Rent Foxy Brown (1974)

Hell Have no Foxy - Foxy Brown review by griggs

Pam Grier is electrifying — all righteous fury, immaculate outfits, and a screen presence that makes you wish the material were as sharp as she is. The setup is cracking: a woman dismantles the drug ring that murdered her boyfriend, and she does it in style.

The script lets her down. Foxy Brown has things to say about race, sex, and power, but mostly says them at gunpoint. Serious issues surface, get briefly acknowledged, then drown in gloriously staged violence. Deliberately campy, yes — but camp can become a handy excuse for blunt writing.

Grier alone makes it worth your time. Then there’s the scene with the severed appendage in a jar, which may be the film’s most convincing argument for not leaving men unsupervised. Not great, but absolutely not dull.

A well-made & massively influential blaxploitation/action film which announced Grier to the world - Foxy Brown review by Timmy B

Digitally restored & released on Blu-ray for the first time, this is in many ways one of the seminal blaxploitation films, and one which loudly announced the talents of Pam Grier to the world, as well as becoming one of the most successful movies of that genre & time.

Foxy Brown is a tough-as-nails woman who lives in an often violent unnamed US state. Her brother is a lowlife drug dealer who she has to often come to the rescue of. Her life has been on hold, waiting for her soulmate Dalton Ford to escape from his work as a deep-cover narcotics officer & leave hospital after he was almost killed. He is then brutally murdered & Foxy swears revenge against the people who killed him.

Many of the tropes of blaxploitation are here, including a strong central lead, although the casting/writing of a female character broke new ground; gratuitous nudity, over-the-top action/violence & a cracking soundtrack. There are also some fairly well-shot action scenes, including one which shamelessly borrows from Live & Let Die, itself heavily influenced by blaxploitation.

The main draw & best thing about the film is Pam Grier and her performance. She is a towering presence & also really good at the emotional scenes. Whilst the tone of the film is extremely pulpy, she manages to really bring all the elements together.

However, despite Grier & the other elements of the film working well, it also must be said (and hence why I only gave the film 3 stars,) that overall, it is quite disjointed & also often doesn't flow well. It is more a series of vignettes, some of which work, some of which don't. And whilst that may be the charm of blaxploitation as a genre, it was something which for me really stuck out, especially given how good Grier is.

Still absolutely a good watch, as well as a milestone in the genre, but you may be left wanting more...