This comedy about slavery during the pre-Civil War days is quite surprisingly extremely entertaining, showing the con game that James Garner and Louis Gossett play on unsuspecting white men, selling Gossett over and over and leaving with not only the loot but with the man as well. It shows the naivete of the white man that black men truly were happy being slaves, and deliciously makes fools of them. Grosset falls in love with the beautiful Brenda Sykes while Garner is conned by Susan Clark whom he assumes to be a prissy spinster. At a slave auction where Garner purchases Sykes, he's surprised when real life abolishionist John Brown shows up, and as played by Royal Dano, it's a memory of previous actors who played the part including Raymond Massey and John Carradine.
The camaraderie between Garner and Gossett is really what makes the film work, a mixed race variation of Hope and Crosby in a very odd "Road" style movie. The film is also rather racy in the sense that it allows Clark to walk in on Garner who is completely naked, and not even flunch. Ed Asner, Henry Jones, Parley Baer and Andrew Duggan are among those conned by the duo, and the always wonderful Juanita Moore appears in a small role as an older slave. Despite the controversial subject matter, it's obvious that this film is completely anti-slavery, using satire as away of ridiculing the whole idea of it. It's easy to see why this film was a hit. Garner is his usual delightfully charming self, and Gossett (playing a black man born free) gets to show the intelligence of his character even when acting the dumb fool part. Clark gets a lot of great momento as well, emulating Cloris Leachman when she disguises herself to visit Garner who is in jail. Maybe a difficult film to choose based on the subject matter, but very easy to watch when you get into it with its intelligent script and sassy direction.
The camaraderie between Garner and Gossett is really what makes the film work, a mixed race variation of Hope and Crosby in a very odd "Road" style movie. The film is also rather racy in the sense that it allows Clark to walk in on Garner who is completely naked, and not even flunch. Ed Asner, Henry Jones, Parley Baer and Andrew Duggan are among those conned by the duo, and the always wonderful Juanita Moore appears in a small role as an older slave. Despite the controversial subject matter, it's obvious that this film is completely anti-slavery, using satire as away of ridiculing the whole idea of it. It's easy to see why this film was a hit. Garner is his usual delightfully charming self, and Gossett (playing a black man born free) gets to show the intelligence of his character even when acting the dumb fool part. Clark gets a lot of great momento as well, emulating Cloris Leachman when she disguises herself to visit Garner who is in jail. Maybe a difficult film to choose based on the subject matter, but very easy to watch when you get into it with its intelligent script and sassy direction.