Too much of everything

Good movie but grossly overrated

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I had never heard of Pam Grier until she co-starred in "Mars Attacks!" and then got a lead role in "Jackie Brown". I later learned that she was a blaxploitation star in the '70s, and I've finally gotten to see an example. "Friday Foster" casts her as an ultra-cool photographer whose life takes a dangerous turn after she witnesses an assassination attempt. There's no shortage of fun stuff. Seriously, Pam Grier is one sh*t-kickin' babe! A particularly surprising thing is the cast. In addition to Pam Grier, there's Carl Weathers, Eartha Kitt, Godfrey Cambridge, Jason Bernard, Jim Backus, Scatman Crothers and Yaphet Kotto. Ergo, this movie contains Foxy Brown, Apollo Creed, Catwoman, Gravedigger Jones, Steve Martin's friend in "All of Me", Thurston Howell III, Dick Halloran and of the Alien's victims.But anyway, it's just a really cool movie. I have no doubt that they had fun making it.Delivering the milk. Indeed!

Of the four films from the mid-'70s that starred Pam Grier in the heroic lead - Coffy, Foxy Brown, Sheba Baby, Friday Foster - this last film is undoubtedly the best - best screenplay, best direction, best production values, and an excellent cast delivering wonderful (campy but restrained) performances. So why is this traditionally given the lowest rating of these films? I suspect that this has to do with the expectations of the fans of the '70s "Blaxploitation" genre. "Friday Foster" toys playfully with Blaxploitation conventions, but doesn't adhere to them. The movie is actually targeted at a developing black middle class that was college educated and both aware of the stereotypes confronting them and ambitious to overcome these. Most enduring Blaxploitation fans now are actually white. politically left, and 40 or older; they secretly enjoy the stereotypes they argue are mocked in Blaxploitation, these remind them of an era when it was easier to deal with social classes rather than individuals.But long after Blaxploitation is forgotten as a genre, "Friday Foster" will be an enjoyable action film. The violence and danger are real enough - and very well paced, but the script and the actors performing it are witty enough to avoid taking any of it too seriously. The political message is still there, but there's no attempt to beat us over the head with it.Finally, it has to be noted that with this film Pam Grier at last came into her own as an actress. While her range is still limited by her age and experience, she has learned to push this range to its envelope and toy with expanding beyond it. Her inflection and diction in delivering her lines, along with her careful use of of her eyes and expression, are subtly rich in wit and focus, revealing as much of the character as the script itself."Coffy," Grier's best known film of that era, is not really a good film, and is not amusing enough as "bad but funny" for multiple viewings. "Friday Foster" is not "bad but funny" at all, it's just a good, well-made, fun action comedy.

Friday Foster (Pam Grier) is a magazine photographer who is given the assignment of covering the airport arrival of the richest black man in America. But Friday gets more than she bargained for as this routine assignment turns into an assassination attempt. Because Friday was able to get some shots of the would be killers, her life is in danger. Soon, everywhere she goes, people end up dead. Friday's investigations lead her to corrupt government officials, a renowned preacher with an eye for more than the Bible, and something called The Black Widow.Friday Foster is literally a Who's Who of 70s black actors. In addition to the always delightful Pam Grier, the movie features Yaphet Kotto, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Carl Weathers, Ted Lange, Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala (what an awesome name), and more. While many members of this large cast have little more than cameo appearances, it was a fun to see them all together. I especially enjoyed seeing Kotto work with Grier. I wish the pair had made more films together. They have a good on screen chemistry. Plus, regardless of how silly the situation, Kotto brings an air of credibility to the proceedings.Unlike some of Grier's other films, Friday Foster has a decided lighthearted tone in comparison. That's not to say there aren't plenty of killings, but it never feels as depressing, downbeat, or serious as something like Coffy. It's a nice change of pace to see Grier laughing and joking with Kotto in many of the film's scenes. The action scenes are also good. One of my personal favorites is the rooftop chase with Kotto and Weathers. Very nice.I'm a fan of 70s Blaxplotation (and Pam Grier in particular) and Friday Foster is a welcome addition to my video library.

This would be one of the last in the infamous black exploitation films and this effort was definitely a step down from some of the others although it's still fairly entertaining. Story is of course about Friday Foster (Pam Grier) who's a former model but now works as a photographer for a magazine called Glance and she's assigned to go to the airport and photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala) who's a very successful black businessman. While snapping off some shots Friday is a witness to an attempted murder plot and Tarr is wounded but she gets the photo's of the whole event.*****SPOILER ALERT***** Friday starts snooping around but she is the target of one of the assassins (Carl Weathers) who recognizes her and she enlists the aide of her good friend Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto) who's a private detective. Things lead to Senator David Lee Hart (Paul Benjamin) and Friday thinks that he may be behind the whole thing but as it turns out it's actually someone whom no one suspects and they're trying to kill all the other black leaders.This film was directed by Arthur Marks (Bucktown, Detroit 9000) who has the experience in making these films but since he also wrote the story he can be looked at for most of the flaws here. This seems to lack the immediacy and raw edge of the other more affluent films such as "Coffy" and instead we're subjected to a film that is easily more comedic and convoluted. Kotto usually plays heavies and bad guys but in a change of pace he's regulated to being more of a sidekick here following Grier from one predicament to another. The script has Grier's character stopping at nothing to find out about who killed her friend and she steals a hearse at a funeral and later a milk truck. The story also has her going to bed with both businessman Tarr and Senator Hart without any qualms but she's still supposed to be attracted to Kotto's character Colt! Clearly the story could have been tightened up a bit but there are still reasons to view this including the familiar cast which has Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Ted Lange, Godfrey Cambridge, and a wheelchair bound Jim Backus. It wouldn't be a Pam Grier blaxploitation film without her nude scenes and she has about 3 of them which showcase her curvy and luscious body. Not one of the better films in this genre but one of the last which possesses enough fun and exploitation to satisfy it's fans.