Joe Namath's C.C. and Company, an Easy Rider for the Suburbs

As students settled in for another school year the fall of 1970 C.C. and Company was released in American theaters. Starring Joe Namath, Ann-Margret and William Smith, it is a fascinating attempt to cash in on the counterculture classic Easy Rider which appeared the year before. (Both "C.C." and "Easy" refer back to the Ma Rainey song "See See Rider.")

C.C. and Company is worth study; it is a classic in cooptation. America is divided. College campuses are aflame with protest. It's the Hippies vs. the Squares, and Joe Namath is the transitional character.

Joe Namath was an American demigod in the late 1960's, early 1970's. He was accepted by both the Hippie and the Square as beatific. He was iconoclastic but a willing and able pitchman for commercial capitalism; he sold everything from Noxzema shaving cream and Hanes pantyhose to his Hamilton Beach Little Mac 60-second Burger Machine. I loved him as a kid, and I remain a true believer and loyal fan as an adult. The broken wrist Namath suffered against the Baltimore Colts at Shea Stadium four days after the opening of C.C. and Company marked the beginning of his end; he never made the playoffs again.

To get a sense of what we're talking about here in terms of the depth of the divide between Hip and Square that C.C. and Company is attempting to bridge, all one need do is look at this clip of Wayne Cochran doing his cracker James Brown act while Joe Willie and Ann-Margret incinerate the dance floor. Notice the fast cutting of lovemaking scenes:

The full film can be seen on YouTube: