A practically direct response to George Lucas' American Graffiti would have to contain the following: a group of close friends in high school navigating their senior year, aesthetic and cultural elements of the time, and an interesting take on the story, whether it be the introduction of tragedy or the lack of. Luckily, Cooley High provides just those things while clearly defining itself as its own piece of film history for the time. This "blaxploitation"-era film, while produced by a low-budget, independent studio, has a great story and especially fantastic music. Even though the plot tends to borrow a bit too heavily from Lucas' high school classic, the fact that this cast and crew were able to achieve an arguably more emotional film is incredible.
This movie follows the events of two best friends, Cochise (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs) and Preach (Glynn Turman), as they go through the end of their last few days of senior year in high school. When they accidentally get involved in a joyride one night, they get caught up in a chase between a pair of career criminals and the police in a conclusion that will change their lives forever. I honestly think that I enjoy this film more than Lucas' piece of high school filmmaking. Not that the latter is bad by any means, but in terms of plot, this movie has so much more to offer; especially in the realm of racial and cultural representation. Cooley High revolves around two black high school students living in Chicago in 1964 and the economic disparity that they just happen to live in. While American Graffiti centers itself around multiple main characters, money never seems to be a problem with them. Throughout all of their adventures, their financial status is never questioned. However, in this film, money is one of the central, establishing elements but is practically never addressed. Cochise and Preach knew that they were not the most liquid high schoolers, but that was simply the life that they were living in and it did not affect how they behaved as characters. I loved this aspect of the film because even though the characters were in a much different situation than the entirely white cast of the Californian high schoolers, it did not change how interesting or non-stereotypical they were. And compared to other "blaxploitation" films of this time, these characters were extremely well-written as well.
The performances from Jacobs and Turman were the most impressive aspect of this entire production, however. For being relatively unknown actors in a low-budget film, they truly embodied the amazing characteristics of their characters. Cochise's hard exterior contrasted greatly with that of his best friend Preach, who puts up a hard front when surrounded by friends of his. Preach may have been the most interesting character due to the fact that he was, at his core, a soft-hearted young man that loved poetry and screenwriting rather than drugs and alcohol. The way that these two interacted felt so genuine and I could tell that this whole cast had authentic chemistry together, which is fantastic when it comes to a film about high school cliques. The ending of this film was its most heartbreaking aspect but was handled incredibly well. When Cochise was beaten and killed by the two criminals who had recently gotten out of prison, it did not feel out of place or unexpected. As unfortunate as his death was, the way that Michael Schultz, the director, built up to this climax was great. This seems to be a direct response, or even call-out, to American Graffiti, which killed off half its main cast in a wildly unnecessary ending title card. The ending of this film was incredibly emotional, which also had to do with the great music throughout. The soundtrack for this film was amazing and was paired with the story surprisingly well. I also really enjoyed the cinematography by Paul Vombrack and his constant movement around the sets. It made for a much more fluid and engaging way to explore this environment and the time period it was placed into.
Cooley High is an excellent film with fantastic performances and a decently original story from the "blaxploitation" era of film history. Even though the similarities can be obviously made between this and its "white version," this movie still manages to stand out on its own as an unforgettable piece of filmmaking.
My Rating: ★★★★
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