Coffy (1973) User Reviews

Underrated

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 15 July 2019]

The first half of this film is interesting enough, with a strong and smart African-American woman in the lead role (Pam Grier of course), using her brains and body to seek vengeance on drug dealers who messed up her sister. It has a heavy 70's B-movie vibe to it, and there were times when it felt like the feminist aspects of Grier's character were undercut by things like women's tops flying open at what seems like every possible moment. However, the film really picks up steam is in the second half, which has interesting moments in the plot, action scenes that hold together well, and a few social messages delivered as well. Seriously, if the film hadn't gotten carried away in places early on, I think it would be much better regarded, and even as it is, it feels underrated to me.

It's an action movie first and foremost, and an entertaining one at that, but I loved how it talked about the overall system of drugs, starting with poverty being a factor in the chain stretching from users to pushers to all the way back to poor farmers in faraway places, many of whom are people of color. At the top in this system are the affluent, and a chain of mostly white businessmen, corrupt police, and corrupt politicians. The film doesn't hit us over the head with this, and there are good and bad African-American characters, as well as good and bad cops. With that said, images like the rope being put around a black man's neck and then him being dragged from a car, as well as a rich white guy getting off on using slurs and denigrating "exotic" women are pretty meaningful in addition to powerful.

It's really Pam Grier who makes this film though. She simply radiates beauty and strength, and the look in her eyes at times is every bit as mesmerizing as her often talked about body. Her acting may be a little uneven in places but it didn't bother me in the slightest, and I loved her overall performance, which had high entertainment value.

My favorite quote is from the politician (Booker Bradshaw), who is an interesting character in his own right: "You know, you've been listening to my political speeches. I thought you'd be more intelligent than to listen to crap like that."

Nursing a Grudge...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 17 March 2023]

Coffy has a sister who's addicted, receiving treatment as she's become quite afflicted, so she's taken up the fight, to remove all those who plight, those who peddle, push, promote, will be evicted.

A wonderful performance from Pam Grier who uses all of her assets (and some) as she takes revenge on those who inflict pain and misery through their drug dealing and deception. More than ably supported by Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui and Allan Arbus as those she seeks to rid; I only recently came across this 1973 classic and it's opened a door to the cult filmmaker that is Jack Hill, and the wonderful worlds that he conjured.

very interesting movie

[sundaebrunch · 7/10 · 6 January 2007]

Very interesting movie. Pam is very hot looking as always. I think she was the Black Pamela Anderson of her time, only that her body is all natural and smoking hot!! Very surprised to see one of the co-stars in the movie was Alan Arbus of MASH fame. What a totally different direction for him playing a really nasty character compared to his really soft but firm part he played as Dr. Sydney Friedman in Mash. Also was very surprised that Turner Classics showed that movie including the nudity and graphic language on cable television. Any way, I enjoyed this movie and recommend this film if you want to see some great action and one great looking woman with a pretty great plot, great music sound track and one fantastic looking female lead character.

A blaxploitation classic! Possibly Pam Grier's best movie.

[Infofreak · 5 March 2003]

Pam Grier made many movies in the 1970s, but 'Coffy' as much as anything, is the one role on which her reputation as the Queen of blaxploitation rests. After a bit part in a Russ Meyer movie (his classic 'Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls'), Jack Hill, former Roger Corman protege and director of the creepy cult favourite 'Spider Baby', "discovered" her and gave her two strong roles in his popular chicks-in-chains movies 'The Big Doll House' and 'The Big Bird Cage'. Then Hill wrote and directed 'Coffy', a hugely entertaining revenge thriller that really showcases Pam Grier's talent and charisma to the max. The movie was hugely successful and made Grier an exploitation superstar. Instead of a female James Bond character like Cleopatra Jones, Hill made Coffy a regular working class black woman (a nurse as a matter of fact), who must use her brains and looks to achieve her goal - revenge for the drug addiction of her kid sister. The movie crosses elements seen in the male blaxploitation classics of the period like 'Superfly' and 'Shaft' with the vigilante genre which would really kick off with the success of 'Death Wish' the following year (yup, 'Coffy' PREDATES 'Death Wish', so let's get that straight). Grier is sensational in this movie. She can act, she's tough, she pulls off the action scenes with credibility, and of course she looks great, and there is a fair bit of nudity. Grier went on to movies like 'The Arena', 'Sheba, Baby' and 'Drum' before the blaxploitation boom burst, but it's a pity that she only made one more movie with Jack Hill ('Foxy Brown') because they were a dynamite team bringing out the best in each other. 'Coffy' has some interesting supporting cast members including Allan Arbus (best know to fans of TV's 'M.A.S.H.') as Mob boss Vitroni, future 'Robocop' actor Robert DoQui as flamboyant pimp King George, and the brilliant Sid Haig as the sleazy Omar. Haig was a regular Grier co-star throughout the 1970s and Jack Hill's favourite actor ever since his breakthrough role in 'Spider Baby'. If you really want to understand why so many movie buffs from Quentin Tarantino on down worship Pam Grier then 'Coffy' is THE movie to watch. Arguably her best movie, it's a blaxploitation classic and still great viewing thirty years later! Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in 1970s exploitation or crime movies.

