Petey Wheatstraw

source: Petey Wheatstraw

Popular opinion (and straight from RRM's mouth) says The Human Tornado is Moore's best film. I have to strongly disagree. Don't get me wrong, I love all of Moore's other 70's vehicles (all for different reasons, including the two Dolemite's separately), but this one is king for me. First of all, there is no other Petey Wheastraw. That alone scores major points with me. This is an entirely unique cheap blaxploitation horror comedy, with nearly all of Moore's Dolemite film trademarks intact (granted, there's less of it, but it's there! A little short on MUTHA EFFAHS, I suppose). Petey is born an eleven-year old boy (er, along with a watermelon), is beaten by bullies, vows revenge, trains to be a kung-fu master... Grows up and is gunned-down at a funeral, where the devil makes a bargain with him, in exchange for Petey's commitment to marry his insanely ugly daughter. Oh yeah, Satan loans Petey his magical pimp cane in order for him to exact some revenge for himself. Petey starts doing good deeds with it and won't give it back. This gets the devil's goat. Kung-fu disciple or not, this movie features some of the most hilariously unconvincing fight sequences I've seen in a film. Yes, worse than Dolemite! Still not sure if that was intentional. Satan sends in waves of ultra low budget zombie/devil minions, and it's chaos! So much to like about this. There's one Carrie-esque sequence, where Petey's nemesis', Leroy and Skillet are performing in a nightclub, and Moore is SINISTER! I loved this performance, a side you don't normally see from him. Oh yeah, cut to him saving people's lives, and skipping down the street, twirling the cane! Want to see the devil jogging down the sidewalk, in a bright red sweatsuit, with a giant s#!t-eating grin on his face? How about a truckload of watermelons blown up by dynamite? Yeah, they're here, too. SPOILER: Nice touch in the end, where Petey's fate is sealed, because his girl just had to go back to their apartment to get her makeup. Hilarious! This movie came hot on the heels of all of Moore's Dolemite success. Naturally, it didn't fare as well. Full props to both writer/director Cliff Roquemore, and Moore himself for not taking the easy way out, not cashing in, AND taking a chance by doing something different. Another reason I respect this movie so much (...and it gets pretty silly). Watch the Vinegar Syndrome Making-of extra. Moore was fully conscious of the creativity involved with making a movie for not a lot of money, as well as low budget and guerrilla filmmaking in general.

After hearing the name Peter Wheatstraw for all of these years. I finally decided to peep this movie. Rudy was a great stand up comedian. It sure the hell didn't translate well in this movie. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AS I DID WITH THIS ONE.

Bullied as a child, "Petey Wheatstraw" (Rudy Ray Moore) learns karate and, after eventually setting things straight with his tormentors, decides to switch things up and become a famous comedian. The scene then shifts to two other comedians named "Leroy" (Leroy Daniels) and "Skillet" (Ernest Mayhand) accepting a large cash advance from a wealthy mobster by the name of "Mr. White" (George Mireless) under the condition that their show attracts a large crowd for his new nightclub. Being the only comedy routine in town, they assure Mr. White that nothing will go wrong and eagerly look forward to opening day. Not long afterward, their joy soon evaporates when they learn that Petey Wheatstraw has come to town and is planning to perform at a rival nightclub nearby. Realizing that Petey is much better than they are--and terrified at what could happen to them if they disappoint Mr. White--they eventually decide to kill Petey and that way permanently eliminate the competition. What they don't count on, however, is "Lucifer" (G. Tito Shaw) bringing an extremely vengeful Petey back to life--under the condition that he marry his hideous daughter within a certain time. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a rather peculiar comedy which suffered a bit from its rather low-budget production values and mediocre acting. It was also somewhat dated and the humor tended to be a little raunchy at times as well. That being said, while I don't consider this film to be terribly bad, it wasn't nearly as good as it could have been and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Comedian and martial artist Petey Wheatstraw (a typically dynamic performance by Rudy Ray Moore) gets murdered by his rivals Leroy and Skillet. Petey makes a deal with the devil (smoothly played by G. Tito Shaw) to be resurrected so he can get his revenge, but in exchange has to marry Satan's hideously ugly daughter. Writer/director Cliff Roquemore keeps the enjoyably off-the-wall story moving along at a constant pace, maintains a blithely absurd and zany tone throughout, derives plenty of laughs from the hilariously tasteless and outrageous sense of go-for-broke dirty humor (the choice offensive watermelon jokes are especially sidesplitting), and tosses in the expected hysterically terrible and unconvincing kung-fu shenanigans for good wacky measure. Leroy Daniels and Ernest Mayhand are total hoots as the dastardly duo who dare to cross Wheatstraw. Nat Dove's funky score hits the right-on groovy spot. We even get a complete corker of a surprise ending, too. An absolute loopy riot.

