The Monkey Hu$tle (1976)

Watchable - but that's being generous, 3 March 2008

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.

4/10