‘Petey Wheatstraw’ or — Better Than ‘Angel Heart’?

Petey Wheatstraw was born during a hurricane, emerging from his mother as a jive-talking, fully formed seven year old kid complete with nappy and who promptly attacks the doctor for waking him from his sleep.

Petey is then trained in the secrets of Kung Fu and the principles of self-respect which is the perfect preparation for Petey’s next logical step in his life — becoming a stand-up comedian.

Meanwhile two other comedians, Leroy and Skillet, have borrowed a shit tonne of money from the powerful Mr White for the big opening night of their new club. The only problem is Petey’s coming to town to perform that week too and with Petey performing Los Angeles then Leroy and Skillet don’t stand a chance. The only solution? Put a little pressure, just a touch, on Petey so he’ll cancel his show.

So Leroy and Skillet’s henchmen put a little pressure on Petey by, er… shooting dead his partner’s kid brother then… er… gunning everybody down at the funeral?

Petey is taken down to Hell where the Devil offers him a deal — Petey will be sent back to Earth, and back in time, in order to exact revenge on the killers if Petey agrees to marry the Devil’s daughter and provide for him a grandson. Unfortunately the Devils’ daughter is “ugly enough to break daylight with her fist” but Petey accepts the deal, believing he can wriggle out of it later. Not only that but to aid Petey with his revenge the Devil provides him with a powerful Pimp Cane endowed with magical properties.

Can Petey stop Leroy and Skillet’s reign of terror over the Los Angeles stand-up comedy circuit? Will the power of the Pimp Cane go to Petey’s head? And, most importantly of all, how the hell can he get out of this deal of having to bang the Devil’s daughter?

If you think ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ (1977) sounds silly from the above description that’s because ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ might be one of the most gloriously silly movies ever made. The creation of Rudy Ray Moore, the subject of the excellent ‘Dolemite Is My Name’ (2019), ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ is a low-budget, Blaxploitation, martial arts, horror, musical, comedy mash-up. Sets wobble, extras always look straight into the camera, subtlety and taste are non-existent (thank god), crassness abounds, fat people are mocked, the homeless treated as disposable objects, children are reduced to tears in front of camera for a laugh and all this is punctuated by some of the worst Kung Fu choreography you’ve ever seen.

What elevates ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ to the level of insane genius is what it is lacking in resources and finances it more than makes up for with self-awareness, panache and intelligence because ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ knows exactly what it is, what its limitations are and exactly how to exploit those limitations for maximum effect. This is a very rough and ready movie but it is also a much better made movie than initial appearances might suggest.

‘Petey Wheatstraw’ is also (I think) knowingly subversive regarding social and racial attitudes along with cinematic conventions, a sneaking suspicion of which was confirmed when Petey blows up a truck full of watermelons early on. Or take the montage of Petey walking down the street unleashing the powers of his Pimp Cane on unsuspecting citizens. I’m still struggling to decide how much of what’s going on is intentional or not and whether it’s funnier being intentional or not. Either way, it’s funny as hell and evidence, along with the scene of Petey remote-controlling a performer on stage, of the heavy debt Jim Carrey’s ‘Bruce Almighty’ (2003) owes to ‘Petey Wheatstraw’, the main difference being ‘Petey’ is funnier because it’s genuinely chaotic and unhinged.

I’ve only touched the very surface of the craziness of this movie — wait till you discover Petey’s plan to outsmart the Devil; your jaw will go through the floor with a splintering crash — but that’s also another one of Petey’s strengths, namely it’s a relentless exercise in constant invention. It’s scrappy, delightfully so, but so full of ideas and touches you can’t help but have a blast with these surprisingly lovable characters. And as I said, this is a better made film than it appears.

If you loved ‘Dolemite Is My Name’ then you’ll love ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ along with an idea of what to expect. Except even if you do know what to expect ‘Petey Wheatstraw’ is still even sillier, crazier, eye-popping, shocking, outrageous, charming, subversive, smart, offensive and, ultimately, lovable than you can imagine.