Synopsis
A racist insurance agent lives in a typical suburban neighborhood. But his bigoted world of taunting and harassing black people on and off the job is turned upside down when his skin inexplicably turns dark overnight.
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Cast
- Godfrey CambridgeJefferson Washington 'Jeff' Gerber
- Estelle ParsonsAlthea Janine Gerber
- Howard CaineMr. Townsend
- D'Urville MartinBus Driver
- Mantan MorelandJoe the Counterman
- Erin MoranJanice Gerber
- Paul WilliamsEmployment Office Clerk
- Kay E. KuterDr. Wainwright
- Kay KimberlyErica
- Irving SelbstMr. Johnson
Recommendations
- 88
Slant Magazine
Gradually, Van Peebles turns stereotypical images of postwar bourgeois prosperity against themselves, leading to a denouement that feels oddly empowering in its total alienation from the status quo. - 83
The A.V. Club
The pounding prelude to a cultural and cinematic revolution, Watermelon Man nearly bubbles over with the rage that exploded outright with Van Peebles' follow-up, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. - 75
Boston Globe
Directed by Melvin Van Peebles as the '60s writhed to a close, it's very much a product of its time: unsubtle, psychedelic, truly weird, occasionally very funny. [08 Dec 2002] - 75
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In the early scenes, Cambridge brilliantly conveys Gerber's obnoxiousness while making him sympathetic. Later, Cambridge imbues the character with a blend of outrage and pride that's breathtaking. [31 Jul 2008, p.8] - 50
Time Out
Often very funny in its topsy-turvy comments on racism, the script unfortunately has to battle against a director determined to use every gaudy trick in the book. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
This often-funny film fails to sustain its premise through its entire length. Cambridge is hilarious in his role, but many of the gags are cliched, uninspired, and just what one might have expected from the situation. In order to work, comedy must offer surprises. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Because its gimmick lays bare the evils of racism so easily, the movie works for a while, but it becomes so predictable that it runs out of gas long before the end. [13 Oct 1985, p.5] - 50
Village Voice
The method of this film, however, in both its cutting and mise-en-scene ultimately denies any social relevance by creating a limbo surrounding the fantastic characters so that the film loses all sense of reality in both its characters and settings. [16 Jul 1970, p.50]
