Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

bensonmum2 It's difficult to write a plot description for a movie like The Monkey Hustle. On its surface, it would seem to be the story of a diverse group of people banding together to stop a proposed freeway from destroying their community. But the movie is just as much about a cheap, small-time hood named Daddy Foxx (Yaphat Kotto) and the boys he trains in hustling. Then again, The Monkey Hustle is about the relationship of two young people and what they go through to be together. Or is the movie really about a flamboyant would-be gangster named Goldie (Rudy Ray Moore) maintaining his control over a community through force? Actually, The Monkey Hustle's plot is a mish-mash of ideas that, unfortunately, never seem to hit their mark. It's supposed to be a comedy, but I can only think of a couple of instances that I found remotely amusing. And even though The Monkey Hustle gets lumped in with the blaxploitation movies of the period, it lacks the sex, violence, and emotional charge necessary to be considered as such. What does it say about a movie when the most generous adjective I can come up with to describe it is "watchable"? Did you ever watch a movie and feel like a reel or two were missing? That's how I felt after watching this movie. A big part of the plot is that Daddy Foxx has "something" on Godlie. Likewise, they both seem to have "something" on the Alderman. Infuriatingly, the movie never spells out or even hints at what the characters have on each other. In the films finale, we see Daddy Foxx and Goldie wink knowingly at each – but why? It just doesn't make any sense. I feel like I feel asleep and missed crucial plot points.I normally don't get into the messages or meanings of the movies I watch, but with The Monkey Hustle, I feel almost compelled to at least mention the mixed messages it sends out. Why are Daddy Foxx and Goldie made out to be the heroes? They don't do much of anything of value for the community. And neither man has any moral issues when it comes to stealing from their neighbors, thereby helping to maintain the status quo of poverty. It's a shame that the one educated black man in the community who was responsible for organizing the save the community block party isn't given any of the credit. Instead, it's the hustlers and the number runners who come out looking good as the real hero is shoved into the background.

C. Sean Currie (hypestyle) Released in 1976, Monkey Hustle (or Hu$tle, as per the title cards) is a so-so entry in the African-American action/comedy films that were preeminent in the 1970's. The lead player here is Baby D (Kirk Calloway), a Chicago teen who apparently is a con-artist in training. He and his friends are mentored by Big Daddy Foxx (Yaphet Kotto), an established con-man (read: 'hustler') who has taught his apprentices how to fleece the unsuspecting from their (presumably) hard-earned money and merchandise. The popular hangout for the kids is at Mama's restaurant. Mama (Rosalind Cash) doesn't like the kids being taught how to steal and con, and only barely tolerates folks like Foxx and the even more flamboyant Glitterin' Goldie (Rudy Ray Moore).The plot of the film, such as it is, tacitly revolves around plans for the city to build a highway that would go right through where Baby D and everyone else in this (south side?) neighborhood live. Thus begins the titular 'Monkey Hustle' which involves scamming city officials and others who have an interest in razing the neighborhood. Mostly, the civic activism of the plot only serves as a tenuous link for several extended skits and unrelated misadventures involving all the film's characters. Future soap star Debbi Morgan and future "Hollywood Shuffle" director Robert Townsend are among the film's younger cast.The black "exploitation" trend was already waning in Hollywood, and this only had minimal success at the box office upon release. This is not among the 'classics' of the 70's era black comedies (that title goes to cult favorites like Uptown Saturday Night and Car Wash), but it's interesting to see respected character actors Kotto and Cash more or less slumming it and interacting with the likes of Moore (who basically plays a less foul-mouthed Dolemite here). Viewers who are not cult-comedy/exploitation/black-film completists should only rent, not buy.

jbusterd13 Although I found this movie entertaining, I'm afraid it made zero sense. How was anybody in the neighborhood capable of getting scammed by Daddy Foxx? Everyone in the neighborhood saw everybody else practically every day; couldn't they just get their money back the next day? And what was he supposed to be doing, anyways? Selling boxes? Who the hell was Goldie supposed to be, and what did Daddy Foxx have on him? What was the cop taking money for exactly, and why did he pay Baby D? How is it, at the end of the movie, that the bulldozers were already on the streets, ready to tear the town down, yet seconds later a fat guy pulls up in a limo and reverses the demolition? Long story short, this movie leaves many questions unanswered, but it did make me laugh a couple of times, so it got a 2.

mohouze404 One has to remember, that with the introduction of Shaft and Superfly, Hollywood churned out one blaxploitation film after the other, whether the script and acting succeeded or not. During the 70's, at the height of the blaxploitation film era, the genre was completely plot-driven rather than character-driven. Ask yourself how many times a neighborhood could be saved from some type of demolition? How many times could someone come up with just the right lottery numbers? Take this film for what it is, something lighthearted that introduced actor/director Thomas Carter, II, Debbi Morgan of All My Children, Charmed, The Hurricane, Rosalind Cash of The Omega Man, General Hospital, and Tales from the Hood, Randy Brooks of Another World and Generations. And, of course, Rudy Ray Moore. These actors had to eat, support families, and it was training ground for some later great work.