Cooley High (C or 2/4 stars)
'Cooley High' (directed by Michael Schultz) is a moderately humorous 1975 black American Graffiti-like/Happy Days-like movie set at, you guessed it, Cooley High School. Best buds Leroy "Preach" Jackson (Glynn Turman, who was briefly married to Aretha Franklin) & Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) are seniors attending Cooley High in 1960s Chicago and, are neighbors in a housing project. They are not evil, but aren't angels, either; committing petty crimes. Preach enjoys poetry, history & longs to get out of the ghetto; envisioning becoming a hot shot Hollywood screenwriter. But despite being very intelligent {with street smarts}, he gets terrible grades because he refuses to apply himself -- he'd rather be the class clown.
All the while, Cochise is the school basketball star & suave lady's man who just got a college basketball scholarship. The film jumps from unfocused vignette to unfocused vignette, starting with Preach, Cochise & 2 other students cutting school to go to the local zoo; Preach shooting craps at Martha's hangout; trying to score girls; going to a house party where a fat girl is caught stuffing herself; and foolishly going along with some baddies - Stone & Robert - to steal a car to go on a joy ride; tragedy results from this particular vignette. Nice girl Brenda (Cynthia Davis) falls for the off-putting, troublesome Preach when he impresses her with his poetry knowledge. The most tender scene had Preach's 3-job single mom sobbing when learning that her own son was arrested for stealing said car and had a naked girl in his bed; but falling asleep before administering the punishment of a leather belt {yes, THESE are plot points, here - eye roll}.
I simply didn't care much for this movie. Watching juvenile delinquents just 'wanting to have fun' for 107 irksome minutes is not my idea of a good time. The performances are fine. Glynn Turman & Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs execute their unlikeable characters quite well {they lie, act lecherously, etc.}. The episodic script doesn't help matters, either. And that the tone of the script vacillating from comedic to dramatic & back again {a forced tragic scene misses the mark} doesn't help, either. Now I can see how this film could entertain many an audience member and, it was a nice-sized hit back in 1975. The Motown-heavy soundtrack is great fun, too. But this poignant black experience school dramedy could have been much better, in my estimation.
All the while, Cochise is the school basketball star & suave lady's man who just got a college basketball scholarship. The film jumps from unfocused vignette to unfocused vignette, starting with Preach, Cochise & 2 other students cutting school to go to the local zoo; Preach shooting craps at Martha's hangout; trying to score girls; going to a house party where a fat girl is caught stuffing herself; and foolishly going along with some baddies - Stone & Robert - to steal a car to go on a joy ride; tragedy results from this particular vignette. Nice girl Brenda (Cynthia Davis) falls for the off-putting, troublesome Preach when he impresses her with his poetry knowledge. The most tender scene had Preach's 3-job single mom sobbing when learning that her own son was arrested for stealing said car and had a naked girl in his bed; but falling asleep before administering the punishment of a leather belt {yes, THESE are plot points, here - eye roll}.
I simply didn't care much for this movie. Watching juvenile delinquents just 'wanting to have fun' for 107 irksome minutes is not my idea of a good time. The performances are fine. Glynn Turman & Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs execute their unlikeable characters quite well {they lie, act lecherously, etc.}. The episodic script doesn't help matters, either. And that the tone of the script vacillating from comedic to dramatic & back again {a forced tragic scene misses the mark} doesn't help, either. Now I can see how this film could entertain many an audience member and, it was a nice-sized hit back in 1975. The Motown-heavy soundtrack is great fun, too. But this poignant black experience school dramedy could have been much better, in my estimation.