Watermelon Man

Plot synopsis:
Los Angeles, 1968. Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) lives in an average suburban neighborhood with his seemingly liberal housewife Althea (Estelle Parsons), who tolerates her husband's character flaws out of love, and two children, 10-year-old Burton (Scott Garrett) and eight-year-old Janice (Erin Moran). Every morning when Jeff wakes up, he spends some time under a sun lamp, bats around a boxing ball, drinks a health drink, and races the bus to work on foot.Jeff works as an insurance agent in downtown L.A. where he presents himself to his co-workers and other people as happy-go-lucky and quite a joker, but others tend to see him as obnoxious and boorish. Althea, who watches the 1968 race riots every night on TV with great interest, chastises Jeff for not having sympathy for the problems of black Americans.One morning, Jeff wakes up to find that his pigment has inexpliciably changed; he is a black person. He tries to fall back asleep, thinking that it is a dream, but to no avail. He tries taking a shower to wash the "black" off him, but finds it doesn't work, when Althea walks into the bathroom, and screams. He explains to her that the "Negro in the bathroom" is him.At first, Jeff believes this to be the result of spending too much time under the sun lamp. He spends almost the entire day at home, afraid to go out of the house, only going out once to venture into the "colored part of town" in order to find a pharmacy to buy "the stuff they use in order to make themselves look white." His attempts to change his skin color fail from using skin creme, to industrialized soap, to even a "milk bath".The next day, he is persuaded to get up and go to work. As he normally does, he races down the street with joy to catch his bus but when he, a "black man", is spotted he is harassed by several racist white people who call the police thinking that Jeff is running because he has just committed a crime. When the police question him all of the white people surround him as the police check his briefcase. When they find a pair of shoes inside they accuse him of stealing them and he tries to explain that they are his work shoes he changes into when he arrives at work. The crowd is now loudly shouting and the police make him try the shoes on....when they fit they are still unsure until the bus driver, whom is black, comes to his defense explaining that he is a regular passenger who was simply running to catch it. With that, the police leave without arresting Jeff who thanks the bus driver for helping him out of this jam. The busdriver tells Jeff that he never realized that he was black before. Some witty banter ensues as they board the bus.He gets off of the bus near work and walks into the diner he stops at every morning for his health drink and he is met with the same shock and confusion by the black man who serves him his drink every day. The server also says he never realized he was black before and more witty banter about his color ensues.Upon arrival at work, his co-workers all react with shock at his new "black" appearance and are at a loss of words to ask Jeff what has happened to him. His boss wants to see him immediately and he walks into his office and sits down in front of him. His boss doesn't seem to "get" that Jeff has turned black but asks him if he is spending too much time under his sun lamp as his tan is very dark. Jeff makes a witty comment back and his boss is so occupied with Jeff's decreased sales that he passes right over the fact that Jeff is now black and continues to question him about how he can bring his sales up and warns him he must. Jeff agrees and walks back into his own office where he sits at his desk and begins to make sales calls.The previous day, Jeff had set up a lunch appointment with a wealthy client at an upscale restaurant. When he arrives at the restaurant he is rudely greeted by the door man who will not let him in due to his race. Jeff explains he has a meeting with his client to no avail. By this time all of the black people witnessing this begin to rally around Jeff and cause a scene. The manager comes outside and again Jeff tries to explain he is meeting someone for a business lunch and asks the manager to get the man inside to clear it all up but the manager refuses and the police are called. They bring Jeff back to his office and ask his boss if he is in fact his employee and when his boss confirms that he is, the police leave him there without making an arrest. His boss is still not fully understanding about Jeff's condition but sees that somehow this can help drum up business.After work, Jeff goes his local physician and makes an appointment who is equally shocked and cannot explain Jeff's "condition" either but agrees to look into it.The next day, Jeff is forced to sit at the bus stop instead of running to catch the bus to avoid any more hassles with white people. Jeff is forced to sit in the back of the bus by law to leave the front seats only for white people. At lunch, Jeff is now forced to go across town to eat at a diner which is a "blacks only" eating place. After a second visit to his doctor for his "skin condition" reveals nothing of the ordinary about his skin, his racist doctor shows