FOXY BROWN

"Superbad. Dig it. The lady is Superbad." Willie Hutch's theme song says it all - with drum machines, even. Pam Grier is Foxy Brown and all that. A sassy woman whose performances have defined the feline finery of many Blaxploitation flicks, Grier is to the genre what Kitten Natavidad is to sexploitation. As Foxy Brown she moves through it all: black-light flock-painting lover, dynamite Bond chick, smooth designer clothes horse, denim-toting bump & grind street fighter. Her chameleon unbelievability is sexy and charming - as affectionately parodied in Spike Lee's Girl 6. Social consciousness is flagged with the Anti Slavery Committee and hookers with children to support. Violence is cheesy, topped with ketchup shoot-outs. Justice is represented by old white judges hot for dark meat and sweet chocolate. The standard revenge plot is peppered by Jack Hill's savvy direction: a lesbian bar brawl, cool platforms and spicy wigs, Willie Hutch songs every time someone turns on the radio, and the infamous penis in a pickle jar. OK - let's play those opening credits one more time. - Philip Brophy