The Weird World of Blowfly: The Song Remains Insane

Variance Film

Reid in costume.

Location Info

Map

SIFF Film Center

305 Harrison St.
Seattle, WA 98109

Category: Movie Theaters

Region: Queen Anne

Photos

2 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare	0

Details

Runs at SIFF Film Center, Fri., Nov. 25–Thurs., Dec. 1. Not rated. 89 minutes.

Related Content

• Say What?!: The Nine Weirdest Feuds in Music
  March 22, 2012
• Definitely Not Nirvana: The Ten Worst Covers of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
  November 23, 2011
• Recommended Reading: The New Yorker's "Song Machine" (And How It's Related to the Worst Song in the World)
  March 29, 2012
• Adventures in Plymptoons!: Meet Cult Animator Bill Plympton
  March 14, 2012
• Kona Kitchen's Pointer Sister Soiree
  January 18, 2012

More About

• Clarence Reid
• Fat Ho
• Weird Al Yankovic
• 2 Live Crew
• Tom Bowker

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Now this is a resume: dapper king of Miami soul, groove-master songwriter for the likes of Sam & Dave, rap trailblazer, and the novelty-act progenitor of both 2 Live Crew and Weird Al Yankovic. For the past 40 years, R&B legend Clarence Reid has been better known as Blowfly, a potty-mouthed, purple-hooded alter ego responsible for such crass classic parodies as "Hole Man," "Shitting on the Dock of the Bay," and "Should I Fuck This Big Fat Ho?" This affectionate if occasionally leering documentary reveals Reid to be an indefatigable performer, paranoid loner, and limping late-sexagenarian who's still the filthiest boy in the room. Having sold his lucrative catalog for a paltry sum to pay debts, Reid teams with road-hog percussionist Tom Bowker to wring a meager living out of the Blowfly legacy, which sends them from sparsely attended saloon sets worthy of Spinal Tap to a sold-out festival show in Dresden where our caped offender dodges projectile trash. Although his subject is never less than captivating, Jonathan Furmanski's film is frustratingly unfocused, a scattershot collection of candid footage and biographical information that never coalesces into a legible portrait. Thankfully, Blowfly's world is as weird as promised, a discordant mélange of hairnets, hissy fits, ornate cock talk, and cockamamie fears of the feminine sex.