For a quickly made cash grab, Big Bad Mama is quite entertaining thanks to its cast.
In the early to mid-1970s, a slew of gangster movies hit theaters and drive-ins, inspired no doubt by the success of 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde and 1972’s The Godfather. Never one to miss the opportunity to cash in on a trend, Roger Corman’s New World Pictures produced and released Big Bad Mama, a comedic take on 1930s gangster films with a decidedly feminine bent.
After losing her bootlegging lover in a gunfight with the Feds, Wilma McClatchie (Angie Dickinson) shepherds her two daughters, Billy Jean (Susan Sennett) and Polly (Robbie Lee), through a series of increasingly brazen robberies. Along the way, the trio pick up a pair of male cohorts, Fred Diller (Tom Skerritt) and Bill Baxter (William Shatner,) who also find themselves competing for Wilma’s attention in bed. Wilma’s goal is to travel from Texas to California, where she envisions they can take their place among the rich and powerful once they have accrued enough money.
Big Bad Mama is as much a sexploitation film as it is a gangster movie. There are as many sex scenes as there are gun battles and car chases. Being that the movie was filmed in 20 days and hit theaters a few months after filming, artistic merit wasn’t the driving force behind its creation. Written by William Norton (Day of the Animals) and Frances Doel (Dinocroc) and directed by Steve Carver (The Arena), its B-movie pedigree is genuine. However, for a quickly made cash grab, Big Bad Mama is quite entertaining thanks to its cast.
Angie Dickinson, who at this point in her career was best known for her roles in Rio Bravo, Point Blank, and many TV appearances, chews the scenery as the ambitious Wilma. She’s aggressive, outspoken, and not afraid of her sexuality. Her performance is unbridled, exuberant, and generally a lot of fun.
William Shatner imbues the foppish Baxter with an awkward charm that only he could bring to the role. Tom Skerritt’s gruff Diller provides the only real drama in the script by jumping into bed with all three of the McClatchie women. Susan Sennett and Ronnie Lee turn in unpolished and convincingly promiscuous performances.
Although the cycle of robberies, car chases, gunfights, and sex scenes threatens to get repetitive towards the third act, Big Bad Mama maintains a breezy and fun atmosphere that keeps things from ever getting stale.
Whatever it lacks in character development, Big Bad Mama makes up for in sheer, trashy fun.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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