This was my first Rudy Ray Moore movie, and it may be my last. I read all of the comments and reviews and figured this would be a fun bad movie, and it has its moments. Overall, however, it's a dud. The 90+ minutes to view it seemed to last forever, and it's really ludicrous. How could the cane given by Satan to Petey be more powerful than Satan himself? And why would Petey break the powerful cane since it was what had saved him time and time again? And how could merely breaking the cane in two render it useless? Why would Petey get into a limo, thinking it's one of his posse's car? There's only so much suspension of disbelief I'm willing to grant. As I mentioned, the film has its moments, like when Petey combs the nappy-headed boy's hair, and the little boy's t-shirt that said 'I'm a little devil' was a nice touch. I also give credit for putting in politically incorrect stuff like watermelon and fat jokes. I did laughed when Petey's mom delivered a watermelon, when the bomb blew up a truck full of watermelons, and when the heavy chick struggled to fit into a lawn chair. The biggest laugh for me came when the club singer's wig flew off. Wig's coming off are always good for a laugh with me. And there are a few hot brothers in polyester suits that show off their fine butts. Props for that. But the parts are much greater than the sum. Rudy Ray seems to have done alright for himself, being ambitious and being in the right place at the right time. I'm happy for him, but I'm just not a fan of this movie.

Petey Wheatstraw (1977) ** (out of 4) Rudy Ray Moore is back, this time playing the title character, a comedian who is doubled crossed by a couple jerks. Petey is shot dead in the streets and his spirit is visited by Lucifer who offers him a deal. If Petey agrees to marry his daughter and have a son, Petey can continue life and be given a magical pimp stick. Petey takes the deal and enjoys the powers that the stick gives him but when it comes time to pay he wants no part of Lucifer's daughter. After DOLEMITE and its sequel THE HUMAN TORPEDO, Moore found himself playing a new character and while it's not nearly as entertaining as the earlier movies, if you're a fan of the comic then there's plenty to enjoy here. If you're coming to this film expecting to see anything like THE HUMAN TORPEDO then you had better check yourself because this film is something completely different. As wild as the story sounds, the film is actually pretty straight-forward without too many campy or over-the-top moments. The direction they took this film is somewhat shocking because it barely registers a R-rating until the final fifteen-minutes when we finally get some exploitation moments including a weird orgy sequence and some nudity. Everything before that is pretty much a straight but bizarre drama dealing with Petey being murdered but then given a chance to seek revenge on the men behind it. All of this is played rather straight and it is entertaining but I'm just not sure the blaxploitation crowd are going to enjoy something straight when it comes to Moore. The film finally reaches some high marks at the end when Lucifer and his servants come for revenge. The make up on the devils is quite generic but it makes for some fun. As usual Moore doesn't give a great performance but he's certainly quite the character and he manages to make the role fun and keep the viewer interested in what's going on. The supporting cast is nice and for the most part fans of Moore should enjoy this one.

some of the most racially offensive acts on film, beautiful! see this movie, and everything else rudy ray did in the 70s, you won't be disappointed. (spoiler) the opening scene has petey being born (as a 7 or 8 year old boy) following a watermelon. then he gets p***ed at his daddy for being hit in the head when ever his parents got busy. unflinchingly ridiculously over the top hilarity. the theme song is great also!

I saw rented this movie in the mid 90's as I walked through the aisle at Blockbuster. My friend and I saw the awesome cover (much funnier than what has) and saw the name and we decided we must watch this. From the beginning, the movie is a joke. It starts on a funny and strange note and there are a handful of funny scenes, but it gets mixed with a lot of boring "meh" moments. I'd say watch it while you're doing something else and be prepared to rewind in case you walk back into it in the middle of a funny scene.

Okay, I respect Rudy Ray. _Dolemite_ was an absolute classic blaxploitation film. When I saw Dolemite, I noticed something fresh, something raw, and something that is deserving of its place in film history. _Petey Wheatstraw the Devil's Son In Law_ was by far the worst movie I have ever seen. And believe me, I gave it a chance. It was recommended by a friend who knows what I want to see, and suggests both the best and the worst movies ever for me to see. He had already seen it once, and when we watched it, neither of us could finish it. I ALWAYS finish movies. I hate leaving, even to go to the bathroom, from even bad movies. This one just couldn't do it for me. The low budget nature is negligible. The poor acting is expected. But the acting is not just poor, it is terribly excessive overacting at points, and at other points cardboard-cutout-esque. I had a hard time getting my mind around the stereotypes displayed. The worst part of all is, it is not a bad movie you can make fun of. I mean, a scary movie, a drama, an action film... if done poorly, you can make these a laugh riot, either with a bunch of your pals or by yourself. But when a no budget comedy is horrible, you can't laugh at it. It is impossible. Alan Alda's character in _Crimes and Misdemeanors_ says "If it bends, its funny. If it breaks, its not funny." This broke before the movie started and consistently waves the broken pieces in your face. Look at it like this: A friend tells you a bad joke. It is uncomfortable to listen to, but the reward comes when you pretend to laugh and then they feel good about themselves. These jokes are even worse, so they are more uncomfortable to listen to, and then, since it cannot receive your reaction, assumes you are laughing hysterically, and kicks the horribleness up a notch, trying to top the last joke. And since the filmmakers are ignorant to your response it is not endearing, but annoying. You feel no reward for attempting to laugh. Its even hard to make your own jokes about it, because this film goes to such great lengths to try to make you laugh anyway but fails at every turn. And I do mean EVERY TURN. Maybe I missed something, so you can try to watch it. After all, I do advocate trying new things. At least you will be able to appreciate good comedy. Forgive me, Rudy Ray.