American Pimp (1999)

Street pimps, all of them African-American, discuss their lives and work: getting started, being flamboyant, pimping in various U.S. cities, bringing a woman into their group, taking a ... See full summary »

Directors:

Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Stars:

Too $hort, John S. Dickson, Antonio Fargas

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Too $hort	...	Too $hort
John S. Dickson	...	Himself (as Rosebudd)
Antonio Fargas	...	Link Brown
Heidi Fleiss	...	Herself (archive footage)
L. Hammond	...	Payroll The Pimp
Hugh M. Hefner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dennis Hof	...	Himself
The Bishop Don Magic Juan	...	Himself
Max Julien	...	Himself / Goldie
Rudy Ray Moore	...	Dolemite
Conan O'Brien	...	Himself (archive footage)
Roscoe Orman	...	Willie Dynamite
Kenny Redd	...	Himself (as K-Red)
Clarence Sims	...	Himself (as Fillmore Slim)
Carol Speed	...	Lulu

Storyline

Street pimps, all of them African-American, discuss their lives and work: getting started, being flamboyant, pimping in various U.S. cities, bringing a woman into their group, taking a woman from another pimp, and the rules and regulations of pimping. The men are clear: it's about money. The women work every night, hustle hard, turn over all their earnings, and steal anything they can from clients. We meet a few of the women, who tell us what they want from a pimp. We also listen to a women who's legally employed at a Nevada brothel; we meet her White boss, a legal pimp. He and the street pimps, some of whom are now retired, make the case for legalizing the trade.

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Plot Keywords:

pimp | african american | money | street walker | black american | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive sexual content including dialogue, strong language and some drug related material

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cafetão Americano

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$28,699 (USA) (9 June 2000)

Gross:

$258,148 (USA) (28 July 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Underworld Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Clarence Sims: Before dere was any pimp in the world, dere was Mary Magdalene. She wa' hoing all the motherfuckin' time in da Bible days. Jesus knew it.

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Connections

Referenced in Idiocracy (2006)

User Reviews

Good Documentary

American Pimp (1999)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting documentary from Albert and Allen Hughes about pimps and the ins and outs of the business. If you're easily offended then this isn't the film for you but it's highly entertaining and interesting in a behind the scenes type of way. We get to learn when this trade started plus what it takes to keep it going. I can't say I enjoyed any of the pimps on display here as I find them to be lazy bums but they tried to get their point of view across. The directors seem to glamorize them a tad bit too much and it would have been interesting for a more direct look with more of the down side. Clips from earlier "pimp" films are also shown.