Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

SimonJack "A Piece of the Action" sets out to be a film about solving several social problems, and it combines these with comedy and crime. But it is too much for a single script to handle well. It involves the rehabilitation of two criminals, played by Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. It is about inner city youths from a racial neighborhood not having the skills to seek and get jobs. The plot ties these parts together loosely, but the film has some awkward breaks in places. The scripting of the African-American kids reflects the culture of the day. But it seems contrived at times. The rest of the cast do well with the material they have. I just watched this film, and couldn't recall having seen a "young" James Earl Jones before. Had it not been for his very distinguishable, deep voice, I would not have recognized him.

Devron Grant When I read notlobg68's review of this film, I couldn't help but provide a contrasting perspective. I first saw this film when I was a child of about four in the 70s. I remember feeding off of the energy that was in the audience as people of color watched themselves on-screen in a way that was more uplifting than other films with a principal cast consisting largely of people of color. I decided to watch the Poitier/Cosby duo films in succession again to see if they stood up to the test of time. First, to judge this film against the other two is unfair. While "Uptown Saturday Night" and "Let's Do It Again" are comedic 'let's chase the stolen money' films (and successful in their own right in providing an entertaining experience), "A Piece of the Action" goes for something a bit deeper.The real theme of this movie centers around 'bridging the generational gap' (and if this part doesn't work for you, then you don't enjoy the film.) There's an incredible exchange between Barbara (a young Sheryl Lee Ralph) and her teacher Ms. Thomas (Hope Clarke). After being singled out in class, Barbara let's her repressed feelings of anger fly. In a scene that hints at a conflict that is just as relevant today, Barbara somewhat accurately (albeit disrespectfully) expresses the frustration that she and other lower income people of color felt towards their more financially stable contemporaries. The romance between Bill Cosby and an incredibly beautiful Denise Nicholas is wonderful. Seeing people of color court each other in a way that was as tasteful as these scenes are was a rarity on-screen in the 1970s. On the weak side is the somewhat unbelievable 'mob presence' plot in the film. While these themes are done better in the other Cosby/Poitier films, their presence helped pace the film and injected a bit of action and suspense.This film was released more than thirty years ago and it held my attention in a way that the first two films didn't. Yes, the first two may have contained more action, but the real plot of this film centers around the effort to prepare these disenfranchised children for a gainful working experience. I am not ashamed to say that I was close to tears during the end scene between Ralph and Clarke. Watching that scene and seeing the transformation that an angry and seemingly hopeless child goes through after receiving just a bit of encouragement makes you believe for a moment that almost any child can be reached if you put in the effort.If you want chase scenes, crazy suits, and more laughs, the first two films will entertain you thoroughly. However, if you want to trade in that action for a more engaging and challenging plot, this is your film. Sidney Poitier holds up a mirror to society in 1977 regarding young people of color and some of the issues that they faced. All three films are entertaining, but I have to say that this film shows Poitier's growth and ends their buddy films in an incredibly satisfying way.

leighabc123 This movie was funny, but not as funny as the other movies with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, such as Uptown Saturday Night. Those crazy con artists almost get away with murder in this movie. There are a lot of famous actors and actresses in this movie. James Earl Jones. Janet Dubois. Ernest Thomas. This was Sheryl Lee Ralph's first movie. And she had one of the best roles in the entire movie. Sidney Potier plays the same type of character in every movie that he is in. This movie took place when Bill Cosby was actually funny. The entire plot of this movie was predictable. This movie has a feel good happy ending. The music in this movie was the bomb!

CeeJay-3 This is a funny movie! I first saw this film when I was 12 years old. This had to be Sheryl Lee Ralph's break out role...she's good.(I use to imitate her part down to the neck roll). Cosby and Poitier were a great duo. They were cool when cool was COOL - even when they were dancing at the end...hilarious! This film ran during the times when Blaxploitation films were in, but it's not what I would call a Blaxpolitation film...It's drama and "back in the day" comedy ...Cosby style. I really enjoyed this film and would love to see it rerun. I haven't belly laughed in a while.