his own "true colors" when he suggests that Jeff might be more comfortable with a black doctor and refuses to consul with him anymore.Returning home that afternoon, he finds the front door locked (which it usually isn't) as well as the curtains and shades drawn, and Althea afraid to leave the house, look out the windows, or answer the ringing phone. He doesn't understand why until he receives an annymous call from a man who says: "move out, nigger!" Jeff is forced to take the phone off the hook for the night since it keeps ringing every few minutes with more annymous phone calls from racist people telling him to move out. Also, unseen people throw eggs and black paint at his front door and windows.At work the next day, a secretary (who had previously ignored him) makes several advances toward him, finding him more attractive as a black man. Jeff's boss suggests that they could drum up extra business with a "Negro" salesman which he persuades Jeff to travel to African-American neighborhoods across the city to pitch more of his sales over the next few days as Jeff becomes more observent to other black people and how they live.After returning home from work one evening, he finds four men in his home who had apparently made the threatening phone calls to his house (despite their unconvincing denials), who offer him $50,000 to move out of the neighborhood despite the fact they have known him for several years. The racist neighbors tell Jeff right to his face that they don't want a "nigger" living on the same street at they do. Jeff manages to raise the price to $100,000 by using some veiled threats. After the men leave, Althea, somewhat angered that Jeff used his new race to blackmail his neighbors into bribing him to move out of the neighborhood, sends their two children away to live with a relative. Burton and Janice tell Jeff they they are both awkward and uncomfortable with their father being black. On top of all that, they are now being bullied at their school by their classmates over their father's new racial affiliation.Although she still loves Jeff, Althea's sanity begins to break from the stress of the whole thing of Jeff now being black and of the neighbors continuing to make harassing phone calls and leaving threatening letters. As a result, she leaves him to rejoin her kids and move far away, thus leaving Jeff alone and without a home to live in.Finally accepting the fact that he is black and will be for the rest of his life, Jeff tells his boss that he quits and vows to open his own insurance business. Jeff moves out of the all-white suburban neighborhood and into a small apartment in a black neighborhood in the downtown part of the city. Jeff then starts his own insurance company which soon becomes successful due to his education and expertise. Jeff also starts a tryst with his former secretary whom continues to be turned on by his new negro appearance. However Jeff still manages to communicate with his wife while he embraces his new race by going out evenings to "blacks only" nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and other places including joining a militant Black Panthers-esq movement where he continues his physical training.

Tags: comedy, blaxploitation

Review:
Melvin Van Peebles' big Hollywood film is a very smart, funny, and in the end tragic satire of race relations in America c.
Biting satire is often a better way to express righteous anger than simply getting all righteous, and this is an example: under the laughs, this is a deeply angry film.Godfrey Cambridge is magnificent in his two-tone role, and the supporting cast (including a couple of routines by the great Mantan Moreland) is also very fine.
The rage underpinning the whole story doesn't find full, overt expression until the very last scene, which presages Van Peebles' leap into more obviously black revolutionary politics in "Sweetback." A very good, very funny, important film that deserves to be much better known today than it is..
A lot of people who've written comments about this are either too young to remember the 60's/70's or are trying to relate to this film from today's perspective.This film was written/directed by Melvin Van Peebles, who - at the time - was (and, by some - unfortunately) considered a 'controversial (black) artist.
Second; yes, the makeup is not as good as the wonderful job done on Eddie Murphy in various films/skits, or the Wayans' brothers, but - for the make-up tech of the day - it was VERY good (look at the scene in the beginning when Godfrey's exercising (naked!), and then going to the shower.
So, just remember that while you might not think his make-up's up to snuff now, it sure did convince an earlier generation).Understanding when this film was made, the 'situation' of race relations at the time, and the ability for a (black) artist like Mr. Van Peebles to MAKE this film is necessary in understanding how shocking this film was - in all those areas.Yes - the film's a bit dated (but who isn't?).
It's NOT just a place to look at ...cat's playing pianos, and other garbage).As a glimpse (by a black artist!) into the 'white man's world,' and the world in general - at that time - Mr. Van Peebles should be given his deserved recognition (and Godfrey, we miss you!)..