"Coffy" is a classic blaxploitation film.

[tarbosh22000 · 7/10 · 12 May 2010]

"Coffy" is a classic blaxploitation film. Pam Grier stars as the title character.

The plot: Coffy is just a mild mannered nurse, but then her sister gets mixed with the drug trade and is hospitalized for contaminated heroin. She turns vigilante and vows to take down all the drug pushers and pimps.

Like "Foxy Brown", Pam Grier is at her best here. She is the perfect heroine: Sexy and willing to kill. All the action sequences are well-shot and entertaining. Sid Haig plays one of villains named "Omar". He does his usual professional work.

"Coffy" is a fun and gritty picture featuring a killer performance from Grier. Highly Recommended!

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"I ain't never screwed a congressman before."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 21 April 2014]

Pam Grier plays a nurse named Coffy who goes undercover to take out the drug dealers who got her sister hooked. Sexy, violent, gritty blaxploitation classic. Pam Grier in all her glory is reason alone to check this one out. Sid Haig is one of the bad guys and is amusing in a scummy sort of way. The cheesetastic songs ("Coffy, baby, sweet as a chocolate bar") are great. Love the cat fights! Lots of violence, coarse language, and nudity. Most of this is good fun but the death of one character in particular, a pimp named King George, is pretty rough to watch. Still, it's a good one. This would make my short list of must-see blaxploitation films, for sure.

Pam is volcanic, the movie less so

[frankfob · 6/10 · 26 May 2006]

Pam Grier's first "blaxploitation" film is far from her best, but it does show you why she became the "queen" of that genre--there simply just wasn't anyone else like her. Her acting wasn't all that bad--it's much better than most of the other women in the picture and a lot of the men, to be honest--and she had the revenge-minded, ass-kickin' mama persona down pat. What really makes her stand out, however, is her sexuality--she is absolutely explosive. Her frequent nudity is one of the film's saving graces, but it's not really gratuitous (not that there's anything wrong with that, either)--as another poster pointed out, her nude scenes seemed to be done on her own terms and not because the producer or director said, "OK, baby, show us what you got". The scene where she's lounging by the pool in a bikini and first meets "superpimp" King George is astounding--how actor Robert DoQui restrained himself from leaping on her as soon as he saw her is a feat of self-discipline that's almost superhuman. The party scene later on, where Pam comes in dressed up as a streetwalker (and raises the temperature of the room 20 degrees) then shortly afterward gets in a knock-down, drag-out fight with several of King George's jealous girls, is another of the film's highlights.

The picture does have its downsides, mainly in the performances (yeah, like you watch these kinds of films for the acting . . . ). Robert DoQui, although a very good actor generally, just isn't convincing as King George (his "superpimp" outfit is hilarious, though). William Elliot, as apparently the only honest cop in the L.A.P.D. and Coffy's friend who wants to be more than that, is bland and doesn't make any kind of an impression. Booker Bradshaw as Coffy's politician lover who, although she doesn't know it, is partners with the city's biggest pimp/drug dealer gives probably the worst performance in the movie. He plays his part with little conviction and you get the impression that he thinks this kind of picture is beneath him. He loosens up a bit towards the end, but by then it's too little too late.

On the other hand, the action scenes are well done, and of course there's the great Sid Haig as a mob killer who gets a little "poetic justice" in the end. This is Pam Grier's picture, though, and she more than makes up for whatever shortcomings it has. Several of her subsequent films in this genre are much better than this one, but this will serve as a good introduction to "the Pam Grier experience". It's the picture that made her a star, and it's easy to see why. It may be a bit choppy and somewhat primitive but it's a lot of fun, and Pam Grier is stupendous. Check it out.

