Get Christie Love! Review
Get Christie Love! had a lot going against it in terms of its ability to endure in popular culture. Not only was it part of the historically devalued blaxploitation genre, but it was also made for television, ultimately spawning a short-lived series. Yet it clearly had an impact -- there are references to it in both Reservoir Dogs and Austin Powers in Goldmember. A viewing of the film makes it easy to see why. Teresa Graves has charisma to spare in the title role, and our introduction to her character splendidly reveals her world view. While she's working undercover as a prostitute and quoting her rate to a prospective john, he dismisses her with the most hurtful of epithets for an African-American. Instead of going off on him, she playfully volleys the same insult back in his direction, adding the word "lover" on the end to underscore his hypocrisy. The grin plastered on her face says she doesn't give the little people the power to rattle her. Graves carries this above-the-fray approach throughout a standard cop narrative featuring a drug ring and the ledger that could blow it wide open, but that doesn't mean she's emotionally disconnected from it -- she repeatedly shows her quick thinking, her toughness, her loyalty and her commitment to doing what's right. However, it's her ready smile and spitfire nature that give the film its overall sunny feel. On a technical level, the film is no masterpiece. The editing can be distractingly bad. But the performances, even beyond Graves, are quite credible, and there are a couple memorable car chases, one featuring a head-on collision where it looks like someone should have gotten seriously hurt. Add in a surprise or two in the plot, and it's clear why modern-day viewers still get Christie Love!. Derek Armstrong, Rovi
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