A particular shame, therefore, as it declares race crossover to be a sentence as opposed to an alternative - there is no real optimism afforded to Gerber after the key white/black event and the film might have been stronger with such an exploration.The film can be disturbing; but with slick,in your face, stateside put-downs 'The Watermelon Man' certainly enters a sensitive subject area head-first and allows the viewer to make an early judgement.Whilst the storyline delivers meagre reward in terms of development, there is enough here to warrant a recommendation.
Racing the bus to work on foot, crudely separating the mugs from their money, learning to take hate on the chin  its all here.The strength of the final ceremony/scene smacks of eventual acceptance, a sense of belonging and possibly a new way forward; this will shock many as it is bitter-sweet, turning laughter into cold realism.
After this pivotal scene Gerber tells his boss to stick his job and he moves on to get his own insurance business, settle into a community that he likes, reforms a long-distance dialogue with his blinkered wife and simply get on with being Jeff Gerber.
There are some strong scenes dealing with suburban racial tensions and Godfrey Cambridge is terrific as he changes from a white bigot to a black man.
In Watermelon Man, director Melvin Van Peebles expresses complex ideas about race and racism in a sophisticated but humorous way.
It is something of a surreal, occasionally psychedelic caricature, but as such, it does what all good caricature should do--it emphasizes the truth without being strict realism or "naturalism".Watermelon Man is the story of Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge).
He takes the bus to his insurance salesman job, but instead of catching it right down the street, he races it through the neighborhood every day, the goal being to beat it to the last stop before it gets on the highway.Jeff presents himself as happy-go-lucky and quite a joker, but he's a bit obnoxious and boorish, plus he shows himself to be racist and a male chauvinist, although he's not exactly gung ho about sleeping with his wife.Just as we're learning about Jeff's routine, something unusual happens--he wakes up in the middle of the night as a black man.
The bulk of Watermelon Man has Jeff trying to at first conquer, then later deal with his newfound "problem".If you've seen both films, you might find it odd that Van Peebles made Watermelon Man before Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971).
Unlike Sweet Sweetback, which is intriguing in its own way, but not near as good of a film artistically and technically, the direction in Watermelon Man is finely nuanced and sophisticated, the cinematography is crisp and attractive and technical elements such as sound are superb.
Sweet Sweetback was something of a revolutionary (and very psychedelic) cry for African-American rights, and it helped launch not only the blaxploitation craze of the 1970s, but also fiercely independent film-making.Yet, Watermelon Man is just as unique and important in what it has to say about race, even if it's not violent or pornographic, and not bizarre in the same way.
Van Peebles makes a sly transition from the beginning to the end of the film that goes from white-bread sitcom to something of a militant blaxploitation flick in a way that you barely even notice.A large part of what makes Watermelon Man so odd is Godfrey Cambridge.
The other performances are at least interesting, even if they're not all good in a conventional wisdom evaluation, but Cambridge really carries the film.Equally bizarre and a bit disturbing is Cambridge's make-up as a white man.
The make-up is extremely well done--it's difficult to picture Cambridge as he really looks underneath it all, but given the character's disposition, Cambridge as a white man comes off as freakish to say the least.Van Peebles' direction is extremely admirable.
He's not afraid to take all kinds of thrilling chances, including such unusual moves as quick pans to go from character to character in a conversation and odd intrusions of psychedelia, such as the scene that suddenly starts flashing different negative exposure images, or the scene that stops to insert commentary that resembles silent film intertitles.Van Peebles also did the music here, as he did in Sweet Sweetback, and it's just as weird.
Again, I love weird stuff, so I was happier than a pig in, um, mud.If there's anything less than satisfactory about Watermelon Man, it's that it engenders sadness that Van Peebles wasn't able to talk the helm more often.
Like in Sweet Sweetback..., Melvin Van Peebles doesn't go for the obvious commentary on race relations; I loved the scene at the end when the wife admits that she's "liberal to a point." People of color have hit this invisible and unexpected brick wall at one point or another with some liberals.
It's a work of the grandfather of American independent film, Melvin Van Peebles, and with that should come a certain measure of respect.
Aggressive editing of both film and musical inserts highlight the subtle comedy and pure desperation of the story of a bigot who wakes up Black and watches the world turn against him.It's something of a manic ride, but Cambridge gives it all the human character it can stand.
we don't know what yet," are darkly hilarious as is Cambridge's sharp wit."Watermelon Man" is serious film that will still make you laugh at times.