Pam, Pam, Pam. Blam.

[GroovyDoom · 10/10 · 20 January 2001]

Pure action film nirvana, "Coffy" has got to be one of the slickest pieces of entertainment ever created, not to mention a fantastic "Blaxploitation" cinema experience. It's a credit to everyone involved in the film that the story could be so gratuitously nonsensical and contrived and still seem completely logical while it's happening. It's like a comic book come to life.

Pam Grier plays Coffy, a nurse who goes on a murderous rampage after her sister overdoses on drugs supplied by a "pusher" who knows that Coffy is sending her money. From the opening scene, where Coffy pulls a severely-sawed-off shotgun out of her macramé purse to blast a big- time drug dealer to hell, the frantic pace never lets up until the bitter, seething end.

After making her first "hit", Coffy's vengeance is further stoked when her do-good cop friend is taken out by the dirty dealers for not accepting a payoff. Coffy blows her top and takes some time off work to really go for the jugular, working her way through the city's drug cartel by posing as a Jamaican hooker named "Mystique". It's not hard--she gets the vital information in a hilarious scene involving a woman named Priscilla, whose "old man," Harriet, turns out to be more than Coffy bargained for.

The genius in the film is in the way that Coffy manages to manipulate her way through all of these scenarios. Even the hardest criminals are putty in her hands, and she never looks more beautiful than when she is covered in scratches, grime, and wielding a shotgun. She has a seemingly endless bag of tricks, several of which involve weapons hidden in her astonishing afro. She's comfortable around a gun, but she'll use any old thing lying around to wreak her vengeance: a broken wine bottle, a hypodermic needle full of dope, a makeshift shiv, even a convenient rock lying on the side of the road.

By the time the climax rolls around, the film has become deliriously exciting, building continuously upwards until you think it might collapse in on itself. But it doesn't. "Coffy" stands tall, even over the strains of a closing song that tells us "Revenge is a virtue." This film is perfect in every way.

The Black Vigilante

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 20 October 2018]

When her addicted sister is hospitalized victim of drugs, the nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) seeks revenge and kills the drug dealer. Coffy returns to her normal life, spending her leisure time with her friend, the police officer Carter (William Elliott), and her boyfriend Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw). When the incorruptible Carter refuses to be bribed by his partner, his gang attacks Carter that has brain damage. Coffy decides to seek revenge for her friend, but is surprised when she discovers the kingpins of the gang.

"Coffy" is another Blaxploitation film from the 70´s. Pam Grier performs the black vigilante Coffy in an attempt to turn her into an action actress. The flawed story is entertaining and full of action. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Coffy: Em Busca da Vingança" ("Coffy: Seeking Revenge")

Coffy? I'll have mine hot, sweet and black.

[BA_Harrison · 9/10 · 17 June 2012]

Quentin Tarantino's fixation with Pam Grier, the star of Coffy, resulted in him casting her as the lead in his 1997 movie Jackie Brown; QT's worship of the actress really comes as no surprise—she's a B-movie nerd's wet dream come true, a foxy, feisty, take-no-crap bad-ass mama with a body to die for. Grier's unforgettable performance, along with no-nonsense direction from Jack Hill and an excellent supporting cast (including Hill regular Sid Haig) ensure that Coffy is not only one of the best blaxploitation films ever, but also one of the best exploitation films of any type, period.

The film combines all the trappings one expects from a pimped-out early 70s revenge thriller aimed primarily at a black audience—big afros (so handy for hiding weapons in), cool music, loud suits, wide ties, flares, pimps, hos, and drug dealers—along with the regular gratuitous violence and nudity one would hope to find in a standard low-budget grindhouse style flick of the era. In Coffy, every woman loses her top and all the bad guys meet suitably nasty fates (gruesome deaths including being dragged behind a car until a bloody pulp and blasted in the balls by a shotgun!); all this to the sound of a funky waka-waka guitar riff.

Something for everyone, then.

Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as gritty as salt.

