This week we took a step away from the emotional for something more hysterical, the action-comedy I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. This film is a parody of blaxploitation films in the style of Shaft (1971) and Petey Wheatstraw (1977), and in the same vein as Black Dynamite (2009). When returning soldier, Jack Spade, comes home to find an epidemic of gold chains ravaging his neighborhood, he vows to destroy Mr. Big, the man responsible, and forms a team to take him out. It’s a story of love, family, and violence this week; read on to see my thoughts on I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!

The following contains spoilers for I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)

Right off the bat, I want to give a shoutout to this week’s picker, Jazzy; it was her first time choosing a movie for our club, and she knocked it out of the park. Moreover, her knowledge of the cast really helped me appreciate just how star-studded this movie is. The film opens with a funeral for Jack Spade’s brother, Junebug, who tragically died of a gold chain overdose. The reverend’s voice was so familiar, but I couldn’t place it without Jazzy’s help: “that’s John Witherspoon, Granddad from The Boondocks!” Being Keenen Ivory Wayans’ directorial debut, this movie is packed with actors who were all over the media landscape in the following decades, including, Dawnn Lewis, David Alan Grier, several Wayans family members, and (a very small) Chris Rock. Those newcomers are backed up by blaxploitation legends Bernie Casey, Jim Brown, Antonio Fargas, and Isaac Hayes. It’s an incredibly fun cast to watch, and you can tell that everyone was having a good time on set.

This film appears to be a bit of a passion project for Keenen Ivory Wayans, who wrote, directed, and starred; Wayans built connections in Hollywood for five years before earning the credibility to direct I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. The movie is unrelenting in its comedy, I think within any given minute of the runtime, someone in our viewing party was smirking if not laughing. The humor was also much more modern compared to the last comedy we watched together, History of the World, Part I (1981); I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is a den of absurdist comedy that doesn’t stray too far into being derogatory. The jokes never feel like they’re laughing at someone, but rather the situations they find themselves in, and in the few cases where someone is the butt of the joke, it’s usually because the scene has become completely ridiculous, like when Jack finds himself on a date with a bald woman with a prosthetic leg, breasts, and ass. This movie shares a sense of humor with Airplane! (1980), and has a momentum to it that keeps any of the jokes from going on too long. I think what I loved most about this movie was that it never took itself too seriously; it’s a commentary without fully tipping beyond the point of comedy. I also loved how many audio gags this movie has (also pointed out by Jazzy!). Even subtitles fail to capture how funny it is to hear Damon Wayans falling down stairs offscreen over several lines of dialogue, or Kim Wayans going ham on a very loungy rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In”. 

Speaking of background characters, there are quite a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos in this film. Eve Plumb, famous for playing Jan Brady, the middle daughter on The Brady Bunch, had me laughing out of my chair as “Kalinga’s Wife,” and I was surprised to see Ariana Richards of Jurassic Park (1993)  playing her daughter in her first film role. This is also the film debut of Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who were cast as extras. On the back half of his career, John Vernon played Mr. Big, a fitting role for the man who played “Big Brother” in 1984 (1956), and I appreciated how the movie openly calls out his casting as a famous actor playing the villain, in line with other blaxploitation movie villains.

I had to do some digging to learn about who was on the other side of the camera, but the cinematographer was none other than Tom Richmond, who at this point was still quite early in his career too. Richmond would go on to be director of photography for House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Inland Empire (2006), and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008), but I was particularly tickled to see his credit in Troll (1986), the cult classic B movie. This movie was surely a solid credit on his resume!

I also feel a need to give special attention to Steve James for his role as Kung Fu Joe. Kung Fu Joe is a walking reference to films like Black Belt Jones (1974) and The Last Dragon (1985), but he manages to keep his character over the top and make fun of martial arts tropes, rather than stooping to a caricature. The scene in which Kung Fu Joe is gunned down by police is still relevant today over thirty years later, and it’s still funny. It was a very happy (and hilarious) surprise to see him survive and return in the post credits scene, woozy and dazed from blood loss, but still ready to fight.

Ja’net Dubois was also hysterical as Jack’s ass-kicker of a mother. I wasn’t expecting her to return after the early scenes, but seeing her underscored Jack’s struggle to step out from his overbearing mother’s protection. It’s so funny to see her roughing up street toughs, especially since Jack is the soldier, but her subsequent returns are no less surprising each time she arrives.

Overall I’m Gonna Git You Sucka was a blast from the past I didn’t know I was missing. I’ve said it before, but what I love about movie club is how it exposes me to movies I’d otherwise never think to check out for myself, and I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this one! Wayans brothers fans should absolutely make note of this hilarious film, but I think most people looking for a good time will have fun with it. It’s a hilarious reflection on the past, with a splash of criticism that still resonates today, and it has a joke for just about everyone. Seriously though, how did Junebug go to the bathroom with all that stuff on?