day 94 - Pootie Tang

Ok film fans another new week is upon us and tonight I'm feeling like I could use a laugh or a couple dozen or perhaps some nitrous oxide. Over the years I have built a catalog of films to fall back on for nights like this and tonight I'm feeling like I need a little quality time with mindless stupidity.

Pootie Tang is one of the stupidest films ever made. It is also jam packed with scenes so ridiculous you can't help but find yourself laughing out loud. Written and directed by one of my all time favorite comedians, Louis C.K. (Who is actually writing the jokes Dane Cook steals for his shows), this is a film filled with cameos from his fellow stand-up comedian friends. Despite its glaring stupidity everyone in the cast seems to be in on the joke. If you're not in on the joke within the first few minutes you should probably just turn it off, it's only going to get more bizarre and outlandish as the film continues.

Basically a biopic, it chronicles the life of the musician/actor/activist/folk hero as he fights against criminals and the evil Lector Corporation, which sells cigarettes, booze, drugs and fast food to kids, with his magical belt. Oh yeah, he has a magical belt. He also speaks gibberish that everyone seems to understand without any problems. There's almost no point in getting into the plot because with this kind of film who really cares? The main goal here is to make you laugh and if you get the blaxploitation references it's even funnier. A labor of love for Louis C.K and Chris Rock (the Pootie Tang character appeared in five-minute bits on HBO’s The Chris Rock Show on which C.K. was a writer) this is not a mainstream film. It has however, become a cult favorite for fans of alt-comedy. So if you like your comedy a little subversive and a lot stupid, Pootie is your man.