[dfranzen70 · 7/10 · 21 June 2019]

Pam Grier is a towering presence in this early action film about a working-class lady who seeks revenge on the drug pushers who made her baby sister an addict at age 9. Grier's Coffy has the hots for an up-and-coming politician, but a young cop has also caught her eye. Coffy stays focused, though, and concentrates on knocking off pimps and drug lords one at a time. Well, until she's captured by the guy who played the camp psychiatrist Sidney in M*A*S*H (Alan Arbus) and his henchman, played by the great Sid Haig. Then it all gets very real very fast. This is definitely the movie that put Grier on the map and the one that so impressed a young Quentin Tarantino that he cast her as the lead in his own classic, Jackie Brown, more than 20 years later. Coffy burns the candle at both ends, as she's a night nurse by trade and pretends to be a drug-addled hooker in order to infiltrate the pimp's lair and get her revenge. Now, be warned, those of you who are under a certain age probably shouldn't watch this - get your parents' permission! - thanks not to the violence but the very prevalent nudity. Pam Grier herself gets pretty naked. So there's a warning to you parents, too. Or a selling point. I don't know you. Grier, clothed or not, turns in an exceptionally impressive performance, alternating from vulnerable to powerful in a heartbeat. There's plenty of action, too. Stick it to The Man and watch this one!

"Coffy is the color of your skin!"

[Aussie Stud · 10/10 · 8 July 2001]

Pam Grier shines in this hilarious action-packed blaxploitation flick where she first got her name as a 'black pin-up queen' during the early 70's. It is apparent after watching this film that no one remembers this for the bad-acting and dialogue, but for Pam Grier herself as a mean mutha who can kick some a$$ when she has to!

This movie SCREAMS 'early 70's', from the afro wigs to the awesome outfits Coffy finds herself wearing whether it be at a gala for call girls or when she's undercover to kick some drug-dealer's nasty behind!

This brilliant film mixes comedy right in there with the action. From the campy catfight scenes when Coffy dumps a salad bowl onto a blonde girl's head, to when King George makes his first appearance and steps out of his car in his pimp outfit, complete right down to the feather in his hat!!! Just seeing Coffy smash a wine bottle on a table to defend herself against a crackhead wielding a knife is rioutous enough! Watch out for the scene where she puts razor blades in her hair!!!

There is also a lot of unintentional comedy in there as well. Look for the scene where Carter frisks a male suspect who makes the mistake of putting his hands through Coffy's car window!

The action is fairly consistent. There are a lot of guns firing off, endless catfights that result in each girl having their dresses ripped open to expose their breasts(!!!) and an awesome scene that results in King George getting tied up with a noose and dragged through an obstacle course behind a car.

But every time Coffy appears on screen and you just KNOW that some bad stuff is about to go down, you know that you're going to be taken for a fun ride! As I mentioned above, no one is watching this movie for an Oscar-nominated performance or even a decent soundtrack (the "Coffy" theme sung by the Gladys Knight & The Pips-wannabes halfway through the movie is timeless!!!) - you're there to be entertained... and entertained is what you'll get, guaranteed. So invite your friends over for a good time - this is one movie where you don't have to be drunk to enjoy it!

10/10!!

Pass the Popcorn review

[PassPopcorn · 7/10 · 9 May 2013]

One of Quentin Tarantino's favourite grindhouse movies, Coffy is a great example of blaxploitation film – a genre that emerged in the USA in the 1970s, created specifically for black people, that featured black casts and funk and soul soundtracks. It was a box-office hit and Pam Grier became the first female African-American protagonist of an action movie.

Flower Child Coffin (Pam Grier), also known as Coffy, is a nurse whose little sister's life has been ruined by heroin. In the first scenes, Coffy finds the dealers who got her sister hooked on heroin and, pretending to be willing to do anything for a fix, goes home with them and kills them. Later in the movie, when two masked men beat up and seriously injure her police friend Carter in his home, while she's present, because he wouldn't be bribed, she decides to avenge him.

Even though the main character fights what we could call a war against drugs, the movie's message isn't "you shouldn't do drugs". As I said before, this is a blaxploitation movie – a movie that exploits certain themes. The story itself isn't very relevant. It's all about watching Coffy, often naked, getting her revenge by killing people and fighting other, often naked, women. And it is Coffy – or better, Pam Grier – who leads the movie. She is great in her performance, and truly believable: whenever men fall for her, it's obviously because of her beauty and charms – she is sexy and she knows it, and she uses these qualities to get what she wants. Also, her relationship with her sister isn't developed at all, but we still take her (Coffy's) side in her fighting the drug bosses, again because of her amazing performance.

