Watermelon Man

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: May 27, 1970

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

60	METASCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

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Jake Cole

Gradually, Van Peebles turns stereotypical images of postwar bourgeois prosperity against themselves, leading to a denouement that feels oddly empowering in its total alienation from the status quo. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

The pounding prelude to a cultural and cinematic revolution, Watermelon Man nearly bubbles over with the rage that exploded outright with Van Peebles' follow-up, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Read full review

Ty Burr

Directed by Melvin Van Peebles as the '60s writhed to a close, it's very much a product of its time: unsubtle, psychedelic, truly weird, occasionally very funny. [08 Dec 2002]

Calvin Wilson

In the early scenes, Cambridge brilliantly conveys Gerber's obnoxiousness while making him sympathetic. Later, Cambridge imbues the character with a blend of outrage and pride that's breathtaking. [31 Jul 2008, p.8]

Staff (Not Credited)

Often very funny in its topsy-turvy comments on racism, the script unfortunately has to battle against a director determined to use every gaudy trick in the book. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

This often-funny film fails to sustain its premise through its entire length. Cambridge is hilarious in his role, but many of the gags are cliched, uninspired, and just what one might have expected from the situation. In order to work, comedy must offer surprises. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

Because its gimmick lays bare the evils of racism so easily, the movie works for a while, but it becomes so predictable that it runs out of gas long before the end. [13 Oct 1985, p.5]

William Paul

The method of this film, however, in both its cutting and mise-en-scene ultimately denies any social relevance by creating a limbo surrounding the fantastic characters so that the film loses all sense of reality in both its characters and settings. [16 Jul 1970, p.50]

Howard Thompson

Watermelon Man demands complete surrender and gives absolutely nothing in return except embarrassment. Read full review