Baadasssss! (2004)

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.

BAADASSSSS (dir. by Mario Van Peebles) Man, I was so f*cking excited when I heard that this film was being made. When I was a kid, I would spend weekends with my Dad. There are two things I remember doing. One was shopping for model ships and airplanes from World War II. The other was going to see two or three movies in an afternoon. We saw EVERY Hong Kong action movie and EVERY blaxploitation flick that came out in the early '70s. So Melvin Van Peebles and "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" holds a special place for me in my memories.Based on his father's book, Mario Van Peebles recreated the story of the making of "Sweet Sweetback…" and the incredible struggle it took to get it funded and distributed. First, the major studios wanted nothing to do with a film about a black man turned revolutionary who kills a cop and gets away with it. They didn't want anyone making a film where city cops are exposed as racist and crooked. The racist unions wouldn't allow him to make a movie with a crew of whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians. To make matters worse, real racist cops step in and arrest half of the crew illegally.Basically, this film is "American Splendor" meets "Reds". It's the story of a guy working outside of the system eventually developing support from committed people who understood his vision with the ultimate triumph being the movie itself. Like "Reds", there are talking heads giving testimonials throughout. My favorite scene in "American Splendor" is the final moment where you get to see Harvey's actual retirement party with no actors and all real people. At the end of "Baadasssss" you get to see the real people and I thought I was going to cry. It's a great movie all the way to the very last second.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. We watched the movie on DVD. I watched the movie Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song three years back and did not think much about it at the time, not knowing the timing and significance of the movie. Mario Van Peebles shines in this movie wearing several hats and in each he fits perfectly. The movie is humorous and at the same time has moments of seriousness that are perfectly portrayed. The scene where young Mario (played by Khleo Thomas) asks his Dad to see a Doctor, was so well acted. Khleo was great throughout the movie but this scene was the clincher.The scene where the secretary finds Melvin and Jerry in Bed with Sandra and the other girl, and puts on a show as if she were his wife, was hilarious. We laughed so hard, we replayed it after the end of the movie.

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.