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Watermelon Man

Play trailer Poster for Watermelon Man R 1970 1h 37m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A white insurance salesman, Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge), gets the surprise of his life when he wakes up and discovers that his skin now resembles a black man's. In day-to-day life, he soon finds himself the victim of discriminatory practices -- the same kinds of behaviors that, ironically, he had once used on black people himself. As his wife (Estelle Parsons) leaves him and all attempts toward explain and reverse the phenomenon fail, Jeff comes to accept and even profit from his new status.
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Watermelon Man

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Brian Susbielles InSession Film Van Peebles' only foray into Hollywood... Feb 28, 2023 Full Review Ian Simmons Kicking the Seat The filmmaking got in the way of telling a more well-rounded story. Rated: 3/5 Feb 28, 2021 Full Review Patrick McDonald WBGR-FM (93.7 FM - Monroe, WI) Godfrey Cambridge is a maniac in this film, shifting from slapstick to social commentary, but it's a cinema artifact from another time (1970)/attitude, and worthwhile viewing. Rated: 4/5 Feb 27, 2021 Full Review Frances Maurer Film Inquiry It was a minor miracle, and in great part attributable to Van Peebles, that Watermelon Man turned into such a masterpiece. Feb 27, 2021 Full Review Penelope Houston The Spectator Pawing for attention. Jul 13, 2018 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Problem is it hammers home its point about racism being alive and well in America until it becomes annoyingly repetitive and preachy. Rated: B- Jun 21, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A movie has fine script. It's satyrical and depicts well a racist America. I found Jeff way too loud and abrasive. Having a person scream for two-thirds of the movie is frankly unbearable. I guess that the character was probably considered comical at the time... In that sense too, the movie is outdated. A character that contrasts with all the other characters - way more realistic. Estelle Margaret Parson's performance is very seamless. Jeff is overdramatic, for great part of there movie, to say the least... His make-up is so campy. Besides Jeff, the movie has several abrupt transitions - not entirely sure if the most expected ones. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review dave s It's probably fair to say that the message of Watermelon Man is admirable, but this is one horribly executed production. The point of the film is made early on (a racist white man is transformed over- night into a black man, at which point he realizes the damage that results from racism), but is then hammered in repeatedly over the remainder of the movie. Why is it horribly executed? It is loud and abrasive. The overacting is embarrassing. The jokes are flat and predictable. There is no sense of visual composition. The editing is choppy, resulting in some brutal continuity issues. The dialogue borders on hysterical. The music score is totally inappropriate and often unnecessary. The entire thing looks amateurish, as though Ed Wood Jr., late in his career, found some color film stock and tried to make a comedy about race relations. This could have been a great ongoing sketch on Saturday Night Live but is a disaster as a feature length film. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member It smelled like somebody pooped their pants. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member The best comedy movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review delysid d i don't know, I thought the movie was excessively bland, it might have made more sense if the guy was a bigger racist Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/03/19 Full Review Audience Member I used to see this movie on tv when I was a young teenager in the early 70's. As a black or mixed race kid, I was fascinated with the ideas being presented and it was quite unusual at the time to see race presented frankly on screen. Sure there are a lot of holes in the script (how did he turn black?) but it is presented as a surreal comedy with social commentary overtones and those are the thoughts you are left with at the end. Remember, it was risque to present frank discussions of race at the time.. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Watermelon Man

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A white insurance salesman, Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge), gets the surprise of his life when he wakes up and discovers that his skin now resembles a black man's. In day-to-day life, he soon finds himself the victim of discriminatory practices -- the same kinds of behaviors that, ironically, he had once used on black people himself. As his wife (Estelle Parsons) leaves him and all attempts toward explain and reverse the phenomenon fail, Jeff comes to accept and even profit from his new status.
Director
Melvin Van Peebles
Producer
John B. Bennett
Screenwriter
Herman Raucher
Production Co
Columbia Pictures, Johanna
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2010
Runtime
1h 37m
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