Of course, this isn't an excellent movie, but you shouldn't expect much from the exploitation genre. It's just meant to entertain: it makes people laugh – like in this movie, when Coffy gets in a fight with some hookers and throws a bowl of salad onto one girl's head -, shocks – the best example being the killing of a man by tying a noose around his neck, attaching the rope to a car and dragging him around town -, and features a lot of female nudity; but it has many flaws – to give just one example, some of the supporting actors' performances are bad, but in a funny way, and the movie is sometimes boring. So if you're looking for a somewhat silly movie that will mostly make you laugh and make you ask yourself "the hell am I watching?", Coffy is the one for you!

Rating: 7/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.wordpress.com/

A decent time killer

[Tito-8 · 5/10 · 27 March 1999]

Although I found it to be an agreeable enough time-passer, there is nothing about this film that was particularly enjoyable, so I can't really recommend it. The action is brisk and the performances are good, but this film suffers from predictability and there was nothing especially clever in the script. It's basically just Pam Grier kicking butt for ninety minutes, and even though she does it rather well, a few twists and turns would have been nice. This is the kind of film that is reasonably fun to watch, but then quickly fades from memory once the credits are done.

the best Pam Grier movie!

[batzu · 12 December 2002]

if you've always wondered what was so great about Pam Grier, and haven't seen any of her movies from the seventies, look no further than Coffy. Coffy has it all, violence, pimps, drugs, nudity, sex, and it's served up with some severe camp and crazy dialogue. what sets this movie apart from other blaxploitaion movies is the excellent story and powerful performance of Miss Grier. I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off, and despite the low budget ambiance and feeling the movie took about a couple of weeks to make, Grier gives a performance worthy of her cult reverence.

the movie is a typical revenge story, with a not so typical hero-a black woman. Coffy's sister is hooked on smack and Coffy vows to herself to destroy the people responsible. Coffy works as a nurse by day, and prowls the clubs by night looking for the pusher who destroyed her sister's mind with drugs. Her search leads her to a pimp, a mobster, the cops, and a politician. In the end, she takes care of them all using her brains as well as her body, and damn do she have a body! Pam Grier makes this movie believable despite the obvious flaws of the low budget production. Her character never shows the weak side of femininity and fall into the ethos that women are at some point weaker than men. Coffy never breaks down to cry for help, waiting for a man or anyone else to help her-she does it all on her own. she kicks ass all over, and no other movie has done that with a female character, at least not anything credible. Coffy makes Thelma and Louise look like Laverne and Shirley.

Pam went on to make more movies of this ilk, but none were as popular nor as good as Coffy. what about Foxy Brown you ask? despite a better title, it doesn't compare to Coffy in either performance or content. Coffy served to bring Pam Grier into the main stream, as much as any black actress could be, and make her a star. all i can say is, thank you Quentin Tarentino for making Jackie Brown and proving her power and presence as an actress. See this movie, then see Jackie Brown, you'll see why Tarentino made it.

A Blaxploitation Classic

[blakiepeterson · 7/10 · 9 June 2015]

Blaxploitation is so synonymous with the persona of Pam Grier that the subgenere may as well be dubbed as worthless trash when without her. Let's face it: blaxploitation flicks are trash, nudie cuties stirred up with drug violence and gang warfare without enough acumen to make for anything besides low, low, art. For the most part, they consist of a few ticklish one-liners, a myriad of boob flashes, and a h*ll of a lot of gun shots, cocaine snorts, and shag carpets. Today, we're fond of their terribleness. They remind us of a time when films could be sleazy and unapologetic, bulletproof to critics because they catered to audiences looking for skin, slaughter, and post-Motown blackness.

But Pam Grier doesn't, and never did, disappear into the background noise of better films. As of this moment, you probably can't remember what Tamara Dobson ("Cleopatra Jones") looked like, how Ron O'Neal ("Superfly") sounded when he was high on movie coke — but I guarantee that, in ten years, Grier will still be hanging around in your psyche, personifying the ever elusive film femme that was strong and scrappy but also feminine and sensitive.

