cool for words”, and this is apparent throughout the film. Pootie Tang is played as the ultimate smooth-talking, crime-fighting, sex-having soul brother who looks out for the good of the people. His fighting skills are unmatched by his opponents, with Pootie’s main fighting style consisting of whipping people senseless with his pimped-out belt. Pootie is a role model for the children and general public as well, doing public service announcements discouraging children from doing drugs — telling the kids to “say ‘Sa da tay!’ and feel OK!” Pootie Tang is a jack of all trades and a master of quite literally all of them, with many scenes in the film being dedicated to Pootie’s prowess at anything he sets his mind to. In one scene in the film, Pootie goes to a recording studio with his best friend Trucky (J.B. Smoove). Pootie then proceeds to turn down all of the accompanying beats and rhythms of the song until it is nothing but absolute silence, then goes on to record his song — mouthing his lyrics silently, but intensely, in the recording booth. The record producer (Andy Dick) then proclaims, “We have got a hit, baby!” and the single is then played on the radio nationwide. Absurd moments like these are strewn throughout the film, with each becoming stranger than the last.
One of the film’s biggest strengths is that it treats every aspect of itself like a caricature. From the characters, to the scene transitions, to even the editing of the film — everything is gleefully indulgent and over-the-top. Even the narration of Trucky (J.B. Smoove) is a caricature, with the narration sometimes stopping the film to replay a certain part, or saying lines that are only to be repeated verbatim by the characters onscreen seconds later. Many scenes transition with the logo of his belt flashing at the screen like the Batman symbol, furthering the notion that Pootie Tang is indeed an urban superhero. Other times, the scenes will transition with Pootie imposed on a psychedelic background with four women climbing over him — a clear homage to the hokey scene transitions of 1970s Blaxploitation films. One of the key components of a successful farce is that the film’s plot is not really supposed to be taken seriously, as plot progression will come from the most random of reasons. For instance, Pootie Tang loses his belt to the conniving ways of Ireenie (Jennifer Coolidge), a henchman of Dick Lecter. LecterCorp then steals Pootie’s image and name to sell their own products, like Lecter Cigarettes, Lecter Burgers, and Lecter Whiskey. Disgraced by his beloved fans, Pootie decides to live on a farm and tend crops to clear his mind. After seeing a vision of his father (manifesting himself as a stalk of corn), he decides to go back and take action against LecterCorp and those who run it. It is absurd plot progression like that which is indicative of a farce — sometimes things happen in the film for quite literally no reason other than to move the plot forward, and that is absolutely fine. The audience isn’t encouraged to follow the plot, they’re simply encouraged to laugh. Farce is also characterized by a lot of physical humor, and this is apparent in Pootie Tang as well. Apart from Pootie beating people with his belt, one of the most memorable scenes in the film is where Pootie actually blocks speeding bullets with his ponytail. Don’t believe me?
This movie is dumb. That is a fact that you cannot escape when watching this film. What makes this movie so endearing is that it knows that it’s dumb and doesn’t try to hide that fact. In fact, it embraces its dumb-ness with open arms. While some movies that try to be self-aware fall flat on their face by being far TOO self-aware, Pootie Tang gets the balance just right. Maybe having Louis C.K. write and direct the movie was a good thing; he clearly understood the tropes of the Blaxplotation genre and what makes a good farce. This is the closest thing we have to a Mel Brooks-style Blaxploitation movie; the self-awareness isn’t too over-the-top and the audience is able to laugh at the sheer absurdity of what they’re watching. This movie is not “so bad, it’s good”, it’s “so dumb, it’s funny.” That is the distinction that has to be made when talking about Pootie Tang, something that the critics have let fall by the wayside. While this movie is not without its flaws (as many movies are), Pootie Tang succeeds at its goal in being a hysterical and over-the-top farce of the Blaxploitation genre.
So, to answer the question posed in the title of this article — yes. I don’t think that it’s a secret at all that this movie is sheer brilliance.
