Review: Lady Cocoa

Cocoa (Veteran Vegas entertainer Lola Falana) was jailed for contempt of court, refusing to testify against her gangster ex-boyfriend. After some time behind bars she’s had a change of heart, so cops Ramsey (Alex Dreier) and Doug (Gene Washington) are tasked with escorting her to a Vegas hotel awaiting her court appearance. Sounds simple, right? Not so. Cocoa is a petulant and hostile diva, and there’s a couple of hitmen (one played by ‘Mean’ Joe Greene) sent out to snuff her before she gets to court. Millie Perkins turns up as one half of a honeymooning couple in town.

 

A nice little surprise, this obscure 1975 blaxploitation film from director Matt Cimber (“The Black 6”, co-starring Gene Washington and ‘Mean’ Joe Greene) and screenwriter Mikel Angel (who also scripted “The Black 6”) doesn’t come with glowing reviews or scores but I must say I rather enjoyed it. Yes it’s really cheap-looking, but so are most of these films – because they were made cheaply. It’s also got one of the worst opening songs you’ll ever hear sung by lead actress Lola Falana. Called ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ (and yes it is a version of the children’s song), it’s bizarre and doesn’t belong here, even though it was the working title of the film. It’s also not much of an action film, though I did like the “Blues Brothers”-esque scene where a car is driven indoors. Then there’s the twist involving Millie Perkins’ character (possibly the strangest role of her career) that is just unnecessary and probably earns it some scorn from a more enlightened 2024 perspective. The ending seems a bit too open to be entirely satisfying as well.

 

Wow, it really sounds like I hate this film. Not true, it’s more that like every blaxploitation movie ever made this one’s a bit rough around the edges. For the most part this one’s a lot of fun and I think critics just got themselves into a huff with any blaxploitation film released after 1973 rather than judging this film on its merits. What I like most is that the film distinguishes itself a bit from other blaxploitation films by virtue of plot and character. Some people might resist Lola Falana’s performance as the angry and often child-like title character, I for one found her hilarious. Falana reminded me of an African-American version of Jennifer Tilly in terms of personality and she’s a really enjoyably different choice for a blaxploitation lead protagonist – annoying and often unlikeable, but entertainingly so. She’s whiny, never shuts up, and thinks she knows everything. I should’ve hated her but I was totally on board. Pam Grier she ain’t. Even better is the performance by Alex Dreier as one of her assigned protectors. For a guy who spent most of his career as a news reporter/commentator, Dreier is a natural actor. He reminded me a bit of Australian TV actor Lucky Grills of the cop show “Bluey” (or the dubbed-over parody “Bargearse” if you’re around my age and appreciate ‘champagne comedy’).

 

The lead character might be an acquired taste, and the film might not deliver much of the usual blaxploitation action, but even so I’m still surprised this film is so lowly regarded. It’s fun and it’s a little bit quirky and different. Lola Falana is terrific, and Alex Dreier is good enough to make you wish he were in a lot more films (most of his acting was on television). Seek this one out and judge it for yourself, I think it’s a minor hidden gem of the subgenre, warts and all.

 

Rating: B-