Before Quentin Tarantino was making Jackie Brown as his third film, the Oscar-winning director had made a bold statement about a certain blaxploitation film that is called one of the entertaining movies ever made in the seventies. An interesting film that features a sexy black woman who uses her brains and her smokin’ hot body to take down the scum of the earth. This is my review of the underrated film, Coffy.

Coffy is about a nurse who goes on a rampage with a vengeance against a heroin dealer responsible for her younger sister’s addiction.

Hello, and welcome to another review of a classic film! I hope you’re in the mood for a groovy throwback, because I sure am! I remember watching Coffy one night at midnight when it was on Turner Classic Movies, I was spending my spring break at my cousin’s house as we were thinking of what to do for a whole week of no school. I was in tune with this movie while my cousin was passed out on the living room couch, you could say I was being like my personal favorite filmmaker after seeing the past few films I already watched as a teenager. 

After it was over, I thought it was a really good movie and I wanted to buy it on DVD. The next day, my cousin and I went to a place that sells DVDs, CDs, used guitars, and other cool stuff. When I got there, it was like nobody has ever heard of Coffy. And it sucked because I had to get my mom to buy a used copy of it online at Amazon and pay her with some of the money I earned for working with my grandfather. It was my first time in the blaxploitation genre and I will never forget how entertaining and enjoyable it was, so let’s talk about it!

The cast does a good job in the film! You have Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQuis, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig, and Barry Cahill. Grier plays Flower Child “Coffy” Coffin, a nurse who is out for vengeance on the drug pushers and corrupt officials in Los Angeles. Bradshaw plays Howard Brunswick, a city councilman who has plans of running for Congress. DoQuis plays King George, a pimp and drug dealer who is the largest supplier in the city. Arbus plays Arturo Vitroni, an Italian mafia boss who is also an associate of King George. Elliott plays Carter, a former boyfriend of Coffy’s who is one of the good cops in the city. Haig plays Omar, a henchman of Vitroni. And Cahill plays McHenry, Carter’s former partner who becomes involved with the corruption of law enforcement.

If there was a time machine that could take me back to an era and hook up with anyone, it would be Pam Grier. No questions asked! Her character uses her charm and beauty in order to take down the evil people who are tearing down her community, and for ruining her little sister’s life. Even though she’s taking a big risk of her own life, Coffy is a character who can have me root for and care for her enough to justify her actions. And in these moments when she gets to see something skin, I have to give Grier credit for being proud of her extremely curvaceous body and more than happy to flaunt it. I bet you have many white people who admitted to having jungle fever after watching the film. The rest of the cast does a good job of playing the antagonists, and it was also nice to see the late great Sid Haig in an older film before he restored his career in House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. So when you think about it, Quentin Tarantino isn’t a sole person to thank, but also Rob Zombie for reviving the careers of old movie stars. 

Coffy was written and directed by Jack Hill while it was produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. For those who don’t know who he is, Hill was a director known for the exploitation genre in films like Switchblade Sisters, The Big Bird Cage and The Big Doll House. Action flicks featuring badass female characters. His direction, while sometimes not given enough of what's needed, gets the job done. And for all intents and purposes, Hill is a good filmmaker who gives the dialogue an uplift from the trash it could’ve been. He also manages to have some good action sequences, and you get to see some titties pop out in a catfight, I’m surprised the MPAA didn’t give this an X rating.

In conclusion, Coffy is a film that should be for movie lovers who want to see a badass character say no to drugs and take out the trash! This is, without a doubt, the quintessential Pam Grier, and the quintessential blaxploitation joint. It delivers high style entertainment and will never disappoint you readers, if you haven’t seen it and want to check it out, I recommend streaming it anywhere you can find it!

I’m giving Coffy 4 stars!