A way of giving the middle finger to Madison Avenue.
Putney Swope (1969)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 10
Fresh: 6
Rotten:4
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: For years, Putney Swope has been the only black executive at a major Madison Avenue advertising firm, and he's seen it all: the ins and outs of an industry that has unapologetically relegated... For years, Putney Swope has been the only black executive at a major Madison Avenue advertising firm, and he's seen it all: the ins and outs of an industry that has unapologetically relegated people of color to the commercial margins. When a twist of fate lands him in the executive's chair, Swope is determined to make some significant changes. He starts by transforming a previously all-white board room into an all-black meeting of dashiki-clad, Afro-sporting "brothers and sisters." But before long, Swope's ideas start to go stale--his plan to shake things up does little more than invert Madison Avenue's hierarchical structure--and all hell breaks loose. PUTNEY SWOPE is a loose, freewheeling satire on '60s corporate America from Robert Downey, Sr., arguably the master of underground film. [More]
Starring: Arnold Johnson, Laura Greene, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas
Starring: Arnold Johnson, Laura Greene, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas, Stan Gottlieb, Bert Lawrence, Pepi Hermine, George Morgan, Allan Arbus, Robert Downey
Director: Robert Downey
Director: Robert Downey
Screenwriter: Robert Downey
Producer: Ron Sullivan, Robert Downey
Composer: Charley Cuva
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Reviews for Putney Swope
The humor is occasionally forced, with some cliched comedic devices serving as satire. The commercial parodies, however, are devastatingly funny and right on the money.
The situations include political caricature, but disappointedly nothing much beyond marginal interest occurs. The comedy is only intermittently funny and the satire is mostly shallow and obvious.
A satire on American ways of life, written and directed by Downey and misfiring on most cylinders.
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