Monday, July 27, 2009

"JD's Revenge"



A guilty pleasure: "JD's Revenge," a 1976 film about a slain 1940s New Orleans gangster who possesses the body of a bookwormish law student--played by Glynn Turman--in order to get his, well, revenge.

"JD" is one of the more unusual films of the blaxploitation genre. It has the customary low budget, but rises above it with sharper-than-normal writing, use of the supernatural--and the casting of the Turman who has the acting chops to convincingly play a law school student and a reincarnated, swaggering, switchblade-carrying hoodlum.

The dialogue is at times hilarious. The movie is worth renting if only to see the scene when Turman tells his woman: "Whatsa matter baby? Don't you like yo Daddy's conk?" And if you can't wait to rent it, check out the entire movie here.

The cast includes Lou Gossett, Joan Pringle (who is lovely as all get-out), the dependable Carl Crudup as Turman's best friend.

"JD" is something of a cult film now. I would say a remake would be in order, but in some ways, the very entertaining 2001 Snoop Dogg/Pam Grier film "Bones" kind of accomplishes that:

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