American Pimp (1999)

American Pimp (1999)

Directed by: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Starring: Rosebudd, The Bishop Don Magic Juan, Fillmore Slim

This is a movie I probably never would’ve watched if I hadn’t decided to just watch all the free Comcast OnDemand movies in alphabetical order. I’ve never found myself wondering about the history of pimping, nor have I wondered how ‘famous’ pimps feel about their profession. But now I know. Which is… good, I guess?

American Pimp is a documentary about pimps in the form of interviews with a few retired or current high-profile pimps. They talk about the origins of pimping, their relationship with their prostitutes, their outlooks on life, and their love of money. Personally, it was uncomfortable to watch a bunch of guys who sell people as goods talk about how it’s perfectly fine for them to do what they do, but in the end it made me think about something I’d never thought about before, and I’m pretty sure that’s the entire point of a documentary.

The movie doesn’t glamorize pimping too much, even though it’s all from the mouths of successful pimps, and it doesn’t demonize them very much either. A couple actual interactions between pimp and prostitute are captured and if that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, you probably just found a new profession. I’m not sure if I would recommend this movie or not, but it’s certainly interesting and it’s a subject that I’ve never been interested in before, so it deserves praise for working on the levels they intended.