“Cooley High” is a particularly entertaining black film from 1975. It expertly combines comedy and drama to create a vivid evocation of a community in Chicago. The excellent performances and soundtrack make it a perfect watch for Black History Month.
“Cooley High” takes place in 1964. High school seniors Preach and Cochise can’t wait to graduate and prefer having fun to attending class. But a simple misunderstanding threatens to derail their futures.
One of the reasons this movie works so well is it feels true to life. Screenwriter Eric Monte constructed the plot out of his experiences in the Cabrini-Green Homes, a former public housing project in Chicago. He often used his own experiences in his work, such as co-creating the Chicago set sitcom “Good Times.”
This film’s authenticity has done much to endear it to audiences through the years. These characters aren’t stereotypes, but rather relatable teenagers.
The movie walks a great tightrope between genres. Most of the time it is a hilarious comedy about young men growing up, but the filmmakers do not ignore the harsher sides of life in Cabrini-Green. This leads to some emotionally affecting scenes. My favorite is one where Preach discovers how hard his mother works for his family. This and other dramatic moments ground the film and make the comedy seem sharper.
This authenticity extended to the film’s locations and casting. The filmmakers shot “Cooley High” in Chicago. A large portion of the cast consisted of real Cabrini-Green residents who had never acted before.
Director Michael Schultz and cinematographer Paul Vombrack have a knack for using the camera to make you experience the characters’ emotions. They use fast tracking shots to convey the great energy Preach and his friends feel. A fast zoom conveys the euphoria Cochise has better than any dialogue could.
The cast is full of great actors. Glynn Turman is hilarious and sensitive as Preach. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs delivers a charismatic performance as Cochise. Sherman Smith, who had never acted before, is great as Stone.
Freddie Perren composed some original music for this film. But the film also has a soundtrack of Motown classics. The filmmakers make brilliant use of “My Girl” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.”
“Cooley High” is a funny and realistic look at black life in Chicago in 1964. Monte’s script and Schultz’s filmmaking are as fresh today as they were in 1975. The film’s indelible mixture of humor and heart makes it an enduring classic.
