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Filmed in 1980 but not released for several years, Rude has the appearance of a damaged production. Standup comedy performances don't require much in the way of visual fireworks, but director Cliff Roquemore (identified in the credits as a Libra) handles the action clumsily, with awkwardly placed reaction shots from audience members and a soundtrack that sounds entirely dubbed and badly edited. Still, the strength of Rude is in Rudy Ray Moore's performance, which is brash, confident, and obscene. He struts, swaggers, and mugs through a series of vulgar stories that occasionally border on the pornographic in their detail. Often his jokes have no punch lines aside from dirty words, and some are downright surreal in their imagery ("She was so ugly she looked like crime in the face."). There's a genuine cruel streak in Moore's humor, as he attacks the handicapped, the overweight, and the weak, and insults an audience member who appears to be heavily scarred by burns. But even as Moore is wishing "severe chest pains" and hemorrhoids on anyone who doesn't buy the records he's shilling for, the man is impossible to hate, so completely outrageous and unapologetic is his ability to offend. Anyone who enjoyed his classic Dolemite will derive just as much pleasure from this film, and those who wonder why Rudy Ray Moore is considered by many to be a forefather of rap music will understand when they witness the rhythmic, rhyming delivery that distinguishes many of his best routines.