Petey Wheatstraw (1977) ** (out of 4) Rudy Ray Moore is back, this time playing the title character, a comedian who is doubled crossed by a couple jerks. Petey is shot dead in the streets and his spirit is visited by Lucifer who offers him a deal. If Petey agrees to marry his daughter and have a son, Petey can continue life and be given a magical pimp stick. Petey takes the deal and enjoys the powers that the stick gives him but when it comes time to pay he wants no part of Lucifer's daughter.After DOLEMITE and its sequel THE HUMAN TORPEDO, Moore found himself playing a new character and while it's not nearly as entertaining as the earlier movies, if you're a fan of the comic then there's plenty to enjoy here. If you're coming to this film expecting to see anything like THE HUMAN TORPEDO then you had better check yourself because this film is something completely different. As wild as the story sounds, the film is actually pretty straight-forward without too many campy or over-the-top moments.The direction they took this film is somewhat shocking because it barely registers a R-rating until the final fifteen-minutes when we finally get some exploitation moments including a weird orgy sequence and some nudity. Everything before that is pretty much a straight but bizarre drama dealing with Petey being murdered but then given a chance to seek revenge on the men behind it. All of this is played rather straight and it is entertaining but I'm just not sure the blaxploitation crowd are going to enjoy something straight when it comes to Moore.The film finally reaches some high marks at the end when Lucifer and his servants come for revenge. The make up on the devils is quite generic but it makes for some fun. As usual Moore doesn't give a great performance but he's certainly quite the character and he manages to make the role fun and keep the viewer interested in what's going on. The supporting cast is nice and for the most part fans of Moore should enjoy this one.

This was my first Rudy Ray Moore movie, and it may be my last. I read all of the comments and reviews and figured this would be a fun bad movie, and it has its moments. Overall, however, it's a dud. The 90+ minutes to view it seemed to last forever, and it's really ludicrous. How could the cane given by Satan to Petey be more powerful than Satan himself? And why would Petey break the powerful cane since it was what had saved him time and time again? And how could merely breaking the cane in two render it useless? Why would Petey get into a limo, thinking it's one of his posse's car? There's only so much suspension of disbelief I'm willing to grant. As I mentioned, the film has its moments, like when Petey combs the nappy-headed boy's hair, and the little boy's t-shirt that said 'I'm a little devil' was a nice touch. I also give credit for putting in politically incorrect stuff like watermelon and fat jokes. I did laughed when Petey's mom delivered a watermelon, when the bomb blew up a truck full of watermelons, and when the heavy chick struggled to fit into a lawn chair.The biggest laugh for me came when the club singer's wig flew off. Wig's coming off are always good for a laugh with me. And there are a few hot brothers in polyester suits that show off their fine butts. Props for that.But the parts are much greater than the sum. Rudy Ray seems to have done alright for himself, being ambitious and being in the right place at the right time. I'm happy for him, but I'm just not a fan of this movie.

This movie is a breath of slapstic fresh air. It combines a ryhming charismatic hero (the devil's son in-law) with 60's Batman-inspired supervillains, hilarious kung-fu battling, black folklore, and a pimp staff with magical powers. I can't think of a better premise. The movie's humor is complete slapstick, the bumbling leroy and skillets doing their best to impersonate the three stooges combined (and they're both fat enough to do it). The acting is terrible, with purposfully, silent-movie style over-the-top expressions and reactions. It's a little bit too long and there are some sound difficulties, but well worth checking out. I would've loved to see a tv show with by R.R. Moore and his group.

I had trouble watching Dolemite (horrible acting) one month ago and Disco Godfather (crazy-a** halucination scenes, going on very long!) today!!! BUT!!! - Petey Wheatstraw had me laughing pretty much through the entire thing - watermelons, Petey's magical gift he recieved from the Devil, and Leroy & Skillet - hahahaha!!! Great actors, funny as hell! If you want to check out a Rudy Ray Moore film, check out this one! It's got a GREAT soundtrack, and the acting is better than his others (although I haven't seen Human Tornado in a while, very funny Kung-Fu moves by Rudy).