As Roger Ebert reminded us in his original review of 1973's "Coffy", Grier essentially reversed the stereotypes strung together by the majority of blaxploitation thrillers. Most gave the man the duty to save the day while the love interest waited around in bed until he finally fixed things up and had time to make some water bedded love. But Grier, or perhaps, writer/director Jack Hill, in an honorably feminist mood, asked a question most left untouched: what would happen if the woman saved the day, and didn't need a man to survive in a cold, hard world of drugs, cash, and hookers?

As "Coffy" opens, its titular matron is p-ssed. Kills two drug pushers with a shotgun p-ssed. Is willing to slaughter more criminals p-ssed. Smacking the blood on her lips p-ssed. Why? Her sweet little sister, apparently not as precious as she thought, has destroyed her sacred life with laced heroin, laying sick and immobile in a hospital that would rather get rid of her than help her out. Coffy wanted her young sibling to have dreams, to dance, to let her hair down in a wholesome, Doris Day kind of way. So when those hopes are diminished, she decides to get revenge on the drug mavens who gave her the goods in the first place. After violent confrontations continue on in a vicious cycle, she finally sets her sights on crime lord King George (Robert Duqui), who seems to be behind all the street crud that has sabotaged her life. And when it turns out that her congressman boyfriend (Booker Bradshaw) also has a part in the corruption, she figures she may as well throw caution to the wind and go all out.

Grier can do it all: she's a terrific actress, as much of a presence as the mainstream broads that, more than once, stole her thunder, and she's a worthy exhibitionist, proud of her extremely (extremely) curvaceous body and more than happy to flaunt it. But she isn't much like a Russ Meyer girl with busty proportions and not much else — she is so commanding in her sexual prowess that, like Nicki Minaj (I'm going out on a limb here), we find ourselves as much titillated by her presence as we are unsure how to react to it. For Grier (and Coffy), sex is a weapon, and she knows how to use it.

But Grier isn't so dependent on her chest that she forgets to act; she really and truly knows what the h*ll she is doing and makes "Coffy"'s lame dialogue suddenly seem like urban Shakespeare. Other actors in the room don't even try to give Hill's lazy writing any sort of life; Grier, though, pretends she's reciting something the Academy would give notice to. She makes Coffy a superbly memorable character, not just for her physical presence but also for her craftiness, her sincere, empathetic hatred for the men that destroyed her sister's life.

I won't go into details regarding the productional values of "Coffy"; everything other than Grier, and the funk obsessed soundtrack, instantly leaves the memory with its routine sex, drugs, and revenge plot. It's an average film with a too-good-for-her-material actress as its front-and-center. A shame — most never knew what to do with Grier after the blaxploitation era ended: should she be a villain? A detective? A wise older woman? Thank God Quentin Tarantino swooped down to save her from further career monstrosities through 1997's "Jackie Brown": then and there was she able to prove that she was so much more than an icon of an otherwise trashy 1970s subgenre. She was also a leading lady with class, with major talent. "Coffy" is a showcase for her unique abilities that puts its brazenness aside in favor of a goddess of an actress.

Bodacious blaxploitation

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 20 November 2022]

Nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) embarks on a vendetta to bring gruesome justice to the low-lifes (and high-lifes) got her kid sista hooked on junk, only to find that the corruption, both in whitey and the brothers, goes right to the top. The film is a classic of female empowerment- blaxploitation but may be best known for showcasing the ample talents of much ogled star Pam Grier. The story is pretty predictable but like most of its ilk, the film is an entertaining flashback to the fashion excesses of the '70s (especially King George's (Robert DoQui) outrageous pimp suits) but, although some fine finned limos on display, there is a disappointing lack of truly awesome pimp-mobiles. Grier is quite good as the resourceful avenging angel and her weaponised 'fro is iconic. Not great cinema and lacking the memorable soundtracks of the best of the canon (such as 1972's 'Superfly'), still the abundance of blood, skin, and Sid Haig makes it an easily watchable guilty-pleasure.

Murder, assault, grant theft auto and overall mayhem...but for a good cause

[JasparLamarCrabb · 7/10 · 25 January 2015]

A powerhouse performance by Pam Grier emerges from director Jack Hill's revenge thriller. Grier is a nurse bent on obliterating the drug pushers, pimps and crooked politicians responsible for getting her kid sister hooked on junk. The hokey dialog and noble underpinnings of the plot are easy to take given the exciting action packed into this film by Hill. It's all played out to a pulse pounding funk score by Roy Ayers. Grier gives a gutsy performance and the supporting cast includes William Elliott as a good cop, Booker Bradshaw as very bad politician as well as Robert DoQui as "King George," a very flamboyant and very badly dressed drug pusher/pimp. Alan Arbus is a sleazy businessman with a lot of fetishes. The great Sid Haig is Omar. The cinematography is by Paul Lohmann, who went on to shoot some of the best films of Robert Altman and Mel Brooks!

