What I'm reviewing now was the very last movie Pam Grier made for American International Pictures. She plays the title character as a photographer for a magazine who's on assignment to shoot the arrival of the "black Howard Hughes" Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala). Accompanying her on some of her assignments other than the one I mentioned above is private detective Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto). I'll stop there and just say how fun I found the whole thing and why not with a cast that includes Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Jim Backus, Ted Lange without his mustache that he became famous for when he was cast in "The Love Boat" a few years later, a pre-Apollo Creed Carl Weathers, and Godfrey Cambridge several months before his untimely death. I can't admit that everything that happened made sense but I found myself smiling if not always laughing the whole time I was watching. So on that note, Friday Foster is well worth a look.

Friday Foster, based on the 1970's era comic strip by Jim Lawrence and Jorge Longaron, is about a young black woman magazine photographer. In the original strips, Friday was the assistant to a white photographer; in the film, it's Friday herself who's the shutterbug. Friday (Pam Grier) works for Glamour magazine, and her boss (Julius Harris) sends her to cover the airport arrival of Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala) a self-made billionaire, and apparently the richest black man in the world. Friday gets more than she bargained for as this presumably ordinary assignment turns into an attempted murder, with Tarr as the target. Friday got photos of the hit men, so she becomes a target as well. As it so happens, Tarr is organizing a massive meeting of influential African-Americans at his vast estate; it figures to be an agenda-planning affair for black America. The bad guys (who are for now anonymous) don't take kindly to a black think-tank getting traction, and Friday's misadventures lead her to discover that someone plans to murder everyone who attends this event.Her partner in (fighting) crime is Colt (Yaphet Kotto), a private detective who likes Friday, but with him she keeps it strictly platonic. She reserves her romantic side for Tarr and for Senator David Lee Hart (Paul Benjamin). A pre-Rocky Carl Weathers (as the hit-man Yarbro) gives chase to Friday for much of the film, and a pre-Love Boat Ted Lange is a young pimp who openly pines for Friday to join his enterprise. Other notable actors in the film include Earth Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Godfrey Cambridge, and Mr. Howell himself, Jim Backus. The action in the film is fast and slick, and the narrative manages to maintain a certain knowing campiness, despite the presumably serious political intrigue of the plot.Produced and released during the wane of the black-action film trend of the 1970's, the film met with modest response at the box office; the summer success of "Jaws" lit the fuse that would explode with "Star Wars" two years later, and Hollywood abandoned low-budgeted action fare aimed at ethnics for bigger-budget 'mass-appeal' blockbusters.

Pam Grier is back in action in the big screen adaptation of 'Friday Foster'. Friday Foster debuted in January 1970 as the first comic strip to star a black woman. It was syndicated and featured soap operatic story lines drawn in a realistic style, similar to Mary Worth, and starred an ex- model turned photojournalist somewhat like Diahann Carol.I think a lot of blaxploitation fans have a hard time getting their heads around this movie because it's a different role for Pam Grier than the gritty asskicker she played so well in movies like Coffy. Nonetheless, this film gives Pam an opportunity to show range as an actress. I think Pam Grier is one of the most beautiful actresses in the history of film with real star charisma. It's good to see her getting credit.Although it has the elements of classic blaxploitation - car chases, shootouts - Friday Foster is fun, light hearted comic strip of a film. Definitely see it.

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.