Rating: 3.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2017 | 31/52 | Blaxploitation
It’s the 1970s, and disco is king. Folks dance at the Blueberry Hill disco. The DJ announces the main event: Tucker Williams, AKA the Disco Godfather, dancing in his baby blue spandex as he crosses the dancefloor and enters the DJ booth. He shouts his catchphrase, “Put your weight on it!” as he takes over DJing. Among the patrons is Bucky, the Godfather’s nephew, who jumps on the dance floor with his girlfriend, Linda.
Bucky steps outside with Linda, who laments that Bucky hasn’t been the same lately since he started smoking angel dust. Bucky’s a basketball star on his way to the pros, and Linda worries that his drug habit will get in the way. Later, Linda comes screaming to the Godfather that Bucky smoked too much angel dust. Bucky wanders in, thinking he’s playing basketball. Bucky breaks down, seeing the folks around him as having red eyes and attacking him. He sees the Godfather turn into a skeleton and a woman into a demonic witch, swiping a machete at him.
An ambulance arrives, taking Bucky to a PCP ward in Marygrove, run by Dr. Mathis. There, Dr. Mathis gives the Godfather a rundown of PCP and how it’s affecting the youth of the 1970s. They tour the PCP ward, where kids are freaking out in Reefer Madness-esque ways. One woman cradles a doll—apparently, she had cooked her four-month-old baby and served it as a holiday dinner to her family.
Haven't you heard, Godfather? Our children are dying.
The Godfather has had enough. He joins the police, who know and respect him, in the anti-drug crusade.
— Look out! When Tucker says he's gonna get to the bottom of it, he means just that. We can all take a lesson from him. — There's only three things you can do to that man to get him uptight. One of them is to mess with his family. He's gonna turn over every stone in this city until he finds the main man. When he does, all hell is gonna break loose.
Will we learn what the other two things get Disco Godfather uptight?
I love the angel dust demons! Anytime Blaxploitation incorporates horror elements, it’s always so creative and enhances the vibe. And the hallucinations, in general, are so funny and outrageous.
Rudy Ray Moore’s sincerity in his performance gels the whole movie together. Even when he’s pulling some pseudo-kung fu, he doesn’t break.
Stringer Ray looks like a 12-year-old in a fake wig and mustache.
The parts that lose me a bit are the dance sequences. They have some moments, but are pretty long and not terribly exciting. Also, the second act struggles to maintain the energy before the wild third act.
Keith David makes an appearance somewhere. Alas, I did not spot him.
This movie is probably the best anti-drug film I’ve seen.