Pam Grier and writer/director Jack Hill in their prime in Coffy

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 10 August 2006]

Coffy may be no real masterpiece, but for its 'type' of movie it was going for, it doesn't get much better. Aside from Tarantino's Jackie Brown (of which not only did that filmmaker take license with the 'take no prisoners' style of Grier, but the best musical pieces as well), this is Pam Grier's finest turn in what some consider in the exploitation-movie world as the first 'black-exploitation' classic. But to say that everything in the film is exploitive of black culture might be a little far to say. While to be sure the film depicts some of the black characters with their flamboyant clothing (including things that are pretty funny today like King George's cape and one-piece suit with emblem), and it also keeps to the quasi-tenement of this wave of movies where practically all of the white characters are real drug kingpins or bad gangsters, there's the fact that Grier's character- through crime and revenge and all- is just trying, in her mind, to do the best thing possible. There's also her friend Carter, who is one of the (only) honest cops in this underground of drugs and gangsters. But then again, to take such a story to heart would be missing the point writer/director Hill is after.

Because for its main center of a message, that pushing drugs on people who don't know any better (or do) is wrong to the point of having to take personal action (or standing up for the rights), this is not at all a preachy movie. If anything this is the kind of sexy, cool, violent, hilarious and just plain fun kind of movie-making that could've only come from this small corner of B-movie-making. Right from the start where the guy's head gets blown off, it only gets better with a logic that works like such- the more over-the-top, the better, the more stylish its more appealing, and for every ham-bone acting performance (albeit with a great deal of talent) there's an exciting action scene or fight. But also with this AIP mentality of having lots of hot bodied women (both white and black) in tow with dozens of breasts and other female parts, and the message covered around in stuff that's meant to be really for surface appeal, it takes itself seriously for what it's worth.

Jack Hill is actually, for all intents and purposes, a very fine and under-looked genre-film writer and sometimes gives the dialog an uplift from the trash it could've been. His direction, while sometimes not given enough of what's needed (lights for one thing, just enough to get by it seems), gets the job done. And at the end of the day what most people will remember of the film- aside from the nude girls fight and Sid Haig sporting a red bandanna and a Hispanic accent- is Grier herself. She carries this character with enough appeal to make it known why her cult status is solidified; she's sincere when she's (occassionally) really being herself with what matters to her, but also very sensual, perfectly sneaky, and has that kind of other-worldly heroic spirit that almost makes her like some kind of comic-book hero or something. If for no other reason, Grier makes Coffy still something to check out 30-something years later, and more than just a curio for Jackie Brown fans looking for the roots of that film's success. A-

coffy

[mossgrymk · 7/10 · 23 November 2022]

"Coffy" is mindless, exploitative, excessively violent, poorly acted, badly written and definitely appeals to my (and I'm sure your) prurient interests. So why then, given all those preceding caveats, did a question start to form in my head about halfway through and persist to the end, namely that if this is such a crappy film then why in the name of all that is PG rated am I having so much fun watching it? (I confess that the answer "because I am a senile, insensitive boob" never entered my consciousness).

In other words, this is yet another example of that wonderful, post code, movie phenomenon called the guilty pleasure. Fight it and you'll end up feeling like Joe Breen on a bad day. Go with it, as I did, and you'll have a pretty good time. And definitely do not pull the plug until after the fight scene in the buffet involving Pam G versus The King's stable of hoochies. Give it a B minus.

