Drop Squad (1994)

Political satire about an underground militant group that kidnaps African-Americans who have sold out their race. The story follows as the group led Curtis-Hall and Rhames kidnaps an ... See full summary »

Director:

David C. Johnson

Writers:

David Taylor (story), David C. Johnson (screen story),

Stars:

Eriq La Salle, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ving Rhames

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eriq La Salle	...	Bruford Jamison Jr
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Rocky Seavers
Ving Rhames	...	Garvey
Kasi Lemmons	...	June Vanderpool
Leonard L. Thomas	...	XB
Nicole Powell	...	Lenora Jamison
Eric Payne	...	Stokely
Crystal R. Fox	...	Zora
Vanessa Williams	...	Mali
Michael Ralph	...	Trevor
Billy 'Sly' Williams	...	Huey
Kim Hawthorne	...	Harriet (as Kimberly Hawthorne)
Afemo Omilami	...	Berl (Flip) Mangum
Paula Kelly	...	Aunt Tilly
Charles Brown	...	Uncle Otha

Storyline

Political satire about an underground militant group that kidnaps African-Americans who have sold out their race. The story follows as the group led Curtis-Hall and Rhames kidnaps an advertising executive (La Salle) who has been providing advertising programs that belittles blacks and women. One advertisement features Spike Lee endorsing Gospelpak Fried Chicken which comes in a bucket with the Confederate flag draped all over it.

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | satire | african american | deprogramming | flashback | 

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Taglines:

No struggle, no progress.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Leszámolók

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$734,693 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Crooklyn (1994)

User Reviews

a better Bamboozled

Having just seen Bamboozled, this movie came to mind. Comparing the two, I think this one was more effective. The similarities are striking. In both movies, there are blacks that made it in the establishment, one as an advertisement professional and in the other as a television writer producer. And in both roles, they are enmeshed in producing something for the black audience. The advertisement professional is soon black listed by his family for having made television advertisements that use stereotypes such as fried chickens and malt liquor, and other parodies of which the family relatives are ashamed and hint of an Al Sharpton's "genocide". The television production in Bamboozled is protested by Al Sharpton (playing himself). The sponsors of the televion series show ads of fashion clothing, malt liquor ("The Bomb"). While Bamboozled ends in violence, Drop Squad ends with the uppity black returning to his true self, reminded of his own "blackness". In Bamboozled, reflecting the interested by white teenagers in Hip Hop, one member of the rap group is white and is the only survivor of a police shootout ("why me? why me? kill me too!"), and in the followers of the television series is a "Sicilian Nigger", an italo-american that covered his face with blackface and wants to act "black". Or is it "blak", since we don't need the "C", as one of the rapsters suggests.