Amazing Grace was released by Olive Films on Jan 27.
In 2008, Barack Obama won the Presidential election and even though he and I are on different pages politically, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. The avoidance of the national embarrassment of “Vice President Palin” was overshadowed by the thrill of a major barrier being toppled: a person of color now served in our nation’s highest office. The journey to the White House was a long one: It took a full century from the Emancipation Proclamation until the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans to receive equal treatment under law (or the promise of it, anyway). Obama was born in 1961 right in the Civil Rights era, and it had taken that long — almost another half century — for a black man to ascend to the Office of President of The United States.
1974’s Amazing Grace, released a decade after the Civil Rights Act, is a fictional document of this struggle — though in this case, fictional doesn’t necessarily mean “untrue”. Our protagonist is one Miss Grace Teasdale Grimes (“Moms” Mabley), an elderly busybody possessing both a sassy demeanor and a gentle spirit. The sort of feisty old bird who might offer you some candy at church before slapping you upside the head if you should forget to say “thank you”.
Grace, along with her friend, former entertainer and newly-retired porter Forthwith Wilson (Slappy White), learns that her new neighbor, a black man named Welton J Waters (Moses Gunn), is a mayoral candidate. Intrigued, the rubbernecking pair spy on their neighbors and learn that political games are afoot. Waters’ campaign is actually a sham, designed to split the liberal vote, allowing a fatcat incumbent to keep office and in turn reward Waters with a fancy new title and $10 million for urban renewal. Waters is a jaded man who wants to help the community, but feels so hopelessly cornered that illegal compromises are his only option.
Welton Waters and his wife Creola (Rosalind Cash) are an interesting pair of characters, at times serving as both villains and heroes where the narrative deems fit. Grace, of course, confronts them and manages to convince them to do right by the community. Armed with inside knowledge of his opponents’ corruption, Welton changes his tune and runs a real campaign with his new friends’ help.
Amazing Grace is usually referred to as a comedy, but it’s not really a comedy in the sense that you’ll laugh — more so that it’s broadly lighthearted and silly. Maybe it’s just the film’s age, but I can’t really stand behind any of the 40-year-old claims that Moms Mabley is some kind of comedic genius. She’s funny in the broad sense that she’s a sassy old lady with Red Skeltonesque facial delivery. Her expressions and attitude are very animated, all lips and bug-eyes and mumbly threats of violence, and that’s her schtick. It’s never laugh out loud funny, but it is cute and amusing, and endears her character.
I’m a fan of the blaxploitation genre and have perused lists and databases in search of obscure gems, and Amazing Grace is a title that frequently pops up. Now, it’s not what I would call blaxploitation, at least not in the traditional sense — there’s no amped-up violence, sex, crime, or drugs in this relatively gentle G-rated film — but as a black film from 1974, it’s absolutely informed by that world, and has the same kind of biting social commentary, and in even more blatant fashion than its peers.
And look me in the eye and tell me that’s not Black Dynamite popping out of a window!
There’s one weird narrative hole that I found a bit disingenuous; the premise for the film’s last act is that the black community should vote for a black mayoral candidate simply because he is black, without any actual regard to his actual politics or stance on issues (or to the fact that he spent the first half of the film trying to pull an elaborate scam before repenting). But I’m probably reading into this too much, considering two things: 1) In 1974 this may very well have been the only viable way to bring about societal changes and 2) this is a work of fiction that doesn’t need to gum up the works with divisive issues to get its main points across.
The film features some cameos from some black actors including Stepin Fetchit, Butterfly McQueen, and Art Evans. I have to confess I’ve never felt like more of a post-millennial suburban honky than I did when trying to understand one word that Stepin Fetchit said.
(other than “Stepin Fetchit”)
Amazing Grace is not an easy film to recommend. It takes quite a long time to find its footing; the first 10 minutes are kind of a grind. The comedy falls totally flat, and it’s most definitely a product of its time. Grace herself is a weird character that some viewers will find annoying. It’s not a great movie by any measure. Yet… I kind of liked it? The social commentary and low-key antics are rather charming, if silly and on-the-nose. I also dig the setting of 1970s Baltimore. If you like 70s films and are feeling adventurous about trying something different, you could do worse than Amazing Grace.
The Package
This release is a welcome one to anyone who has sought out the long out of print Soul Cinema edition.
Unfortunately, the disc is about as barebones as it gets. A trailer, at least, would have been nice. Subtitles would also have been greatly appreciated — several characters, including Grace herself, speak in mumbly, difficult-to-understand dialects. The package, at least, is an attractive one, incorporating the film’s goofy original poster art.
As a side note of interest, the film is MPAA Rated G, despite several uses of mild profanities like “damn” and “hell”. It would certainly get a PG today.
Special Features and Extras
None.
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
Amazing Grace — [Blu-ray] | [DVD]