Mother, Jugs & Speed poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby, Harvey Keitel, Allen Garfield, Larry Hagman ... see more see more... , L.Q. Jones , Bruce Davison , Dick Butkus , Milt Kamen , Barra Grant , Allan Warnick , Valerie Curtin , Ric Carrott , Severn Darden , Bill Henderson , Michael McManus , Toni Basil , Eddie Mills , Erica Hagen , Arnold Williams , Charles Knapp , Linda Geray

In this frantic black comedy, Harry Fishbine (Allen Garfield) is the proprietor of the F&B Ambulance Service, a low-budget free-lance rescue service which is struggling to keep up with the bigger and ... read more read more...better funded competition after a law in Los Angeles decrees that the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of a distress call gets the job. F&B's best driver is Mother (Bill Cosby), a free-wheeling ambulance jockey who likes to drink beer and play dance music while he makes his rounds. Mother's new assistant is Speed (Harvey Keitel), a former cop who left the force after allegations of drug use; Speed is looking for a new career and a chance to prove himself. And Jugs is the accurate-if-sexist nickname for Jennifer (Raquel Welch), the company secretary who wants to get out from behind the desk and prove her skills as a paramedic. As F&B's drivers race through the streets of Hollywood, their adventures veer between the hilarious and the tragic. Mother, Jugs and Speed also features Larry Hagman, Dick Butkus, Bruce Davison, and L.Q. Jones. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

30% want to see it

3,072 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

14 critics

PG, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Peter Yates

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: March 9, 2004

report incorrect info

Photos

Mother, Jugs & Speed Mother, Jugs & Speed
Upload a Photo | View All Mother, Jugs & Speed Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (158)

