From the stage play called Purlie Victorious; the movie can be found under both titles.
This was one of our Saturday Night Movies that we watched during the shutdown (and are continuing to do so) on Zoom with CoyoteRambles. This was Mr. Otter’s pick, I think because he had seen it once upon a time and wanted to see it again.
The story is about a young man who, now a preacher, returns to the plantation where he grew up, and wants to buy an old barn from the owner so that he can turn it into a church for the Black folks who are still there. He talks his fiancee into impersonating the last living member of the family to get money from the old curmudgeon, and of course hijinks ensue and fun is poked at attitudes about race.
This was funny in some places, cringeworthy in others. The cast of characters (Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge and Alan Alda as the plantation owner) is excellent, and the story is good…it was just a little heavy-handed for me.
theotterlimits 