Sheba, Baby

Pam Grier, need I say more. I love this movie, she is a sister with attitude, savvy an sass. Full action as she cracks the heads of seedy criminals and dirty public servants. A must see!

Let me start by saying I'm a big Pam Grier fan but this movie was one of her worse efforts. I don't know if it was just the particular disc I have but the sound was awful. I had to turn up the sound to a rediculous volume level just to barely hear it. Typical of "Blaxplotation" films the plot was weak, the violence gratuitous and the villians one dimentional. Our heroine looked good as usual but if you're looking for skin this isn't your film.

If I had to describe `Sheba Baby,' the best I can come up with is Pam Grier Light with some really bad mellow drama. I really tried, but this movie just didn't work for me. The action scenes were dull, the acting was surprisingly poor, and some of these characters were TOO stereotypical to even be funny.

This Pam Grier film is incredibly tame. It's nowhere near as violent as some of her earlier films. Gone are the over-the-top images of Pam placing a small revolver or razor blades in her afro. Pilot (D'Urville Martin) and his crew can't hold a candle to some of the real villains Pam faced in her previous movies. It's strictly by-the-numbers and almost has a made-for-TV feel. As for the bad acting, the baddies that Pam faces off with are as unnatural sounding in their delivery as I've seen. As a result, characters like Pilot don't come across as threatening as they should or need to for the movie to work.

That's not to say there aren't moments or elements in `Sheba Baby' that I didn't enjoy it's just that when compared with Pam's other films like `Coffy,' `Foxy Brown,' and even `Friday Foster' that the movie fails. It is not one of her best performances, though. Her "avenging angel" persona has been soften quite a bit, so she is forced to rely mostly on her natural charm. Still, I had fun with this film. A bit of a letdown, but definitively worth watching for the sake of curiosity.

This is the first of Pam Grier's efforts that I would not lump wholly in the exploitation category. Sure, there's lots of gunplay and a redundant catfight. That said, the dialogue here avoids the tongue-and-cheek quality that was evident in "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" and the villains here are more realistic and not as cartoonish. The underlying theme here are the underworld elements that threaten legitimate black entrepreneurs. Because the film deals with the threat more seriously the message becomes more potent. Even in this low-budget effort Grier just commands the screen like any of her contemporaries and would give a run for the money for today's top actresses. She was definitely ahead of her time. I can't recall if Halle Berry thanked her in her Oscar speech. She does not appear nude here but she looks so fabulous clothed that your imagination will do somersaults. Timeless entertainment.

This may not be Pam Grier's best film, but I give it high marks, because there's a long stretch towards the end of the film where we see her in a sexy blue beavertail wetsuit. She keeps the jacket unzipped about half way through most of it, so you can get a good, alluring view of her chest. Sure, she has a swimsuit on under the wetsuit, but I find that more interesting anyway. Lets one use one's imagination, I say. You can't ask for more than a beautiful woman in a beavertail wetsuit (and if you ARE asking for things like character development, fine acting, etc you're really looking in the wrong place).