Big Bad Mama II (1987) Concorde Pictures/Action-Comedy RT: 83 minutes Rated R (nudity, sexual content, bloody violence, language) Director: Jim Wynorski Screenplay: Jim Wynorski and R.J. Robertson Music: Chuck Cirino Cinematography: Robert New Release date: October 1987 (US) Cast: Angie Dickinson, Robert Culp, Danielle Brisebois, Julie McCullough, Jeff Yagher, Bruce Glover, Ebbe Roe Smith, Jacque Lynn Colton, Charles Cyphers, Nick LaTour, John Dresden, Ace Mask, Frank Schuller. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
The world wasn’t exactly clamoring for a sequel to Big Bad Mama, the 1974 Depression-era gangster flick starring Angie Dickinson (Police Woman) as Wilma McClatchie, a mother and bank robber who goes on a crime spree with her two daughters. We got one anyway. We have Roger Corman to thank for it.
Why, you might ask, did Corman decide to go ahead with Big Bad Mama II 13 years after the fact? That’s an easy one. The producer, affectionately known as “The King of Schlock”, is famous for capitalizing on the success of major studio films. In this case, it was The Untouchables. He moved fast on this one. Brian De Palma’s adaptation of the popular 50s TV show opened in theaters on June 3, 1987. Big Bad Mama II went into production later that same month. It was filmed in 16 days and in theaters by October.
I didn’t see Big Bad Mama II until this past weekend when I decided to treat myself to a triple bill of female-led period gangster pics on Tubi. I kicked it off with the belated sequel which sees Dickinson returning to the role that solidified her image as a sex symbol. Let me tell you, she still has it at 56 even though a body double (Monique Gabrielle) was used for her nude scene with co-star Robert Culp (I Spy). Not returning to their roles as Wilma’s daughters Billie Jean and Polly are Susan Sennett (The Candy Snatchers) and Robbie Lee (Switchblade Sisters) respectively. They’re replaced by Danielle Brisebois and Julie McCullough respectively. Brisebois is best known for playing niece Stephanie in All in the Family/Archie Bunker’s Place (1979-83). McCullough is most famous for being fired from the 80s sitcom Growing Pains after star Kirk Cameron objected to her posing nude for Playboy because it went against his evangelical Christian views. That sanctimonious twerp probably hates the hell out of Big Bad Mama II.
Technically, Big Bad Mama II is a sequel in that it’s about the same main characters. That’s it. Director Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall) pretty much ignores the first movie to tell his own story about Wilma and her two blood-related accomplices. Set two years after BBM1, the catalyst for them taking up a life of crime this time is the murder of her husband by the local sheriff (Smith, The Big Easy) at the behest of greedy land baron Morgan Crawford (Glover, Diamonds Are Forever). He wants them off their land and will stop at nothing to make that happen. When the husband tries to protect what’s rightfully his, he gets shot and killed. To add insult to injury, the sheriff drops the eviction notice on the corpse while his family grieves over it. Oh yeah, these a-holes are going to pay…. dearly!
After robbing a bank belonging to Crawford, Wilma decides to step up her game and ruin his chances at being elected governor of Texas. She and the girls kidnap his son Jordan (Yagher, V) from a fundraiser with the intention of turning him into an outlaw. What better way to sully the family name. He’s not an unwilling hostage. He’s only too happy to be part of the gang as he doesn’t especially like his dad and he falls hard for Polly much to her jealous older sister’s wrath. Little sis isn’t the only one getting some in Big Bad Mama II. Mama has something going with Daryl Pearson (Culp), a newspaper reporter from Philadelphia looking to turn the ladies into folk heroes. He has his eyes on the Pulitzer Prize and this could be the story that puts it in his hands.
At times, it seems like Big Bad Mama II is trying to say something about the economic divide of the Great Depression with references to Hoovervilles and union strikes. Thankfully, these moments are few and far in between. We’re not here for a lesson in socioeconomics. This is NOT school; it’s a Roger Corman production from Concorde Pictures, the company he formed after leaving New World Pictures in 1983. The emphasis is on sex, nudity and violence. It has plenty of all three. In one scene, Culp spies on the two girls while they swim naked in a lake. Who came blame him? They’re both HOT! There’s also blood and violence aplenty with the various shootouts with the authorities. The finale is especially gory. Corman may cut a lot of corners when making a movie, but not when it comes to important stuff like fake blood.
To criticize the acting in Big Bad Mama II would be grossly unfair. The actors deliver the performances the material deserves. They aim for high camp and hit the mark dead center. I love how Brisebois gets all wild-eyed when she fires her Tommy gun (which she keeps in a violin case). McCullough is cute and charming as Polly, a seemingly naïve type who always has a few dynamite sticks hidden in her Raggedy Ann doll. Glover is at his oily best as the villain of the piece, a bastard to beat all other bastards. Culp is good as the journalist who becomes part of the story. Dickinson, she’s always good no matter what. I can see why my grandfather (Pop Pop to us) had a thing for her.
Wynorski more than delivers the goods in the space of 83 minutes. We get a montage of the gang’s post-kidnapping crime spree replete with speeding vintage cars and spinning newspapers with headlines about the gang’s exploits. We also get a sister-on-sister fight in a brothel where BJ finally decides she’s had enough of Polly and Jordan’s frequent PDAs. Hey, who doesn’t love a good chick fight? ME-OW! We also get a fair amount of gaffes and anachronisms like the 80s hairstyles sported by some of the extras.
To its immense credit, Big Bad Mama II doesn’t take itself seriously and neither should you. This is definitely one for the grindhouses and drive-ins. It’s frequently funny, both intentionally and unintentionally. It has plenty of action, a game cast and an explosive ending followed by a great epilogue that includes a surprise cameo appearance by Kelli Maroney (Chopping Mall). Look also for Linda Shayne as a bank teller. The Screwballs actress also serves as the movie’s second unit director meaning she’s responsible for the shootout scenes. Big Bad Mama II is a lot of fun on many levels. Who cares if it isn’t Oscar material? If your enjoyment of a film is based on that, this one is definitely NOT for you. All others, tune in and have fun.