Alongside films such as "Cotton Comes To Harlem" (also with the superb Cambridge) and "Putney Swope," this is an important part of the early end of the Black film explosion.Look for cameos by songwriter-actor Paul Williams as an employer and Melvin Van Peebles himself as a painter.
Melvin Van Peebles' Watermelon Man starring Godfrey Cambridge provides plenty of ironic humor concerning stereotypes.
Continuing to review African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're still in 1970 when director Melvin Van Peebles makes his first major studio feature having previously done a critically acclaimed independent one called Story of a Three Day Pass.
He casts comedian Godfrey Cambridge as Jeff Gerber who we initially meet as an obnoxious white insurance man-along with wife Althea (Estelle Parsons) and their two kids of different genders-who likes to run when leaving for his job in order to beat the bus.
By the way, the light-skinned makeup on Cambridge is about as convincingly white on him as it was on Eddie Murphy in the "White Like Me" short film he did on "Saturday Night Live", that is, not much.
Plus, there's many funny sudden turns from now-"brothers" like the bus driver played by D'Urville Martin who claims to be Hispanic or Mantan Moreland as the counterman at his regular eatery who, when asked to look at his skin, says, "I don't need to look at your skin, I can see my own!" And wait till you see how Three Stooges regular supporting player Emil Sitka reacts when he gets attacked by Jeff over some new sunlamps!
P.S. It's quite interesting seeing who's also in this movie besides those I've already mentioned like singer/songwriter Paul Williams-here credited with the middle initial H-as an employment clerk or a young girl named Erin Moran-later to portray the teen Joanie Cunningham on "Happy Days"-as daughter Janice Gerber..
Cambridge does an interesting lob playing a white man turned into a black man, but Van Peebles evidently wanted to make some pejorative assessments of both cultures.
The negativity of the film is offset by slapstick and schtik - like the moment of awareness of the transition when Gerber goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night and when he gets off the toilet, a big black rear end fills the screen.
Any normal unbiased people are immediately put off by the reprehensible actions of Cambridge - so there are no friends or allies except of the same race - or more purely - of the same anger.How nice this movie could have been if Van Peebles had allowed Gerber to rise to the top in spite of everything - to showcase hope instead of futility..
There are points in the movie that are in fact, in my opinion, very Oscar worthy.The reason I had earlier mentioned Steven Spielberg is because he had directed an episode of "Night Gallery" which also starred Godfrey Cambridge, who is the protagonist in this movie.All in all, Melvin Van Peebles "The Watermelon Man" is a great movie and worth a watch.
Melvin Van Peebles must have loved Finian's Rainbow with its Senator from the glorious state of Missitucky turning black to see how the other half lives.
But what was done with some whimsical humor in that classic musical, Van Peebles give us with a sledgehammer in Watermelon Man.Godfrey Cambridge whom I remember so well from his stand up bits on the Ed Sullivan Show stars in Watermelon Man about a self satisfied average white guy, wife and two kids and a nice house in the suburbs who one day wakes up and he's black.
Watermelon Man was at the start of the Seventies the era of black films.
He had a good career starting in films and died too soon.Look also for Howard Caine as Cambridge's boss in the insurance agency where he worked in a really good part and a pair of actors from the old days of the black cinema in some bits, Eddie Anderson and Mantan Moreland.
A white bigot (Godfrey Cambridge) wakes up one morning to find himself a black man.
It's dark and angry, showing how this guy's life is turned upside down as everyone close to him deserts him, but it's grounded by the hilarious performance of Godfrey Cambridge as the furious and panicked protagonist.The last time I saw this movie was on TCM, where two black scholars described the film as more horror movie than comedy.
But I still find a lot of it very funny, even if it is a very angry, savage humor.There are some weird directorial choices, some of which work, some of which don't, but the sharp script and great performances by Cambridge and by Estelle Parsons as his increasingly weary wife make this a must-see..
Also this would work better if black Jeff would act white.
