Blaxploitation Education: Don't Play Us Cheap

Melvin Van Peebles delivers a bizarre musical comedy.

Don’t Play Us Cheap
Written, composed, produced, directed, and edited by Melvin Van Peebles
1972

Melvin Van Peebles was an important figure in the Blaxploitation scene, if only because of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. While that was his most famous movie, he kept on creating independent pictures throughout the 1970s, including this adaptation of a stage play he had produced, which was itself based on his own French-language novel La fête à Harlem. Like most anything that Van Peebles had a hand in, it’s pretty odd.

The story, such as it is, has to do with a party held by a group of seemingly regular Black people, but for some reason, a couple of “imps” decide it’s really important to break it up. These imps seem to be demonic figures who like to mess around with humans, and Van Peebles portrays them as plastic bats that are superimposed over various shots before they take human form by appearing in a puff of smoke. There’s also an opening monologue by a guy in a cheap rat costume that might be meant to provide information about these imps and their motivation, but it’s nearly impossible to understand, and it’s only the start of the bizarre proceedings that we’ll witness.

The party itself is a Saturday-night gathering of friends and family, and it seems like a good time. Everyone regularly breaks out into song, usually consisting of gospel-style call-and-response tunes about topics such as the joy of letting loose after a long week of work. The party-goers are all charismatic, and they include Esther Rolle, who had a long-running role on the sitcom Good Times, and Mabel King, who had her own sitcom role in What’s Happening!! The best parts of the movie are just listening to these soulful songs, watching the characters dance joyfully, and enjoying the sense of community.

There are some plotlines running through the party, but they’re almost beside the point. Esther Rolle’s character is proud of her niece, Ernestine (Rhetta Hughes, who was also in Sweetback), who is celebrating her birthday. When Trinity, the first of the imps (Joseph Keyes) shows up, he’s wearing a weird costume that combines fur and what appears to be vinyl. He quickly falls in love with Ernestine and gives up on his attempts to break up the party (they weren’t working very well anyway, since everyone just kind of rolls with his actions and keeps having a good time). Later, an older couple and their college-age son show up (they’re depicted in a kind of cartoonish fashion, with the mother wearing a blue wig and the son sporting a stereotypical letter vest), and Ernestine starts flirting with the son to make Trinity jealous.

Later, the second imp, who calls himself Brother David (Avon Long, The Sting) appears, and he’s an older guy wearing a sort of zoot suit with pointed shoulder pads. He’s less charmed by the people at the party, and he’s more determined to ruin things, but he’s no less successful than Trinity was. In fact, his attempt at upsetting one of the partygoers by informing him that his wife is cheating on him just leads to a musical number in which everyone sings about rolling with the punches they experience in their lives and making the best of things.

While there may be various plots going on here, the whole thing really seems to be about the experience, with Van Peebles throwing in lots of wacky stylistic ideas. He uses some of the same avant-garde editing techniques he used in his previous movies, including double and triple exposures and cuts to blatantly artificial sets. While much of the action is presented in a stagey manner similar to watching a play, handheld shots are often inserted in the midst of scenes, depicting characters as they move throughout the apartment and engage in tasks like preparing food. Van Peebles occasionally has characters freeze in the background while the imps discuss devilish business among themselves, and in one bit, a character sort of glides back and forth while talking, a technique that may have influenced some of Spike Lee’s signature visual ideas.

While all of this might sound entertaining, it does get kind of tedious. It’s just one weird thing after another, with characters often acting in nonsensical ways and all sorts of bizarre things happening for no apparent reason. It ends up being kind of a chore to sit through, especially when weird moments seem to drag on interminably.

But with that said, there is some enjoyment to be had here. The music is often lovely, conveying the joy that the characters feel as they join together to celebrate their bonds and the positive parts of their lives. Josephine “Joshie” Armstead is particularly impressive, singing a few songs that are beautiful and soulful. She’s a singer who has had a long and fruitful career, singing backup vocals and writing songs for stars like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. She’s pretty incredible, and the movie is almost worth watching just to hear her sing.

I also appreciate the sense of Black community that this movie conveys. So many of the Blaxploitation movies I’ve watched have focused on the negative issues that Black people face, which are definitely concerns that have been affecting people from the 1970s to the present day. Racism, oppression, and other problems can provide good drama for crime movies and other entries in the genre, but it’s also great to get to experience the positive things that Black people experience, including the sense of support they provide to each other, the love they show to their friends and family, the joy they take in togetherness, and the beauty of their expressiveness through song, dance, and fashion. It’s nice to experience some positivity and a sense of indomitable spirit, with characters refusing to let others bring them down and working to improve the lives of themselves and others. I can’t say that I would recommend this movie, but it was at least an interesting experience that I was able to get something out of. That’s more than I can say for plenty of other movies that I’ve seen.

Blaxploitation Education index:

UpTight
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Watermelon Man
The Big Doll House
Shaft
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
Super Fly
Buck and the Preacher
Blacula
Cool Breeze
Melinda
Slaughter
Hammer
Trouble Man
Hit Man
Black Gunn
Bone
Top of the Heap
Across 110th Street
The Legend of N***** Charley