"Gentlemen, I want to be fair and relieve your minds. Neither of you knows what my business with the other one is. Therefore you are safe from each other. This is confidential. Trust me." - Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) Well, this movie is more mainstream than the typical blaxploitation due to the stardom of Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, "A Piece of the Action" was the third and last pairing of this sequel. The film's plot is quite weak but the charm is still there. Charming crooks Dave Anderson (Cosby) and Manny Durrell (Poitier) are high-class con men who have never run afoul of the law. Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) is a retiring detective with enough evidence on the both of them to put them behind bars. He offers to maintain his silence if the crooks will go straight and do work at a youth center for delinquents. Thus our story line kicks off but goes nowhere fast. At first, the crooks are reluctant and unwilling (and so are the kids). As time goes by, trust and admiration is exchanged (as well as cold cash) and progress is made to get jobs for the kids. The film walks a difficult path between comedy and social commentary but feels very comfortable to watch. Some of the dialogue is over done but others are truly heartwarming...I teared up twice on different occasions. Poitier trades on his performance as the school teacher who brings a London East End class to life in To Sir, With Love. Cosby's performance leans more toward his films that bombed, with mostly unrelated mugging and schtick making up his performance, that hopefully is improvised. Denise Nicholas as Lila French and Tracy Reed as Manny's girlfriend Nikki portray there roles quite well. A very young Sheryl Lee Ralph appears as one of the "delinquents," Barbara, and has a very dynamic scene in which she demands more respect from the instructors. Close to the middle of this film do look for Poitier's older brother Cyril as the janitor of the youth center, Mr. Theodore, and soon-to-be star of television's What's Happening - The Complete First Season!!, as Raj, Earnest Thomas. The charm of the actors is really the best part of A Piece of the Action, and it shines despite the poor quality of the script. Another positive aspect of the film is the potent score by Superfly composer Curtis Mayfield, which also features singer Mavis Staples on some songs. It is good, clean, wholesome comedy. If you're from this era the memories will hit you strongly from the clothing, music; even to the "language."Read full review
I've first watched all three movies that Sidney Poitier & Bill Cosby made together when I was a child. These were "Uptown Saturday Night", "Let's Do It Again", and "A Piece Of The Action". Of the three, the third movie was/is my favorite. Sidney Poitier & Bill Cosby are still up to their con-artist hijinks, but along for the ride are Denise Nicholas, James Earle Jones, and a young Sheryl Lee Ralph (among others). I'm not giving the movie away, but let's just say that this movie packs a lot of heart and some valuable, life-affirming lessons to go along with the humor and hijinks. For me, Sidney Poitier proves every bit as adept with comedy as he does with drama & cements his status as an all-time great actor. Plus, this was a time when comedy was still a high art, not bogged down with excessive profanity and cynicism. Although all 3 of the aforementioned Poitier/Cosby vehicles are often lumped in with the so-called "blaxploitation" era and genre, all 3 of them are on the upper end of the scale. I'd encourage anyone with a love of these 70s-era movies to grab the Sidney Poitier/Bill Cosby dvds before they go out-of-print and command outrageous, aftermarket prices.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This movie should be required viewing for high schoolers. It teaches some critical lessons that are much needed today... and it's entertaining.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The Movie Is Very Funny. Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, And Harry Belefonte Are A Good Team.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I bought this movie because it is a classic, feelgood, movie. It was produced by Sidney Poitier, and Bill Cosby is really funny. There's no negative vibe to the movie, ie drugs, gangs, etc. This movie was hard to find prior to ebay, i have found others as well, ie Fish that saved Pittsburg, and Uptown Saturday Night, and let's do it again, all theses are some of the best movies you can find anywhere trust me, any fan of good clean comedy would love this movie.
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