The Columbia Picture film 'The Watermelon Man' follows a white bigoted insurance salesman as he is transformed from Caucasian to black thus giving him the chance to see how the other half lives.The problem from the start is Godfrey Cambridge, black or white is very annoying to watch on screen, mostly due to his tendency to babble.
In fact, while race riots are seen on t.v. during the film the reasons for the riots are never explored nor is the bigotry Godfrey faces after his change.
Mario Van Peebles' only studio film, Watermelon Man is a dated comedy film about an ignorant bigoted white man named Jeff Gerber who one day, for reasons unknown, suddenly becomes a black man.Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) is certainly a goofy character, looking like an overweight Sir Laurence Olivier.
His neighbours harass his family with "Move out" epitaphs.While the film certainly overuses its "See what it's like to be black." message over and over, Cambridge's acting makes it tolerable.
Herman Raucher's script and Van Peebles' direction are top notch as well.The ideology of this film is quite dated but if you're willing to step into a time machine to the world of 1970, you'll find this one to be entertaining.
White bigot, married with two kids and living in a suburb of Los Angeles, wakes one morning to find he's turned black.
Director Melvin Van Peebles' groovy skewering of racial stereotypes begins with a great joke which is then turned inside-out for a double meaning (a white man can playfully race the morning commuter bus on foot, but a black man running is cause for alarm).
A pretty weak comedy where Godfrey Cambridge unconvincingly plays a suburban racist white man who turns black one morning for no discernible reason.
The truth is, "Watermelon Man" really isn't a good movie, but the star's performance makes it fun at times, even if he is a bit hyperactive and exhausting.Van Peebles may have been trying some breakthrough stuff and messing with the direction here and there, and I give him credit for trying, but in the end his direction really is not good and is very distractive at times.
The color flashes, the use of music (though sometimes this works), the silent movie-type device and more, he's trying and while he definitely does something different, it's just, well, not good.This film could have been a good fifteen or twenty minutes shorter, or at the very least some scenes could have been shorter and additional scenes to help the story could have been inserted.Now of course, the whole thing with this film is to show how bad racism is, which only goes one way of course.
Peebles tries to justify the black rioting (there seems to be a new black riot every day in the movie on TV) and the liberal wife makes excuses for it.
C'mon.And one thing that is shown in the film has proved to be all too true - when the liberal wife is confronted with an actual black man in her own home after Jeff turns black, she isn't so liberal anymore.
Plus, Cambridge always sounded black in the movie, which further made his role as a white man not even close to credible.That said, what struck me as strange was...how odd we were all those years ago.
Cambridge was a BLACK MAN and Estelle Parsons was a WHITE WOMAN.
Watermelon Man (1970) was Melvin Van Peebles' Hollywood directorial debut.
Godfrey Cambridge stars as a bigoted white middle class family man named Jeff Gerber who's luck and perfect white sterile life is about to change.
That is probably the only way you could see it today.Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) plays an (initially) white thirty something insurance salesman.
I'll let you watch and see how this all turns out.To me, Godfrey Cambridge's makeup as a white guy is just ridiculous.
It is available on D.V.D. only in the States which is a shame as it is in my view one of the funniest films ever made.The late Godfrey Cambridge is 'Jeff Gerber', an insurance agent, also a bigot and a fitness freak.
Director Melvin Van Peebles originally intended to have a white man such as Alan Arkin or Jack Lemmon play 'Jeff' before realising - rightly in my view - that a black man would work better.
Cambridge plays the first half of the film in white make-up, but when Jeff becomes black reverts to his natural colour.
It's hard to imagine that this film was made by the same guy who made "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (Melvin Van Peebles).
He plays a racist jerk of a WHITE guy--and they use a lot of makeup to make the very black Cambridge look white--and he did a good job with this.
Jeff Gerber is a white man who wakes up and sees his skin color has changed to black.
The white man runs out the door with the lamp shouting, "I heard of black power, but this is ridiculous!" Then he adds as he heads off, "That guy needs a sun lamp like Fred Astaire needs dancing lessons!" There is no doubt in my mind that these lines were added by either Van Peebles, Cambridge or a combination of the two.At any rate, Jeff is shocked and turns to Althea: "I heard him!
For some reason I thought he played the lead role in this film, don't ask me why, but it turns out to be (brilliantly) done by Godfrey Cambridge.