Putney Swope: “Rockin’ the boat’s a drag. You gotta sink the boat!”
We often generalize that old movies are dated. . . and, in some ways, this is true. Sometimes dialogue, fashion, cinematography, and numerous other aspects of a production can come across as old fashioned, yet human beings don’t evolve quickly, and a well written romance, drama, comedy, or satire is practically timeless. For an example not related to the film being reviewed today, Charlie Chaplin’s cocaine joke from Modern Times (though closing in on 90 years old), is still as funny today as it once was. A satire as rich and relevant today as it was when it was released back in 1969, Putney Swope, written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. (yes, Iron Man’s father), holds a comedic magnifying glass up to our present predicament in regards to race and business.
Opening with a magnificent overhead shot of New York City, a rather shockingly dressed Southerner (motorcycle gang member meets redneck) arrives in the Big Apple to provide a consult for an executive board of directors of an advertising firm (a large group of middle to aged white men with a token black man – in charge of the music department). A sequence worth the price of admission alone, the consultant’s hard-hitting commentary is, “Beer is for men who doubt their masculinity. That’s why it’s so popular at sporting events and poker games. On a superficial level a glass of beer is a cool, soothing beverage. But in reality a glass of beer is pee-pee dickey.” Of course, the executives sop it up (including his exorbitant price tag) – ‘we’re so fortunate to have him’, some of them say.
Soon after, their fearless leader arrives. . . a stuttering old white man who is all about the money – he drops dead trying to get his message out. Leading to a vote for who will now lead the advertising firm, everyone is forced to scrap their first vote after learning that you’re not allowed to vote for yourself. After some posturing, nearly every executive votes for one Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson – though dubbed by Downey Sr., as the actor couldn’t remember his lines). . . expecting that a vote for a black man is a wasted one (after all, who would ever vote for him?).
Completely remodeling the agency (re-branding it Truth and Soul, Inc.), Swope fires the old boys’ club (other than a token white guy), and decides to revitalize the company by becoming edgy – sex, cursing, interracial relationships (you get the idea). . . my favourite – Worth It Life Insurance: “They charge an arm and a leg in there, but it’s worth it” the man exclaims, hobbling out of the building missing an arm and leg. Bringing in his own employees and ideals, he quickly makes an enemy of the President of the United States (Pepi Hermine), as he refuses to advertise for a company the President is helping push (kickbacks, anyone?). Also, it should be lost on no one that the most powerful man in the world is a little person.
A sharp, scathing satire of the world as it was (Downey Sr. literally pulled these stories from his own life and situations seen around him), it is perhaps a little perturbing to realize just how relevant this tale still is currently. With Downey Sr. simply flipping the narrative upside down, it should hit the viewers over the head as to how wildly ridiculous and unfair this world is. It still speaks to the business and advertising world, and how race fits within this milieu. Get this, Swope meets with the one white guy, who comes in looking for a raise (as he is making less than all of the other black executives). . . Putney’s response: “If I give you a raise, I’d have to give everyone else a raise, and then you’d be right back where you started” – flawed logic that comes right out of “the man’s” playbook.
Perhaps a touch crude, edgy, and experimental for some (and maybe politically incorrect could be added as well), Downey Sr. shoots the main narrative in allegorical black and white (a perfect tone for this world of yeses and nos, haves and have-nots, winners and losers – it literally defining race itself), pulling a Wizard of Oz by filming all of the commercials in vivid colour (a standout maneuver that really makes these ads pop – exactly what Swope is trying to do with this company). In a movie that mostly amounts to talking, Downey Sr. also plays with some jarring camera angles (from the opening spiraling shot of NYC by helicopter from above, to views looking harshly in unusual directions), it is a man ably capturing the absurdity of this unbelievable landscape.
A hit and miss underground film that, despite its flaws, is a must watch, Putney Swope is absurdly funny, endlessly quotable, as well as undeniably and bluntly honest. . . or, as Swope puts it, “Are you for surreal?!”. Jarring in its appraisal, it should not be lost on people that, despite its easy transfer-ability to the present, this is a film of its time (on top of hearing words like “drag” and “jive” more than you likely have over the past few decades). . . there is a character named Bissinger – a clear take on Henry Kissinger. So, don’t skip these commercials, they’ll have you buying what they’re selling.