Uptown Saturday Night (1974) Reviews

• Don't Overlook This One

  DerrickFerguson12001-10-06

  Despite it's obvious lack of a huge budget and the wildly out-of-style fashions and slang (yes, kids..we really DID dress and talk like that back in the '70's...I KNOW...I was THERE) UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT shouldn't be passed up when it's shown on your cable or satellite provider stations. Sidney Poitier (who directed) and Bill Cosby play two working stiffs who sneak out of their homes to hang at Madame Zenobia's, a high-class after-hours joint. After bluffing their way in, they immediately set about enjoying themselves at the gambling tables and are on a roll when the joint is robbed. The two consider themselves lucky to have gotten out alive, but then Poitier's character finds out he's got a winning lottery ticket worth $50,000(don't laugh..back in '74, that was a LOT of money) and the two pals start a frantic search to find the robbers and locate the winning ticket (it's in a wallet taken during the robbery) UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT is filled with quirky and oddball hustlers, grifters, crooked politicians, ghetto gangsters and cheap floozies, all brought to life by some of the most talented black actors of the day. And the movie also has two of the most beautiful actresses ever to be filmed, namely Rosalind Cash and Paula Kelly. Poitier and Cosby encounter a series of very funny adventures as their hunt for the winning lottery ticket forces them into a partnership with Geechy Dan Buford (an outlandishly hilarious Harry Belafonte) and Silky Slim (Calvin Lockhart) in order to get it back. Can the two working stiffs outhustle and outwit the hordes of street-wise slicks standing between them and a fortune? Watch the movie to find out and I think you'll agree that its worth the time to find out the answer. Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby made two other films in this kind of comedy/caper genre. LET'S DO IT AGAIN is just as good (with a thrilling and side-splitting foot chase near the end and Jimmy J.J. Walker as the heavyweight champion boxer of the world) but A PIECE OF THE ACTION is a little bit more on the serious side with an added dose of social commentary...still, during the blaxplotation era of the '70's, these films were a delightful alternative to the 'kill-whitey-stick-it-to-The-Man-superbrotha-pimpin'-and-shootin-' movies that were also being produced then. I recommend all three of them very highly. Enjoy.

• Fabulous buddy-flick

  isisherbs20002004-04-02

  I just saw - again - Uptown and was amazed - again - by the chemistry of the cast and the sheer genius of Bill Cosby. It is definitely dated, style-wise, but it is as contemporary as they come as far as the 'buddy' genre goes. Although Cosby is the focus and star, with Belafonte, Lockhart and Pryor, too, stealing their scenes, one of my favorites is Poitier 'loudtalking' a crime lord. The language is not good, otherwise I'd suggest this is a good movie for older children, but with a little guidance, it would be OK for them, too. Wish there were more movies like this now, but it is a 'classic' in the sense that it overcomes any decade-specific details - the broad comedy and the sharp witty dialog are timeless.

• one for the ages

  gentk2007-03-15

  Uptown Saturday Night is timeless. the cast was as strong as the stars of their times, and it would be hard row to hoe, to try and duplicate or re-make. Poitier and Cosby were priceless, and Harry Belafonte and Richard Pryor in their roles elevated the story. i have it on VHS and not a week goes by that i don't cue up at least one or two scenes, even if just to see and hear Cosby tell lie after lie. a true classic. The humor was slick and clean for it's time without the profanity and vulgarity which is the norm of today's genre. I did enjoy both Barbershop films, but it pales in comparison to USN. maybe because i'm from the old school, and I hold the trailblazers with high esteem and respect. Uptown Saturday Night made it's mark, and still does.

• Poitier & Cosby's Best Pairing

  domino10032003-04-26

  This film still holds up years after it was first released. Steve and Wardell (Sidney Portier and Bill Cosby) are two working stiffs that try to get by. Wardell talks Steve into coming with him to a place called Madame Zenobia's (A HOT spot!). During the outing, the place gets robbed. Steve finds out later that he won the lottery. Trouble is, the winning ticket is in the wallet that was stolen. With the help of Wardell, they do just about ANYTHING to get the ticket back, and that is what makes this film fun. Harry Belafonte, Richard Pryor and Calvin Lockhart and just as wonderful. Worth checking out for the laughs, not just for 70's nostalgia.

• Not exactly great filmmaking, but there's still some fun to be had.

  MBunge2010-10-19

  The nicest thing you can say about Uptown Saturday Night is that it's Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte and Richard Pryor hamming it up in front of the camera and having a grand old time. If you'd just like to watch these guys have fun, you'd enjoy this movie. If you're looking for more than that, you'll not find it here. Steve (Poitier) is a happily married factory worker. Wardell (Cosby and his amazing beard) is Steve's cab driving, fast talking, rambunctious buddy. Wardell talks Steve into going to a high class, after hours social club called Madame Zenobia's. The more uptight Steve is having a great time tagging along with the more adventurous Wardell, right up until the place gets robbed by armed gunmen. But that's more than just a bad ending to a great night. The next day Steve looks in the paper and discovers he and his wife won the lottery…but the ticket was in his wallet that the robbers stole. That sends Steve and Wardell off to track down the robbers and recover the wallet, leading them into a series of comical encounters with a number of colorful characters, including con man Sharp Eye Washington (Richard Pryor) and gangster Geechie Dan (Harry Belafonte doing a terrible impression of Marlon Brando from The Godfather). Steve and Wardell end up pursuing the robbers to, of all things, a church social and after a suitcase vs. hammer fight and the fakest looking pair of dives off a bridge you'll ever see in cinema…well, I think you can guess the ending. There's not really a whole lot more to say about Uptown Saturday Night. It's one of those comedies where there really aren't that many jokes. There's some slapstick and other broad humor, but mostly it's about watching the actors vamp and seemingly improv their way through their scenes. It's all fairly energetic and some of it's quite good. I genuinely enjoyed a bit more than the first half of the film, but after that I realized there was nothing more to the movie and it lost some of its zing. The funniest stretch in the film is probably when Steve and Wardell visit their local congressman (Roscoe Lee Browne) to complain about being robbed and it turns out the congressman is a closet Nixon fan passing himself off as another "brother from the 'hood". There's really nothing that wrong with Uptown Saturday Night, although aside from some mild profanity it seems a lot more like a TV movie from the 70s than a big screen production. But how many other films have Poitier, Cosby, Cosby's immense beard, Belafonte and Pryor in them? If just that is enough for you, go out and rent a copy of this movie. But you can certainly find better movies starring each of those men individually.