Exuberant throwback to the Golden Age of "blaxploitation" (i.e., a literary adaptation from the series of Chester Himes detective novels that gave us Cotton Comes to Harlem in 1970 and Come Back, Charleston Blue two years later), but with less attention to the detectives and more emphasis on "relationships": in particular, those of a God-fearing, mother-worshipping mousy accountant (Forest Whitaker) to a painted lady from Mississippi (Robin Givens) and to his swindling stepbrother (Gregory Hines). Keeping the plot in its original period -- 1956 -- ensures a nostalgic flavor, and there are mounds of raw data to interest the cultural anthropologist. (Very raw indeed: no attempt to welcome or accommodate the uninitiated.) Pace and tone, however, are not always closely attended to. Which is to say the movie isn't as fast and as funny as it seems to think it is. With Danny Glover and Zakes Mokae; directed by Bill Duke. (1991) — Duncan Shepherd
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