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Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Baadasssss (2003) **** (out of 4) When I first heard Mario Van Peebles was going to be playing his father in a film about the making of a film his father made, my first thoughts were an actor down on his luck who was going to try and pay homage to his father and make his father out to be some sort of icon. I expected a film that showed how great Melvin Van Peebles was at black power and we'd see a film showing what a wonderful man he was. Some of that is true in Baadasssss! but make no mistake—this is far from being a picture just to show how great someone is.Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was a revolutionary film for its day and I can't help but feel the same way about Baadasssss!. I believe you should wait at least ten years before calling a film a classic so I won't do that here but I will say Mario Van Peebles has created a masterpiece that works wonders throughout its running time. I've seen many films that deal with the making of movies and they usually show the high points and a few low points. Tim Burton's Ed Wood is the perfect example of this but Mario's film takes a different look at things. For once, we get an accurate account of a film being made by someone who was actually there.The basic concept of the film works out like a documentary because Van Peebles takes us from the pre-production all the way up to the premiere and in between we're taking for one hell of an exciting ride. We've seen this type of stuff in countless films but here we are seeing it for the first time because we actually get to see the director not only dealing with losing his film but also losing his family, friends and possibly his life. Low budget film-making has always been a dream of many but I'm sure several of those dreamers might think twice after seeing this film because it doesn't paint movie-making as some beautiful, sexy job. Instead, we see the movie-making as something that eats into your soul.However, the film's greatest aspect is the relationship between the father Melvin and his son Mario. Once again, there have been many films that dealt with the relationship between father and son but this is a rather unique one because the relationship is rather ugly in many ways. Director Mario doesn't sugar coat some very serious issues dealing with his father's anger, cheating and other cruel things. If you've seen Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song then you remember a shocking scene where a young boy loses his virginity to a woman. This young 13-year-old actor was Mario Van Peebles and it's interesting to see Mario, as the director of this film, look back at his father's incredible stupidity of forcing his young son to get naked and force him into a sex scene at an young age.Those scenes between the father and son are very touching, honest and interesting to view because we know they're real and it's all the more interesting seeing the director of this film work out problems on camera that he had with his father. Another interesting thing the film tackles is why Melvin wanted to create an independent film when he had offers from major studios. Black people in American movies were always used as comic relief, usually appearing on screen bug eyed and telling silly one-liners followed up by "yesss sir". The film has some wonderful flashback scenes where we see these stereotypes being played out in a theater with the white children laughing at them and the black children hiding their head in shame because they know what they're seeing on screen isn't how black people really act.Mario Van Peebles, the actor, turns in the greatest performance of his career and easily one of the greatest performances I've seen in quite some time. I'm sure he knows his father inside and out but I'm one who believes it's not easy playing someone you know or playing yourself. Van Peebles does a brilliant job at showing off various emotions and the scenes where he has to rally his crew is full of such monumental force that you can help but get pumped up. The best scene in the movie involves the father falling on the ground only to have his young son come to his help. The way Van Peebles plays this scene is quite unforgettable and should certainly earn him an Oscar nomination.Baadasssss! is a beautiful love story from a son to his father but thankfully Mario doesn't sugar coat anything and instead delivers a film, which certainly looks and feels like the truth. In the film Melvin is shown as a hero for starting the blaxploitation genre but the film never hides the fact that he did a lot of bad things and certainly shows the bad things he did to his kids. This movie took a lot of guts to make and it took more guts by showing things how they really were. Every singe frame of this film is shot and told with loving detail and if the Academy doesn't recognize this film then that should be the nail in the coffin on their credibility. Baadasssss! is a one-on-a-kind film that should be viewed by any fan of cinema.

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.

Not only do I enjoy low budget exploitation films but I love films about the making of films so is there any question as to why I consider this to be one of the years best? Story is about the seemingly impossible task of Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles) who in 1971 was fresh off the success of directing "Watermelon Man" and wanted to make a serious film about blacks and made by blacks. The studio won't finance it so Melvin decides to get the money himself and independently make it without the involvement of the union. Melvin enlists the help of a porn producer named Clyde Houston (David Alan Grier) and anyone else willing to work for little or no pay.*****SPOILER ALERT*****Melvin uses his own son Mario (Khleo Thomas) in a graphic sex scene which doesn't set well with others including girlfriend Sandra (Nia Long) but aside from alienating family and the crew Melvin is forced to borrow money from Bill Cosby (T.K. Carter) so that he can finish his film. Once he manages to complete his film he now has the difficulty of getting it shown in theaters because the ratings board has slapped it with an "X" rating.This film is directed by Mario Van Peebles who plays his own father and he was actually on the set as a 13 year old while "Sweet Sweetback Baadasssss Song" was being made and had a few small roles in it. I've always loved films about the making of films and this is arguably one of the best I've ever seen. Mario doesn't seem to hold anything back as he shows his father in both his best and worst moments and some of the worst were how he lied and used people to get his film made with even resorting to use his own son in a sex scene. It's hard to shake the image of an exhausted and burnt out Melvin slapping his editor when he mentions that he wants to quit. But at his best Melvin was as determined a filmmaker as there ever was even when he had no money and this adds up to one of the most fascinating accounts ever put on film. Mario naturally admires his father but I think it's obvious he also harbors some deep felt resentment about certain things and this film as a whole probably works as a form of therapy for him. The film also has a visual style that's appealing and Peebles uses certain scenes to show the alter image of his father talking to him during this exhausting shoot. If your not a fan of the early black films of the 1970's than this might not have any appeal to you but I am a real fan of those films and I think this is nothing short of fascinating.

It's a real shame that mediocre indie films, such as "Open Water" and "Napoleon Dynamite," get tons of publicity while a gem like "Baadasssss!" goes unnoticed.Director and co-writer Mario Van Peebles affectionately, but truthfully, chronicles a fictional telling of his father, Melvin Van Peebles' attempt to make "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," modern black cinema's groundbreaking film, which was compulsory viewing for the Black Panthers and paved the way for countless black actors, filmmakers and film technicians. The Spike Lees, Ernest Dickersons, John Singletons and Wayanses owe a huge debt of gratitude to not only what Melvin accomplished 33 years ago, but also how he did it.Mario Van Peebles' previous directorial efforts, "New Jack City" (1991), "Posse" (1993) and "Panther" (1995), showed potential, but were mired in clichés and turned out to be rather forgettable. That's not the case with "Baadasssss!"This is an exciting, funny and moving film about one man's zeal to make the movie he wants to make. Melvin did not want to kowtow to studios and was fed up with how blacks were portrayed in Hollywood movies. So he set out to make a movie where the black man fought back, then went on the run and got away. And he did it with an ethnically diverse crew (which was unheard of then), many of whom knew little or nothing about movie-making."Baadasssss!" brilliantly illustrates Melvin's struggles, including pretending he was shooting a black porno film to hide his real intent from the crafts unions, running out of money, losing his vision in one eye and finding a distributor for "Sweet Sweetback."Mario shows a deep sense of love and respect for his father's achievement. But Mario definitely doesn't sugarcoat his depiction of Melvin. The Melvin we see in this film is a driven, obsessive man who loves his friends and family deeply, but won't let anything or anyone stop his film, including the weekend jailing of his crew. Mario's reluctance about being forced to be in a "sex scene" in his dad's movie is one of the film's highlights. The moment works thanks to a nicely subdued and thoughtful performance by Khleo Thomas as the young Mario.Mario Van Peebles and Dennis Haggerty penned a smart, energetic script. They add a nice undercurrent to the story by creating a father-son dynamic, which adds a layer of surprising depth to the story. Mario Van Peebles so completely immerses himself into the role of his father that we forget we're watching Mario play Melvin.Where the script falters is in its over-reliance on voice-over narration used to to convey Melvin's thoughts. It works sometimes. But it also seems obtrusive. For instance, Melvin's thoughts about the contents of the props drawer aren't needed because we're smart enough to know how dangerous or funny it could have all turned out."Baadasssss!" is as much about Melvin's passion to make his influential film as it is about the importance of maintaining one's integrity. Just as Melvin didn't compromise his story, Mario, too, apparently held out and refused to compromise. Producers wanted him to make the film more acceptable to "a white audience" or toss in some hip-hop. But Mario didn't relent and made the film he wanted to make.The paradox about this film about the making of a film is that while Mario's movie is technically and cinematic ally superior to Melvin's seminal film, "Baadasssss!" ultimately isn't as politically, socially or historically influential as the film it chronicles. Nevertheless, for anyone interested in movie-making, "Baadasssss!" is a must, along with the documentaries, "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" (1991) and "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" (1992). "Baadasssss!" is one of the best and most enjoyable films ever made about film-making.