  • hypathio7
    December 16, 2008
    hypathio7
    This movie can't decide what it is. Is it a comedy? Is it a social drama? Is it a romance? An interesting concept I knew nothing about executed terribly. It's about the way ambulance services and emergency medical care were provided and were changing in the 70's. Cosby trie... read mores to be funny and has the nickname Mother because he is the responsible one in a crew of ambulance drivers and EMTs. Welch is nicknamed Jugs and is fighting for women's lib. And Keitel is nicknamed Speed. It's hard to tell if he is a bad boy or a reformed good guy looking for a new life, but chances are he's looking for that second chance.
  • Fascade518
    October 11, 2008
    Fascade518
    This was a good classic Saturday Morning matinee movie. This movie shows the humorous and tragic side on how tough it is to be an ambulance employee. See it...it is a classic.
  • Dannyrovira
    March 27, 2011
    Dannyrovira
    An engaging, very funny black comedy gem from the mid 70s, expertly directed by the late Peter Yates. It concerns a privately owned ambulance company called the F&B ambulance company, and there intense competition with their rival the Unity ambulance company for a contract with C... read moreity of Los Angeles. Bill Cosby steals the film outright with his hilarious performance as "Mother", the streetwise seen-it-all EMT, who is forced to partner up with a shady suspended cop nick-named "Speed", nicely played by Harvey Keitel, and the smoking hot "Jugs," the radio dispatcher who has high aspirations of becoming the first women driver and EMT, played wonderfully by the super sexy and sultry Raquel Welch, special kudos must go to the superb character actor Allen Garfield for his memorable comic performance, as Harry Fishbine the neurotic and money-hungry owner of the F & B ambulance company, and the excellent Larry Hagman, as Murdoch a sleazy, oversexed ambulance driver. The supporting all deliver marvelous performances they included L.Q. Jones, Bruce Davidson, Dick Butkus, Miilt Kamen, Barra Grant, Allan Warnick, and Valerie Curtin. Great music soundtrack with many songs from the period, A cool, raunchy film that is an intelligent mix of slapstick and drama. Highly Recommended.
  • cacutshaw
    April 9, 2008
    cacutshaw
    Weird comedy with dark moments. Worth seeing for Cosby's and Keitel's performances.
  • theSwitchbladeSister
    June 18, 2011
    theSwitchbladeSister
    This movie is endearing as hell despite the fact that it never really gets started and it doesn't know how to end. It's worth watching just for Bill Cosby and Harvey Keitel. If you can tolerate the identity confusion this film seems to suffer, it's a fun watch.
  • psyclock7
    March 11, 2011
    psyclock7
    Everybody loves Raquel Welch and all of her curvacuious body parts...Didn't matter that the movie was a stinker"
  • wolverineland
    July 5, 2009
    wolverineland
    Great 70's underrated and undershown classic. The film like MASH a few years earlier was able to walk the fineline of being a screwball comedy and every once in a while hit you with a very dramatic moment. The movie revolves around the lives and rivalries of independant ambulance... read more drivers. Cosby is the legendary Mother who is the best of the best of the ambulance drivers but due to alcohol dependancy and the death of his likeable young partner(Davison)on the job, he keeps everbody at a distance. Welch is Jennifer a.k.a. Juggs who is the very spirited and ample ambulance dispatcher who wants to break the gender barrier at that time and become a driver. Keitel plays Speed a disgraced ex-cop forced into being the rookie and training with a sexist mental mess named Murdock played very handily by a pre-Dallas Larry Hagman. The film centers on a not-so friendly and dirty tricks rivalry between independant ambulance companies. This film was a must watch for my EMT/Paramedic buddies back in the day and even though I see it as MASH meets Carwash, you can definitely see the influence it must have had on the Police Academy movies that would follow years later.
  • kcddck
    December 17, 2008
    kcddck
    A movie with some very funny scenes and some very well acted dramatic ones. It was cool to see some of Cosby's earlier movies, so you know they didn't stink then.
  • bradwest
    December 7, 2008
    bradwest
    I loved this movie when it came out, but it doesn't date well. Still in comparison to a lot of the product today...
  • djskyler
    September 22, 2008
    djskyler
    This is a great "cheap thrills of the 70's" flick. The title characters are: Bill Cosby (in his super-cool pre-Cosby Show period), Raquel Welch (in her prime) and a young Harvey Keitel. Also thrown in are some classic character actors and Larry Hagman in an extremely sleazy rol... read moree. The basic premise is a naughty "DC Cab," where a group of wild characters fulfill their demanding work duties in a not-so-orthodox manner. A few car chases are thrown in along with some disco music. If you're looking for some vintage fun, this is worth it for one screening.

View All Mother, Jugs & Speed Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard T. Jameson
May 4, 2012
Richard T. Jameson, Parallax View

If you don't go expecting a lot, you might find the film makes for a half-evening's worth of laidback diversion. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
April 3, 2005
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Raunchy ambulance comedy wavers between jocular fun, misplaced melodrama, and morbid stupidity.

Jake Euker
September 24, 2004
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)

An entirely OK 70s ride, better, perhaps, in retrospect.

Walter Chaw
June 20, 2004
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

The nightly travails of an ambulance crew stand in for the bigotry, fear, and paranoia of a nation in flux. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Peter Travers
August 14, 2007
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

No review available.

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
November 10, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Bringing Out the Dead
    Bringing Out the Dead (50%)
  • Ambulance Girl
    Ambulance Girl (0%)

More Movies like Mother, Jugs & Speed

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Mother, Jugs & Sp... : Watch Free on TV

Mother, Jugs & Speed Trivia

  • Bill Cosby and Raquel Welch starred together in what movie?  Answer »
  • A Piece Of The Action Let's Do It Again Mother, Jugs, and Speed Ghost Dad Who am I?  Answer »
  • Title of the movie starring Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, and Harvey Keitel about an ambulance service.  Answer »
  • He appeared with Bill Cosby in "Mother, Jugs & Speed".  Answer »
More Mother, Jugs & Speed Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Mother, Jugs & Speed to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?