Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

MartinHafer This film has an untraditional style and format. The closest I could compare it to is CAR WASH, as both are not about a particular person but about a group of people living in a ghetto neighborhood. However, unlike CAR WASH, this isn't a comedy though there are a few mildly funny moments. Plus, while CAR WASH is not for everyone's taste, I liked the film and found many of the characters likable.This non-traditional narrative might bother many, as the film does seem rather disjoint. Plus, given that most of the people aren't all that likable (and several are very unlikable), the film isn't one I'd recommend you watch. It's really a shame because this style COULD have worked very well....with likable and more interesting people. The folks in this film are mostly hustlers--out of work young adults who will lie, cheat and steal to make a few bucks. Their idol is Yaphet Kotto--in an odd role as a master film-flam man.The bottom line is that this just isn't a very good film--with an inferior script, lousy characters and a lackluster musical score. There are many, many Black-American films from the 70s that are so much better and more interesting than this dull mess.

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.

taneishqua When I give a movie a 4, I mean it is really bad. This is the kitchen sink mentality of these movies with the violence, glamour and pimps all taken out. Instead we have a now very dated formula of a small time hustler hanging around a group of kids with oversized afros and egos. The best part of it, is Rudy Ray Moore(Dolemite) appearing as Goldie featuring a shirt made out of gold chains, whether hes a hustler, gangster, pimp or leader we will never know. But he steals the show withs his larger than life, style (You're my main man!!). The children do little more than try to make money and use outdated jive lines such as "Slick the slick" and there are the antics of a 12 or 13 year old boy called the kid who has a gang of synchopant kiddies who hang around trying out all sorts of nickel and dime shit. It is funny at least in its use of the cheesiest disco soundtrack possible. The roller skating scene is very funny with the disco music heavy on wah wah guitar and kids with oversized afros and flares dancing around in a bright red rink. The kids fight and steal but there is no real violence or sex involved. Overall the acting is cardboard, storyline tapering and a piece of claptrack that is an embarassment from start to finish. Its only saving graces may be the Keystone cop and Goldie, otherwise its schtick. I think too it portrays African Americans as greedy and over sexed simpletons who just want to make money and have a good time.

dvdmike Story takes place in Chicago involving a hustler (Yaphet Kotto), who recruits four teenagers to perform rip-offs for him in exchange for pocket money. The other central point is a soul food restaurant owned and operated by Kotto's lady friend, played by Rosalind Cash, and Rudy Ray Moore as an underworld type who owes Kotto some big undisclosed favor. Good cast also includes Randy Brooks, Frank Rice, Fuddle Bagley, Donn Carl Harper, future producer/director Thomas Carter (pre-White Shadow), Kirk Calloway, Steven Williams, a small uncredited role by Robert Townsend and a young Debbi Morgan. Townsend and Williams also appeared in Cooley High.