Baadasssss! (2004)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Mario Van Peebles portrays his father Melvin Van Peebles in the early 70s as he pushes the boundaries of black films. After making the comedy Watermelon Man, he goes on to make the black-conscious "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song". His agent Howie Kaufman (Saul Rubinek) wants him to do another comedy. With racist white expensive unions, he uses porn producer Clyde Houston (David Alan Grier). His hippie friend Bill Harris (Rainn Wilson) tries to line up investors. He's an often-absent father to his two kids being taken care of by Granddad (Ossie Davis) and later by his girlfriend (Nia Long). His secretary Priscilla (Joy Bryant) keeps trying to get a role in the movie. After his investor gets arrested, his rag-tag group starts with self-financing and no SAG actors. With muscle from the Black Panther and private investors like Bill Crosby, he overcomes all the hurdles.This is a compelling movie on a couple of levels. This is a nice slice of a time and place. It's a thrilling underdog story and a fun insight into filmmaking of that era. The indie style of filmmaking is quite fitting for the subject matter. Then there is another level where Mario seems to be working out some issues with his dad. Seeing Mario channel his father while Khleo Thomas plays him is incredibly compelling. This is the perfect docudrama for him.

Mario Van Peebles take a bow, not only is this a brutally honest recount of what your father went through trying to make an independent movie. But you also made this movie so damn enjoyable. I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy a movie where a son admires his father, but this was more than that, this was a warts (forcing his son to have a sex scene at 13) and all movie, that is a damning account of the film industry and director who has had enough of the racism in his job and in his country.Melvin Van Peebles was a demanding, arrogant man who let nothing get in the way of his vision, which makes him not much of a person, but a hell of an inspiration and artist. His movie which I haven't seen, is shown as a fore runner to the Blaxploitation era of Hollywood, but to me Melvin Van Peebles was an inspiration to all Independent film makers who value there movie more than making money.Within hours of seeing this movie I ordered Sweetback on DVD from America, because none of the great black film makers have there movies released in Australia. I was really inspired by Melvin's I don't give a stuff attitude. There is just something special about an independent film maker, taking risks and making a movie that makes people think, shame Hollywood doesn't try and do the same.

This is a cool movie about a guy trying to make a film.. yes, we've seen that before… but this one is a true story about the first guy that tries, struggling against the studios, against "The Man ", to make his movie in an independent fashion. Directed and starring an actor I mostly never paid attention to, mostly because his movies suck, Mario Van Peebles. Surprisingly hes the son of the guy who made the first movie that started the whole Blaxpoitation era and the indie filmmaker way of life, Melvin Van Peebles…. There are some very cool bits about the way black people where portrayed back then and how that interfered with Melvins desire to do his movie "Sweet, Sweetbacks Badasssss song" For starters, how could a black man be the hero of a movie??? Blaaasphemy!!! There's a montage I liked later on about how not only black people where portrayed stereotypically, but also the Latinos, the "Indians", the Chinese (and the rest of the Asian community), etc. Of course it seems that if we played Cowboys & Indians right now it would seem disgraceful and politically incorrect. But anyways, another part of the movie was how they got their whole team and how they went about to filming the movie… there even comes a point where everything is going wrong, nobody believes in Melvin, not even him, but hes a Stubborn MoFo and at the end he only gets to distribute his film in one measly theater owned by some old Jewish twins but with a little help from radio advertising and the Black Panther coalition, the movie is a huge success and it gives way to this little gem of a film I just saw… now, the only thing left to do is see "Sweet, Sweet Backs bad ass song" Random Trivia learned from the movie: Did you know that Shaft was originally intended to played by a white guy? Shut! your mouth.

I had been putting off seeing this, and then was pleasantly surprised.I didn't know much about Mario Van Peebles, nor of his father ("Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song" came out 2 years before I was born) but after seeing this homage to Mr. Van Peebles and seeing how much he risked - everything from finances to his family and his own health, for his dream of "the world" to really see life from the African American point of view, the way it really is, is well impressive to say the least. The unimaginable struggle, the pressure and the sheer will that Mario portrays in his father is a touching tribute. Mario reveals his father's motives for making "Sweetback" in a moving and heartfelt way, documenting how Hollywood portrayed races other than white - if you are not white, then you are the white man's servant - how at that time - no one and no other film had film portrayed a Black Man as a hero or the struggles that he or any other race faces. It is a tale that is bigger than him and despite the risk and struggle, he fights to tell it. This is a fitting homage to a pioneer of a Genre and a Father. "Baadasssss!" It also depicts the rugged world of guerrilla film-making and the rabid fight involved in making an indie film from inception to distribution. After seeing this I take a much greater heed of the Van Peebles Name, "Baadasssss!" is worthy film as a Drama in its own right, an Homage to a Pioneer and Father and as a Documenty Tribute to a Piece of Film History.