June 29, 2001
Pootie Tang is a 2001 American comedy film written and directed by Louis C.K. and adapted from a comedy sketch that first appeared on The Chris Rock Show. The character Pootie Tang is a satire of the stereotyped action heroes who appeared in old blaxploitation films. The title character's speech, which vaguely resembles pidgin, is mostly unintelligible to the audience, but the other characters in the film have no problem understanding him.
The film was a box office bomb, grossing just $3.3 million, and received negative reviews for its humor and depiction of women. The film has since become a cult classic.
Storyline
Pootie Tang sits down for a TV interview, at which the interviewer (Bob Costas) asks about Pootie's upcoming movie. At this point, a movie clip is played. Although initially unclear, the events described below all appear to be part of the movie clip played during the interview as revealed at the end of the movie.
Pootie Tang, born in "a small town outside Gary, Indiana", is portrayed as a ladies' man who is "too cool for words", even as a young child. His life is marked by the deaths of his mother "Momma Dee", and shortly thereafter his father "Daddy Tang", who dies after being mauled by a gorilla during his shift at the steel mill (the third time that year someone had suffered that particular fate). Just before Daddy Tang's death, Pootie inherits his father's belt and is told that (as long as he has right on his side) he can "whoop anyone's ass with just that belt." He uses his dying breath to warn his son to not let the ladies get between him and the belt.
As a young adult, Pootie Tang rises to fame and becomes well known for a variety of reasons. He sings in nightclubs, stars in public service announcements for children, produces top-of-the-charts music hits, and generally defeats wrongdoers with the power of his belt. Dick Lecter, the chief operating officer of multi-industrial conglomerate LecterCorp, learns of Pootie Tang's positive influence on society — and his negative influence on LecterCorp's bottom line. After his henchmen and a villain named Dirty Dee are sent away by Pootie's friends, Lecter encourages his right-hand lady, Ireenie, to seduce Pootie Tang into signing an agreement with LecterCorp that would stop Pootie Tang's influence on America's children.
Pootie Tang falls for Ireenie's tricks and subsequently falls apart. His pop cultural status is destroyed, and he engages on a quest to "find [him]self". This journey is encouraged by his friend Biggie Shorty, who promises to wait for Pootie to return to her and to the rest of society. Pootie moves to a farm where the local sheriff decides Pootie should start dating his daughter. After his single corn stalk dies, he has a vision of Daddy Tang and Momma Dee. Daddy Tang reveals that there is nothing special about Pootie's belt; instead, Pootie must fight evil with the goodness that is inside him. After dealing with Dirty Dee and his henchman Froggy (as well as getting his belt back), Pootie realizes he must move back to the city and fight crime once again.
Pootie Tang returns to the city just as Dick Lecter is unveiling the first of his new restaurant chain, Pootie's Bad Time Burgers. At a small news conference, Pootie confronts Lecter only to discover that Lecter has amassed dozens of "Pootie-alikes" who will spread the message of LecterCorp around the nation. Pootie Tang, with the help of Biggie Shorty, defeats all of these henchmen and Lecter himself. Good triumphs over evil once again, and Biggie Shorty finally gets her man: she and Pootie Tang plan to get married now that Pootie is back. Elsewhere, Dick Lecter leaves corporate life and becomes an actor, Ireenie leaves him and becomes a counselor helping at-risk teenage prostitutes, and Dirty Dee is still dirty.
Movie Trailer
- Pootie Tang (2001) (Trailers)
Sound Effects Used
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, BABY - CRYING (5th half; heard once in a low volume.)