Go For Broke (2002)

"Go for Broke" (2002) is a prison comedy film written and directed by Jean-Claude La Marre, who stars alongside Pras Michel, Michael A. Goorjian, and LisaRaye McCoy. "Go for Broke" was La Marre's second film, eventually leading him to have over 25 movies written and directed and over 50 produced today. He is a well-trained actor appearing in classic movies such as "Malcolm X," "Fresh," "Dead Presidents," and several T.V. shows. While most of La Marre's films were B-movies, he still provided avenues for Black actors and achieved urban-level success due to his connections with rappers and hip-hop culture.

Director: Jean-Claude La Marre

Writer: Jean-Claude La Marre

Starring Pras Michel, Michael A. Goorjian, LisaRaye McCoy, Jean-Claude La Marre, Bobby Brown, Glenn Plummer, Ed Lauter, Marjorie Joseph, Marcia Wright, Bergen Williams, Ruthie Spiering, Julissa Marquez, Erika Ringor, Johann John Jean, Garry Guerrier

Storyline

After winning the lottery, two guys, Jackson and Rome (Pras Michel and Michael A. Goorjian), are robbed of their $10 million ticket by Belinda, a notorious criminal. Before the police arrest her, she swallows the ticket and is hauled off to prison. To get their ticket back, they devise a scheme to dress as women and get sent to the same prison as Belinda. While successfully infiltrating the women's prison, their plan is slightly more than they imagined as they are caught between gang feuds, predatory inmates, peculiar correction officers, and a warden.

Sweet Sugar (1972)

Starring:

• Ella Edwards
• Phyllis Davis
• Timothy Brown

IMDB.com
Prostitute Sugar is set up by a corrupt politician. She is convinced of the futility of appealing her case in the courts and signs on to a chain gang run by the notorious Dr. John who performs cruel medical experiments on the people who work for him.

One of a slew of Women In Prison (WIP) exploitation flicks hurriedly lensed after Jack Hill's hugely successful "The Big Doll House" mopped up at the box office for Roger Corman. This one's fairly typical of the subgenre, delivering the WIP formula of nudity and sadism in well measured doses.

It's only notable features are an early writing effort by Stephanie "Terminal Island" Rothman and a truly over-the-top performance by Angus Duncan. He plays Dr. John, the demented warden of the sugar cane plantation to which Phyllis Davis is sentenced, with a hammy verve rarely seen today.

Also slightly notable is the 'cat tossing' scene which, IMOHO, wins the all-time award for "Worst Abuse of an Animal to Set Up A Stupid Visual Pun." Otherwise, "Sweet Sugar" is pretty much every WIP flick you've ever seen.