- Best known as a vehicle for its admittedly terrific soundtrack, Gordon Parks Jr.'s Super Fly tells the story of...well, a drug dealer. More specifically, Youngblood Priest (Ron O'Neal) is a tremendously successful drug dealer whose sole aim in this film is to deal so much cocaine that he can retire from dealing completely. But, like the old commercial says, he's also a client. Priest snorts more coke in this film than any other protagonist I've seen this side of Scarface. The film isn't interested in passing judgement, though, and I haven't quite decided whether that's to its benefit or detriment.
- Assisting Priest in his brilliant plan -- which again, is to sell a lot of coke -- are his partner Eddie (Carl Lee), his former mentor Scatter (Julius W. Harris), and the much put-upon Fat Freddie (Charles McGregor), whose fate will already be familiar to anyone who knows the soundtrack. Like most blaxploitation heroes, Priest also has two girlfriends, Georgia (Sheila Frazier) and Cynthia (Polly Niles), although only Georgia is treated like anything other than window dressing. Standing against Priest, naturally, is "The Man" (Sig Shore), whose team of corrupt cops only makes arrests when they can see some profit in the venture.
- As compelling drama, Super Fly is not exactly a success, although Priest's final rebellion against The Man is pretty memorable. As social commentary, I tend to sympathise with groups such as the NAACP, who decried its promotion of a black drug-dealing hero, although I must also acknowledge that I'm not really in a position to question a black filmmaker and screenwriter (Philip Fenty) on their choice of stories. The film's aforementioned soundtrack and its realistic Harlem location filming are highlights, although the film's many driving sequences and extended still-photo montage are obviously there to pad out its runtime. Parks's father made a much better blaxploitation film with Shaft, but even Isaac Hayes couldn't touch Curtis Mayfield, who appears halfway through to deliver a quick set as part of his career-defining soundtrack.
