This American International Pictures release stars Pam Grier as Friday Foster, a woman first, photographer second and big sister to a little brother. She also likes “cats and dogs and horses and men, but not necessarily in that order.”

Friday witnesses an assassination attempt on a millionaire, and with the aid of black private dick Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto) heads to D.C., where they uncover a crazy plot to kill all the nations’ black leaders. Where were Charlie’s Angels when you needed them?

Directed by Arthur Marks, fresh off of Bucktown with Grier, Marks also came up with the idea with screenwriter Orville Hampton, who would go on to write for The Scooby Doo/ Dynomutt Hour. Most of Scooby’s investigative techniques are on full display here in this incomprehensible plot.

Since the movie is based on a 1970-74 comic strip by Jorge Longaron, you can at least say that the filmmakers respected the source material. It’s the kind of movie where even though the heroine is an ace photographer, all she does with a camera is throw it at a bad guy.

Friday Foster features some of the best Black performers of the day. In addition to Grier & Kotto – who are fun to watch work together – we have Thalmus Rasulala as the millionaire Friday gets cozy with, Paul Benjamin as a senator, Eartha Kitt as a fashion designer, Scatman Crothers as a dirty old preacher, Julius Harris as Friday’s boss, Ted Lange as a jive ass pimp and Carl Weathers as an assassin. Tierre Turner, the kid from Bucktown, is also in the cast, as Friday’s hustling little brother.

Another plus to the movie was the head bobbing musical score by Luchi De Jesus, who also scored Black Belt Jones. Bodie Chandler performed the adequate theme song, which is duly funky despite having next to no intelligible lyrics.

As AIP would continue to capitalize on Grier’s stardom from Coffy, their Blaxploitation fare would get more polished and mainstream, almost family oriented. There’s violence here, but it’s the stylized violence of TV westerns. Grier wastes no time losing her clothes and later, getting busy with Rasulala. The tone of the movie is cartoon all the way, over the top and silly enough to make Joel Silver grin circa 1988.