BADass SINema Unearthed - Blu-ray 4K UHD Review

Movie Review

ETA to splashdown in 2 seconds! With those words, after an innocent night of drugs and partying with a pimp and some ladies of the night, one supreme geek finds his inner super pimp and becomes a demented agent of change named Doctor Detroit.

Listening to DEVO while powerwalking through Chicago. What could be better than that? Living at home as an adult with your parents, you say? CHECK. Well, as far as starting a comedy goes, director Michael Pressman absolutely nails it with the opening sequence of Doctor Detroit. The scene, as Professor Clifford Skridlow showcases his legs in his red shorts and runs into the rest of the members of the film’s ensemble, is quite hysterical and also so damn odd.

Welcome to one of the weirdest cult flicks to ever hit the early 1980s.   Doctor Detroit, in some circles, is a friggin’ masterpiece of comedic mayhem. Oh, it means well and is perfectly harmless as Monica (Donna Dixon), Jasmine (Lydia Lei), Karen (Fran Drescher), and Thelma (Lynn Whitfield) – in a very funny scene involving a telephone, some talk of a birth mark, and a very stuffy and very important meeting – convince Skridlow to adopt the attitudes he preaches about in his chivalry class and become a super pimp, I mean super hero.

It’s The Nutty Professor as seen through the lens of funnyman Mr. Dan Aykroyd, who gets to shine with one comedic gag after another. Released a few months before Trading Places dominated, the film – with Aykroyd playing two different characters (or one with an alter ego) – is quite funny in weird and wacky way.   This makes it the PERFECT candidate for Shout Select, who Written by Bruce Jay Friedman, Carl Gottlieb, and Robert Boris, the film was supposed to be a huge hit; it was not and, complete with an unexpected musical routine and a hilarious dream sequence tucked within it, disappeared into the distance.

Doctor Detroit is the Dan Aykroyd (as lead actor) movie that only the AWESOME own. In it, he plays an uptight professor of chivalry and comparative literature who becomes a super pimp extraordinaire known as Doctor Detroit. He’s a superhero is tight green pants, white platform boots, and a metal glove. With several musical and dance sequences and a mobster-like villain named “Mom” (Kate Murtagh), this film absolutely bombed when it was originally released. It has needed rescuing ever since.

Co-starring Howard Hessman as a pimp named Smooth Walker who owes $80,000 to a local gangster and comedian T.K. Carter as Diavolo Washington, the comedy is very urban in its attitude and, with a killer funk and new wave soundtrack, successfully brings aspects of theater into the streets of Chicago, as Doctor Detroit becomes superhero deluxe and the girls, knowing they have to help Skridlow with his parents and the local college, step in to rescue him.

And, yes, James Brown is in it. Burning down the stage with what was left of the dying disco style of music, the extended dance sequence is as fun and freaky as the debut of Doctor Detroit’s manic personality, and both feel almost invented on the spot.

Ladies and gentlemen, players and ladies, highlifes and lowlifes, all you trash with cash, allow me to announce the Doctor is IN!

Film Details

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Michael Pressman
Writer: Carl Gottlieb; Robert Boris; Bruce Jay Friedman
Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Donna Dixon
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: He's making the world safe for insanity.
|Memorable Movie Quote: "I make adjustments to the human spine!"
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site: Release Date: May 6, 1983
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 24, 2018
Synopsis: When fast-talking pimp Smooth Walker (Howard Hesseman, WKRP In Cincinnati) finds himself in hot water with Chicago crime boss Mom (Kate Murtagh), he claims that there's a new player in the game: Doctor Detroit, a cat who's badder than bad ... and completely fictitious. In need of a patsy until the heat dies down, Smooth hits paydirt with mild-mannered professor Clifford Skridlow (Aykroyd) — and promptly skips town, leaving his bevy of sexy "employees" in Clifford's hapless hands. Charmed by the ladies and spurred by his dedication to chivalry, Clifford agrees to become their protector and ally, transforming himself from a power-walking professor to a heroic hustler ... and throwing down the gauntlet to save his college from financial ruin and the four damsels from the wrath of Mom!

Blu-ray Review

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - April 24, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Shout Select presents Doctor Detroit with a polished visual upgrade from its original DVD release. The new transfer showcases the draw of the cityscape with a nice, scenic beauty of its nightlife. Filmed on location in Chicago, the film is quite crisp and expressive with its HD upgrade. The film is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Nicely saturated, there are no dents in its new HD shiny metal hand. Colors are strong throughout and are particularly memorable with their inclusion of details and strong edges. Black levels are clearly defined, too. Shadows are detailed. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is solid and aggressive.

Commentary:

There is a newly recorded audio commentary with Director Michael Pressman and Pop Culture Historian Russell Dyball that will entertain fans of this flick.

Special Features:

Shout Select provides fans of this flick with lots of Michael Pressman. He governs over the commentary, newly recorded, and is featured in a new interview about the movie. We get a rare look at the press kit, vintage interviews when everyone was hoping the movie would be a hit, a photo gallery, trailers and TV & radio spots.

Interview With Director Michael Pressman

"Radio Free Detroit" - Inside The Doctor Detroit Audio Press Kit, Featuring Rare And Vintage Interviews

Photo Gallery

Theatrical Trailers

TV Spots

Radio Spots