Mother, Jugs, & Speed is a 1976 comedy drama set in 1970's Los Angeles.
Some of the stars include Bill Cosby as "Mother", Raquel Welch as "Jugs", Harvey Keitel as "Speed", Allen Garfield as Harry Fishbine, Larry Hagman as Murdoch, and Dick Butkus as "Rodeo".
The producers are Tom Mankiewicz (Hot Pursuit) and Peter Yates (Breaking Away).
The film is directed by Peter Yates.
The film's story centers around a private ambulance company called F+B.
Harry Fishbine, the owner, is always out to make a quick buck, legally or illegally.
His company is in a contract dispute with rival Unity over territory in Los Angeles, where the first ambulance company to the scene tends to get the glory.
For example Mother, the veteran driver for F+B, arrives with his partner Leroy to a junkie's apartment to pick up a stiff.
They inform the woman that they can't remove the body until it is pronounced dead officially.
The two drivers leave without the body but not before Mother finds a drug kit and hides it in the junkie's bed.
Then, they go on to pick up another stiff at a nearby restaurant while the Unity company arrives to take the body in the apartment.
Mother and Leroy return there twenty minutes later and claim the stiff as theirs.
The other drivers don't believe him until he shows them where he hid the drug kit and that his partner had slashed two of Unity's tires.
One specific feature of this movie that I found interesting was the presence of feminism is some of the scenes, specifically Second-wave feminism.
We witness this through the female lead Jugs, played by Raquel Welch.
She refuses the sexual advances of the male drivers while studying to become a certified ambulance driver herself.
When Jugs finally shows Mr.
Fishbine her certification, he refuses to employ her because she is a woman and orders her back to the switchboard.
Later on when she threatens to sue F+B, Fishbine finally allows her to partner up with Speed and Mother, who is in favor of women drivers but not in his rig.
During the contract hearing towards the end of the film, Harry Fishbine proudly acknowledges her as a female driver after the city counselman compliments the Unity company for hiring minorities.
Although many critics tend to say that Mother, Jugs, & Speed is not one of Bill Cosby's best films, I respectfully disagree.
His performance of the character "Mother" Tucker is exceptional.
Mother is the veteran driver at F+B and, for the most part, is respected.
He believes that rules were meant to be broken but despite this, he shows compassion towards his patients and coworkers, especially after his partner Leroy is killed.
Mother has a cheap sense of humor and is quite fond of scaring nuns by turning on his siren just as they cross his path, a habit (no pun intended) that Harry Fishbine tries desperately to break him of.
In short, he mixes his comedic and dramatic sides brilliantly.
To wrap, Mother, Jugs, & Speed is a comedy with many dramatic moments interspersed, sometimes without warning.
The film will keep your mood changing throughout.