Baadasssss! Movie Review:


People today find nothing strange about anyone who lashes out or takes a stand against protocol, but pushing the boundaries was not exactly the smartest thing to do back in 1971. Nevertheless, Melvin Van Peebles had had enough of racism, double standards and inequality. That’s why he made "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song," a radical film he hoped might follow on the success of his other films, "The Story of A Three-Day Pass" and the amusing "Watermelon Man."

Watching his father make the movie and actually being a part of it in a porn scene at age 13, Mario Van Peebles uses his new film "Baadasssss!" to take a look back at the making of his father’s controversial "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song."

"Baadasssss!" is clever, funny and certainly original. It’s part documentary – using actual footage of the his dad’s film – but in a feature sort of way; and yet it’s also a son’s look down the family tree at where he came from and where he was going. Mario, who takes on the role of his dad, details the filming of a movie his father was destined to make. He highlights the courageous, unrelenting but almost impossible struggle his dad had to endure to complete the movie.

It’s not that Melvin didn’t have a lot going for him already: he was the first black officer in the US Air Force, a writer and painter who moved to Paris, learned French and became a filmmaker. During one period he even had two plays running at the same time on Broadway.

But the father figure Mario sees in "Baadasssss!" is a lot more transparent. . Like many dreamers who have mortgaged their souls to Hollywood, Melvin took the low road to fame and entered the dungeon of reality in filmmaking. He was dedicated beyond reason, as if making the film would finally empower blacks to take their rightful stand in America.

After getting turned down for financing, Melvin was such a loose cannon he started the production without thinking about the sacrifices it would mean for his crew, cast and family. His crew got arrested; there were death threats; and the film received an “X” rating. Irrational right to the end, Melvin wouldn’t change a thing and advertised the X-rated fact, which landed "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song" in only two theaters in the entire country.

So Mario has made his movie, but maybe one for his dad, too. “It was as if I had some parental unbiblical cord wired into my hard drive allowing me to channel directly,” said Melvin’s son, who would endure all the same things his father did in getting his “heart” movie made.

This boiling pot of politics, filmmaking and self-discovery contains pervasive language and some strong sexuality/nudity, but "Baadasssss!" is one of the freshest and most honest films to come along in years. It shows how willpower, strength and humor can help overcome all obstacles.

Diana Saenger

Not only is this one of the most important making-of dramatisations, it's also a powerful love letter from a son to his father. With wit, energy, heart and soul, Mario Van Peebles recounts the making and marketing of his father Melvin's groundbreaking 1971 film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the film that made artists like Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino possible.

Melvin (brilliantly well-played by Mario) is a young filmmaker whose ideas for authentic black cinema are too far ahead of their time. No one's ready for a realistic portrayal of African-American life on screen; they prefer to keep black actors in cliched roles that are either subservient or noble. But Melvin wants to make a raw, edgy thriller with a racial injustice theme. So he scrambles to raise the money himself, with a few close friends at his side and his sceptical 13-year-old son Mario (Thomas) in a pivotal role that includes a sex scene.

Mario subtly and cleverly parallels the stories of Sweetback and Melvin, black men fighting a prejudiced system and subverting it in any way they can. But this aspect of the film is relatively understated; more important is Melvin's rollicking story, including the tensions and connections between the various characters and the much larger issues they were battling against. Even though this is a raw, low-budget movie, Mario gets virtually everything right, from the impeccable recreation of the early 1970s to the lively atmosphere on a guerrilla moviemaker's set. It's quite simply one of the best movies ever made about independent filmmaking.

Like the film it springs from, this is both vitally important moviemaking and thoroughly entertaining. It's jammed with telling and provocative performances (including a jaw-dropping cameo from West, aka Batman), inventively written and directed sequences, and a lovely flood of subtext in the Mario-Melvin relationship. Melvin isn't remotely portrayed as the perfect father, but without ever being preachy about it, Mario's clearly saying that he understands why his dad was so focussed and sometimes thoughtless. And in making this film, Mario shows an understanding of both the issues and the art of filmmaking that must make his father feel the same.

Rich Cline

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