Norman....Is That You? (1976)

A black man is distraught when he discovers his son is gay and is determined to set him right.

Norman... Is That You? is a 1976 American comedy film directed by George Schlatter and starring Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey. It is based on the play Norman, Is That You? The film version changes the locale from New York City to Los Angeles and substitutes an African American family for a Jewish family in the original play.

Ben Chambers (Foxx) arrives in Los Angeles to seek consolation from his son, Norman. Ben is upset and confused after his wife abandons the family dry-cleaning business in Tucson and runs away to Mexico with her brother-in-law. Ben Chambers discovers his son is gay after he finds Norman's lover, Garson, in the bedroom. While dealing with the abandonment of his wife, Ben tries to understand his son's orientation.

In 1976 this was a pretty risky subject (interracial gay lovers). Redd Foxx is in the central role and has enough pimpy outfits and polyester to carpet the entire 1970s, "Norman" plays like a blaxploitation picture combined with any number of silly sitcom episodes involving comic misunderstandings. Foxx is really fucking funny. 'Madame' who became a TV star on 'Solid Gold' was the foul mouth older temptress and Pearl Bailey in limited screen time was Redd's wife and foil.

It was strangely written by Sam Bobrick earlier of 'The Andy Griffith Show' who then later created 'Save By the Bell'. It involves Foxx's wife (Bailey) leaving. The extreme stereotypes and message-laden dialogue just come off as charmingly outdated, and provide a great deal of grist for discussion on how things have changed for gays in the past 30 years.

According to film lore, this was the first big screen effort to be filmed in videotape, which was then transferred to celluloid for project purposes--and believe me, it shows. The film has the look of a bad 1970s sitcom right down to the painted skyline seen through the windows of Norman and Garson's apartment.

One thing to understand is that this is a period piece. It reflected the attitudes in the mid to early 70s about finding out you have a gay son or daughter in your family. For that reason alone, it's pretty interesting. Oh did I mention Redd Foxx is fucking funny. You big dummy.

Trivia:

To save money, the interior scenes were shot with a multi-camera television setup, then transferred to 35mm film.

This was originally intended as a starring vehicle for George C. Scott.

'Norman... Is That You?' opened at the Lyceum Theater on February 19, 1970.

The original Broadway production starred Maureen Stapleton and Lou Jacobi. The play ran for only 12 performances.