I had seen Melvin Van Peeples' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song on VHS some 10 or so years ago alone late at night and thought while many of the visuals were awesome, it seemed to mainly be about a black man running from the law after killing a couple of cops for killing a fellow brother along with having sex with various women, black and white, and nothing else of any substance. And how shocking was it finding out in the credits that the child who portrayed Sweetback as a young boy having his first sexual experience was none other than Melvin's own 12-year old son, Mario! So now, 30 years later, Mario portrays his own father during that time when he was trying to get that movie made after the studio of his previous film Watermelon Man, Columbia Pictures, refused to get involved along with the other majors. Baadasssss! is a mostly funny and maybe a little scary look at what it was like for a black filmmaker to struggle to put together his movie without any artistic compromises to the white establishment. Perhaps the most notable scene is the one where Mario as Melvin is directing his son for that sex scene and later the aftermath of seeing it in the screening room with the sound man saying to the son how he had to be 18 to experience that! Liked seeing T.K. Carter as Bill Cosby and Rainn Wilson as producer Bill Harris. And check out the role Adam "Batman" West plays! Felt a little wistful seeing the late Ossie Davis as Melvin's father and the late Vincent Schiavelli as distributor Jerry Gross. All in all, Baadasssss! is a fitting son's tribute of his father's achievements in pioneering black cinema. And, yes, that means I might reevaluate SSBS again some time!

Mario makes great job in this movie, surely it must be one of his best movies so far. I haven't seen the rest of them, so I don't know. This is a true story of making the first "Nigga" movie, which to my opinion is still the greatest one of them, and one of the bravest and most interesting movies of all time. "Sweetback" alone makes Melvin one of the greatest (I haven't seen his other works yet). The portrayal of the movie world is really funny, and also I'm sure it's a quite realistic picture today also. The funding and everything: They never want to take too much risks. It's not about racism towards minorities, it's about fear of anything new or innovative. It's one of the best and most realistic and honest portrayals of artist's life and "creation" process, I can remember seeing only one of this level before; that was Ed Harris' "Pollock". And Melvin is really no god or saint here: He's a human being, although a very talented one, and he just "does what he has to do", brings home the bread. And he can also be a total a-hole. This film has some funny and interesting characters and scenes, that makes it possible to view it maybe even second time in the future. It's also a personal "trip" to Mario. The story is based on both Melvin's (=his book) accounts and surely also in Mario's own memories from his childhood. The films minuses are technical: It looks and sounds quite clinical and boring, I mean it's too professionally made. There has also been made some compromises in the script, maybe to "make it more accessible to big audiences". The irony of course is, that the original "Sweetback" proved, that an independent film made with no budget and no compromises can become a BIG time hit for big audiences. Anyways it tells entertainingly a story of an important event and of some events in an important man's life. Recommended.

I can't begin to say how great this film is, and how much it meant to me. I'm not a big fan of some of Mario Van Peebles' work, so to me, this is by far his best job, acting and directing. He captured the power and the struggle of fighting for a dream/vision, and he made the audience take the journey with him. In fact, this film renewed by interest in the original "Sweetback ..." and made me appreciate the original film to a much greater degree. I saw this film on it's opening weekend, and I pre-ordered it as soon as I found out it was coming to DVD.Essentially, Mario plays Melvin (his father) while he was creating the independent film classic, 'Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song'. We watch as Van Peebles struggles with family, "the man" and his own personal demons to complete a film that, by all industry models, should not have been made. It was black, sexual, political, and there was barely enough money to get it off the ground. But Van Peebles was a bad mother{watch your mouth}, and he was determined to make it anyway.If you are a filmmaker, put this film in your "must see" list. If you are struggling to build a business, follow a path less traveled, or go for any dream that seems almost out of reach, this film is also a must see for you. And, if you just want to see the power of passion, and see what a person can do on too little budget with too little time when all he has to make up for the deficit is his heart, see this film! (That last comment was about Mario, but it is also apropos for Melvin, the subject of this film).There is nudity and strong language in the film. I mention that because I wouldn't want to send anyone to a film that might offend them without forewarning. That said, see this film!

Ever wonder what it would be like to make your own film without a studio to support you and no money in the bank to fund it. Well, thankfully Mario Van Peebles' father forged ahead in the 70s with a dream and passion like no other. While Hollywood was content with making pictures that negatively depicted African Americans, Melvin Van Peebles decided to break this cultural norm and change the face of cinema. With no budget, money from friends and drug dealers, and a non-union crew, Melvin created the impossible. He grabbed a hold of an idea and let nothing get in the way from accomplishing it. Melvin had a dream of making an African American the center of the film, one that took no sass from anyone and criticized the modern white Government. While big studios backed away from this project, Melvin jumped forward made Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. There were trial and tribulations to get it done, but thanks to a very surprising source the film became a success. It was the first independent film to become the number one film in America.Similar to the passion seen in Melvin's eyes when he is making his low-budget film, Mario portrays that exact same involvement when making this low-budget film. What I loved about this film is that there is so much raw, unbridled emotion behind Mario's eyes that you can tell that he 1) loves his Dad and 2) wanted to show America the truth behind this innovator's life. This is Mario's past, and he superbly reenacts it on screen. He carries this film, showing us the many facets of his father. He shows the angry American, the independent talent, the powerful leader, and even the emotional parent. Through all of this Mario continues to keep this film focused and interesting. We cannot keep our eyes off his portrayal of his father. I would not be surprised if he is nominated for an Oscar this year.Finally, this is a very powerful film that speaks about a side of Hollywood that is less known. It shows how the boundaries of racism can be broken with imagination and persistence. It shows that 'all men are created equal' and that if you have a dream you should pursue it. If you are in the process of making your own film and need a movie that will inspire and motivate, this would be the film to watch. From the moment I put this film in my DVD player, I was glued. What a powerful story coupled with interesting actors (Adam West and Sally Struthers) and told with a very realistic voice.I highly recommend this film. Grade: **** out of *****