A Whole Lot of Woman

Foxy Brown is a blaxploitation hit with a whole lot of woman. It’s also the first blaxploitation movie that I saw. Let’s just say I wasn’t prepared for just how shocking and stereotypical they could be. Foxy Brown is practically a remake of Coffy released the previous year from the same director Jack Hill. When a sequel didn’t pan out, they just made another revenge flick starring Pam Grier as a woman who goes undercover as a prostitute in order to take down despicable drug dealers.

Stevie Elias and Kathryn Wall run the brothel and have Foxy’s Government agent boyfriend played by Terry Carter killed. Unlike Coffy, Foxy has a brother named Link who’s no good and appropriately played by Antonio Fargas. Although she is very similar to Coffy, Foxy Brown is the real poster child for an early badass black heroine. Grier isn’t naked as much as Coffy, but she is just as sexy and confident in her mission. Foxy Brown has the usual funky soundtrack and a very 70’s afrocentric fashion sense. Foxy is known for keeping a gun in her afro, but she’s also seen with long hair while posing as a prostitute. That’s where most of the nudity is, but Foxy does manage to get one of the girls out. Only after a random fight in a lesbian bar.

Foxy Brown is still very low budget despite featuring more car chases and a plane crashed by Sid Haig as a helpful pilot. Although Foxy manages to humiliate corrupt judges like one played by Harry Holcombe, the R rating really gets uncomfortable when she’s kidnapped, drugged, and assaulted by hillbillies. It’s enough to involve the Black Panthers, but what they do to the villain’s manhood (however deserving) is equally uncomfortable. Foxy Brown is a satisfying revenge thriller with an empowering voice.

Foxy Brown gets her revenge