Stranger Flashback: A Peek Inside Jonathan Furmanski's The Weird World of Blowfly

This is a revived version of a 2011 Line Out post (The Stranger purged them from the internet some time after they pulled the plug on their music blog in 2014).

Film/TV  |  Nov 26, 2011 at 9:05 am 

Blowfly's On-Screen Freak Party 

KATHY FENNESSY

THE WEIRD WORLD OF BLOWFLY
(Jonathan Furmanski, USA, 2010, 89 minutes)

Clarence Reid, aka Blowfly, was an odd-looking Miami cat with bizarre taste in clothes—especially his signature, sparkly, luchador-like outfit—and a fine feel for a funky groove (he had the flattened facial features of an ex-boxer). 

With his teddy bear-like growl, Reid sang stuff so unbelievably filthy that it's hard to take too much offense. After repeated exposure, it starts to sound like a low-level hum, the rantings of a street-corner crazy, or a sustained Tourette's attack. And if you don't take it literally, it can be pretty funny.

The husband and father began by writing and producing safe-for-radio Miami Sound classics like Betty Wright's "Clean Up Woman" and Gwen McCrae's "Rockin' Chair." It wasn't until 1971 that he introduced the Blowfly alter ego. At which point, he left his wife and children, and never looked back.

For his feature debut, cinematographer-turned-director Jonathan Furmanski (loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies) focuses on Blowfly's relationship with drummer/manager Tom Bowker, a super-fan who made it his business to put the entertainer back in the spotlight. 

Over the year that unfurls in the film, Blowfly lays down new tracks and goes on the road from Florida to Germany with backup players including Fishbone singer and bass player Norwood Fisher, but it's always clear who's calling the shots.

Bowker looks after Blowfly, but he also tells him what to do and when to do it. It's hard to tell if he really cares or whether he just sees the 69-year-old as a profitable "brand" (his term). Blowfly clearly resents his orders, but complies anyway, much like a child tethered to a domineering guardian.

Further, it soon becomes clear that Blowfly, despite the explicit imagery, has no interest in sex. He may brag about his prowess, but he's a drug-free Christian who finds women fundamentally unclean, much like Terrence Howard, contributing to an impression of stunted adolescence. And coming from a man with long, spindly fingernails, that's pretty rich. To be fair, though, he's got harsh words for queer, Black, and white people, too.

If you're looking for 89 minutes of fun, The Weird World of Blowfly won't be the documentary to fill that need. Though high-profile admirers, like Ice-T and Jello Biafra, testify to his influence and importance, Furmanski tells a pretty sad story, though I enjoyed the footage of Henry Rollins rocking out at a live gig and Isaac Hayes providing piano accompaniment for Reid's infamous Otis Redding parody "Shittin' on the Dock of the Bay." 

Other speakers include songwriting partners, session musicians, record label representatives, and his ex-wife, who describes Reid as "a loner person."

After Blowfly sold the rights to his catalog in 2003, he paid his debts, and bid goodbye to any future royalties. Without Bowker, he'd probably be holed up in a motel, watching television, and filling up on fast food, but this trained-seal act can be hard to watch. Still, there's something to be said for Furmanski's clear-eyed approach when most other music documentaries cling to the rise-fall-and-rise model, though there's no mention of predecessors and protégés, including Redd Foxx, Rudy Ray Moore, Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard, and 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell.

If it isn't the raunchy comedy I was expecting, it isn't a full-blown tragedy either. Instead, the aptly-titled Weird World of Blowfly is more like a Dave Chappelle-produced horror movie where the monster lives on and Dr. Frankenstein caters to his every whim until the money runs out.

       Chuck D: "Rap Dirty" was my inspiration when I wrote "Fight the Power."

6/4/25 update: Clarence "Blowfly" Reid passed away in 2016 at 76.

The Weird World of Blowfly continues at SIFF Cinema at the Film Center through Thurs, Dec 1. For more information: (206) 633-7151. 

Images from Rotten Tomatoes (Blowfly in sparkly outfit) and Wikipedia (cover art for Betty Wright's 1972 Alston Records single "Clean Up Woman" and the 1973 Weird World Records album The Weird World of Blow Fly).