Movie Review: Baadassss!

Instead of posting reviews of movies that are mainstream, I'll make use of these movie reviews to recommend those harder to find gems, those small little movies you may never have heard about, instead of whatever generic Hollywood remake or sequel is out.

I really hate when movie reviews spoil movies for you, but I understand how they have to sometimes in order to understand the critic's feelings. However here, I will generally post about the stuff I love and will try and give a quick synopsis without major spoilers. It's a really touchy thing because sometimes even the smallest detail can be a huge spoiler. I know it is very hard to do sometimes with the saturation of modern media, but it is my belief that a film is best enjoyed when you go in knowing absolutely nothing about it. How many times have you seen a movie that has been so hyped, and as a result was so dissapointing? With that said, onto the review.

This time I am choosing one of my favorite films in recent history, Mario Van Peebles's Baadasssss! That's two As and five Ss. Not only does Mario serve as writer and director, but also stars as his father. His father, Melvin Van Peebles was a pioneer, and his film, Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song, was destined to fail before it was even made. Shot in a pseudo-documentary guerrilla style much in the same way his father did more than 30 years ago, this is an always exciting and compelling look at the state of filmmaking in the 1970s. And who better to tell the story than Melvin's own son Mario, who was with his father the summer this film was made and witnessed everything firsthand. There are so many things to like about this film, it's quick pace, and fly-on-the-wall style give us great insight to Melvin Van Peebles's process.

I have never really been a fan a Mario Van Peebles's work before this, having seen him in various random movies in the 80s and 90s. However here, he shows a certain charisma and a passion for the material (perhaps because it is so close to his heart).

If you rent this, make sure to make time to watch the plentiful and informative extras. Most compelling of all is the audio commentary with father and son. Many of the events that occurred during this movie carry a bit of that "you can't make this up" feeling and is all corroborated by the father. One of the more interesting tidbits, some clips from the original Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song are seamlessly integrated with new footage shot for the movie, and it turns out Mario had to pay his father to use this footage.

This is the best kind of movie, the one that makes you wanna go out and explore more about the history of Black Cinema, or find a copy of Melvin's book on the Making of Sweetback that this movie is based on and even try to find a copy of Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song (still no luck).