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Friday Foster
[MGM]
1975; color
Directed by Arthur Marks
Starring: Pam Grier, Yaphett Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala, Ted Lange & Eartha Kitt
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Arguably the genre's biggest female star, and one of the hottest chicks of all time, Pam Grier stars amongst a legitimate all-star cast (Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers, Ted Lange & even a brief appearance by Thurston Howell III aka Jim Backus) as Friday Foster. Friday is every bit the prototypical swingin' single gal of the '70s; successfully juggling taking care of her enterprising little brother, dating fiiiine lookin' men and working as a photographer for Glance magazine all while wearing a series of fabulous outfits. Kinda like an urban, braless Mary Tyler Moore. (Seriously, I half expected a montage climaxing with her throwing a big floppy hat into the air while her theme song played over the opening credits.) I know generally speaking reviewers are supposed to focus on the plot of a film more than the wardrobe but as a long time wearer / lover of vintage clothing (and, as of about six months ago, an on-line vendor of vintage clothing) I am no longer able to watch any film made before 1985 without paying attention to what people are wearing. With this in mind I made a list of her outfit highlights. Feel free to skip ahead if this doesn't interest you. By the way, she does also appear naked / topless a few times over the course of the film as well, a fact not entirely unexpected but one I'm sure will interest more than half of our audience. (And the rest are lying.) Anywhoo, when not naked Friday prefers casual outfits she can easily wear to take photos, lie her way past security guards, hide behind boxes, steal hearses, threaten gay nightclub owners, etc. Things like a simple long sleeved, knee length, black and white striped wrap dress; wide leg pants with an orange t-shirt anchored with a thin tie belt and offset by a Starsky and Hutch-esque cardigan sweater and yellow bucket bag; a flowered kimono sleeved wrap top, a-line denim skirt, knee length boots & previously worn yellow bag; and a western style snap front shirt, complete with elbow patches, matching skirt and previously worn leather boots. (She's a regular wardrobe re-mixer!) On top of that the plot includes a fashion show, hosted by Eartha Kitt, featuring kooky interpretive dancing and awesome maxi dresses. Speaking of the plot, this is getting long so I suppose I should detail at least a little of it. The action kicks off when Friday is assigned the job of snagging a picture of the world's richest black man - also the world's most reclusive black man, thus the rarity of photographic representations of him - but instead happens across a totally General Hospital style shoot out in an airplane hanger. (On GH it would have happened in a warehouse on the dock though.) From there things escalate quickly as she gets caught in an tangly entangling web of intrigue and drawn ever deeper into the drama surrounding the shooting. Then, eventually, everything works out and life goes back to normal. While it may not be quite as gritty as Coffy or Foxy Brown, Friday Foster has plenty to entertain Pam Grier fans, blaxploitation fans and anyone who enjoys a good ol' fashioned '70s action flick.
—Bunny
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