Underrated

[Linda_S · 10/10 · 9 February 2007]

The prequel to Foxy Brown, Coffy is the better of the two and is a pleasant surprise. Thanks to Turner Classic Movies 'Rob Zombie Friday Night' features my husband and I were able to see both Coffy and Foxy Brown. Prior to actually seeing these films one had steered clear of the genre due to all of the terrible contemporary reviews. Now over 30 years later it was a sheer delight to see the beauteous and talented Pamela Grier in a gritty and electrifying portrayal. Coffy is simply a non-stop action thriller with humor juxtaposed to scenes of violence. There is not really any time to catch one's breath Hill's direction is frenetic and impressive. The marvelous Robert DoQui does his usual excellent work as King George, many may remember him in Altman's Nashville (1975)as Wade Cooley. The cast is wonderful, the acting is over the top and yet it all works together. The injustices of that era are now, sadly, all too easily recognizable and Hill's script is too spot on to be considered campy. The magic of Coffy is, however, Pamela Grier. This woman is simply a joy to behold. There is abundant nudity in Coffy and it is very apropos. Foxy Brown is a decidedly 2nd rate film by comparison. But it today!

A wildcat with heart!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 6 May 2021]

Just because she's beautiful and buxomed doesn't mean that she doesn't have a heart, and in fact, having heart is what this is all about. Coffy (Pam Grier) is a nurse, truly upset that her sister has become a victim of local drug pushers and sets out to take down everybody in the organization. Yes, this is exploitation, the epitome of what made blaxploitation in the 1970's great. In fact, if you mention blaxploitation to any film student, chances are that this will be one of five films that they mention. You know that she is one tough cookie the minute she pulls out her sawed off shotgun and literally blows the head off of a pusher, then frames one of his henchmen for the killing in a most unique way. She then manipulates her way into an organized prostitution ring so she can get to the big boss. One thing you can say for Coffy, she is determined.

I was familiar with the famous party fight scene where she arranges for one of the other working girls to pull on her hair with not so surprising results. What I didn't realize was actually how full of integrity that Grier's character is, risking her life not only to settle the score but to get evil dealers off the street and destroy the big main man.

Unlike Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson the same year), Coffy isn't dealing with a clown like Shelley Winters. The men are cutthroat and prepare to deal with any barricade to their business. They are not buffoons like Shelley's boys. So that removes the camp element but there are definitely moments that are very funny. Coffy is also a character much respected in her real profession so that makes her more identifiable. Her character is desired by white men who genuinely love her as well as black men.

Why then is this considered blaxploitation? Simply because that genre advanced black characters in cinema and gave black actors the opportunity to be the heroes while exposing the powerful white men in charge of these mob like organizations. Black and white characters with the same goals and ethics are not segregated in these films either so that gives them a much more realistic view of society which showed a more well-rounded side of these friendships. It's just that characters like Coffy, Cleopatra Jones, Shaft and others get to show that they are just as formidable, ethical and loyal, and when they go up against the bad guy, it doesn't matter what color they are. You may go into this looking forward to see Grier bare her breasts, but you will come out of this seeing her as a real woman who is commanding and thus worthy of knowing and deserving of respect.

A classic!

[Cobbler · 10/10 · 22 October 1998]

This is one of the funniest, raunchiest, most enjoyable films I've ever seen. The screenplay is tight and well-structured, the pace is brisk, and the soundtrack is memorable. And Ms. Grier has never been better. Watch out for the razor blades in the afro!!

King George...He's the King!

Hot Coffy

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 14 June 2015]

Coffy is a classic low budget blaxploitation revenge flick. You can tell how Quentin Tarantino would be mesmerised by such as a Grindhouse type picture and the audience will be mesmerised by Pam Grier who certainly lays out her assets bare.

Grier plays Coffy, a regular nurse with a boyfriend who is climbing the greasy political ladder. However her younger sister fell prey to drug addiction and she is out to get revenge but wants the kingpin not the minnows.

The film has all the beats of revenge pictures. Coffy is doing well at first gaining vengeance but the tables soon turn as she is becomes a damsel in distress and then finds herself betrayed.

Grier is sensational in her role. Sexy, tough and also vulnerable. Robert DoQui has a whale of a time as the super-pimp King George and Sidney Haig is sleazy henchman with the hots for Coffy.

The film might now look dated yet its oddly progressive. Apart from an aspiring black politician, there is black cop, an old mate of Coffy who refuses to go on the take and puts his life at risk.

There are better known revenge films from that era such as Death Wish. This is still a classic of its kind.

Bad in every way!

[KamikochiKeith86 · 3/10 · 11 June 2019]

Badly acted, directed and scripted, but a guilty pleasure which not only features a powerful heroine but an anti-drug message. The TV series "KC Undercover" twice in different episodes spoofed this film-- and that was a Disney Channel presentation!