Director: Jack Hill
Starring: Pam Grier
Running Time: 90 minutes
Synopsis: Night nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) avenges her sister's addiction by killing a couple of drug dealers. A gangland alliance starts to form between mafia boss Vitroni (Allan Arbus), black drug traffickers led by King George (Robert DoQui), and black politician (and Coffy's lover) Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw). When Coffy's police officer friend Carter (William Elliott) is assaulted for refusing bribe money to look the other way, she sets out on another murderous and highly dangerous revenge quest.
What Works Well: This fast-paced, hard-hitting, and unblinking blaxploitation flick combines violence, sex, and a strong feminist streak (plus the bonus of an epic cat fight) with an uncompromising anti-drug message. With cops and politicians joining gangsters in exploiting addicts, none of the main characters are remotely wholesome, allowing writer and director Jack Hill the freedom to deploy deceit, manipulation, and betrayal in pursuit of greed and revenge. Pam Grier is excellent in the middle of the action-packed carnage, her interpretation of Coffy providing the only clear-eyed condemnation of blacks selling out their own community.
What Does Not Work As Well: The sleaze from the sordid underbelly of this corrupt world drips off the screen.
Key Quote:
Howard: You're upset, you can see that don't you?
Coffy: I can see plenty! I can see how every time a kid rips off a car or an appliance store to get a fix, you get your cut.
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