Mean Johnny Barrows (1975)

Good concept, poorly executed.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This was a film that encouraged black people to stay out of the military in the closing statements.Johnny Barrows (Fred Williamson) was 2 years all-state running back and earned a silver star in the military. After being arrested for being drunk while black, Johnny reluctantly enters a mob war as a white on white hit man who never gets so much as a grass stain on his pants.Classic Fred Williamson urban action film. Also stars Roddy McDowall and Elliot Gould. Soap Opera star Jenny Sherman provides token eye candy.

Slightly better than average Blaxploitation type film, somewhat more interesting due to cameo from Elliot Gould. Roddy McDowall is also a familiar face (best remembered, at last by me, for Planet of the Apes series). Otherwise plot is paper thin and the few action scenes are mediocre. This is only worth a view for "deep tracks" 70s film buffs (like me) or those interested in the Blaxploitation genre (although this one is kind of on the border of the genre). For anyone else, it's not worth your time at all, the movie is not gripping at all and instantly forgettable.

Either I have been misinterpreting and misusing the word "mean" throughout my entire life, or this movie's title is completely misleading. Fred Williamson's title character, Johnny Barrows, is about everything but mean in this movie. He's dull, and incredibly indecisive citizen who remains frustratingly honorable even though life is repeatedly stabbing him in the back. Barrows is a decorated Vietnam veteran, but after his discharge from the army (for righteously punching a superior in the face) he quickly becomes homeless, unemployed and has to start digging for food in garbage bins. His mafia buddy Mario Racconi offers him a job as hit man numerous times, especially since a rival clan moved into their territory, but Johnny Barrows prefers to clean toilets at a gas station for $21 per month because that's an honest profession. Yeah right. Only one full hour and one dead godfather later, Johnny finally gets a bit mean and accepts the job to protect a woman who doesn't even fancy him. The film ends with the message: "this movie is dedicated to all veterans who traded the front line for the unemployment line". Oh, okay, so this is an attempt at social criticism? Let me assure you there are numerous of gritty and violent 70's movies out there dealing with re-integration issues of Vietnam veterans, and practically all of them are better than "Mean Johnny Barrows". This is just a boring Fred Williamson vehicle, his directorial debut by the way, with only a couple of notable moments in the last fifteen minutes. Roddy McDowell's role is hardly worth mentioning and Elliot Gould merely just makes a cameo.

OK. Just had to put in a comment that those who speak English would fully understand. I don't know about you, but I don't know what "one mean of a dull movie" means. It's a shame when people don't bother to use the language correctly- the other reviewer seems fairly smart in other ways.This is a dull movie, I grant you. I have it as part of a 4-DVD set called, "Mean Muthas & Bad Brothas." Or maybe it's the other way around. I'm not sure - I bought the set of four movies for 4.98. And it was well worth that. The cheapest I've ever seen of a notoriously cheap genre, this film is slow, barely coherent and full of things that don't make sense. On the other hand,it has Fred Williamson (and was apparently directed by him), Roddy McDowall (playing a Fredo-type, actually a pretty out-of-body performance, it was surprising to realize it was him, although I was looking for him) and Elliot Gould in a very strange but brief "special appearance" as a homeless yet extremely dapper fellow. Hey whatever - it's an incredibly bad blaxploitation film. If that sounds funny to you and you don't spend much money, go for it.