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:

John S. Dickson, Antonio Fargas, Heidi Fleiss

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
John S. Dickson	...	Himself (as Rosebudd)
Antonio Fargas	...	Link Brown
Heidi Fleiss	...	Herself (archive footage)
L. Hammond	...	Payroll The Pimp
Hugh Hefner	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Hugh M. Hefner)
Dennis Hof	...	Himself
Bradley Honable	...	Bradley
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 | black american | prostitute | 

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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 USA:

$28,699, 11 June 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$287,724

Company Credits

Production Co:

Underworld Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Referenced for jokes in Idiocracy (2006), particularly the spelling of Rosebudd's name and his philosophy of a "pimp's love" vs. a "square's love."

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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 The World of Austin Powers (2002)

User Reviews

Confirms that pimps are scumbags

First of all, this documentary is well edited, well photographed, and features a kick-ass soundtrack. The subject in itself is interesting, at least from a sociological and psychological perspective.

Having said that, I agree with a previous review that stated that it was boring. There's only so much "You know what I'm sayin', b*tch" that I can take before I start to yawn.

What they should have done is interview more than just the pimps. They should have interviewed social workers, street workers, police officers, doctors, etc. Then we would have had a greater and more meaningful perspective on the world of pimps and hookers.

I realize that the Hughes bros. wanted to focus only on the pimps themselves, but after 10 minutes, we already know that these are uneducated, manipulative egocentric slimeballs with a maximum vocabulary of maybe 10 words. These are not deep thinkers with lots of interesting observations to make. At the start of the film, we see a one minute vignette of different white people giving their stereotypical view of what pimps are. This film proves them right.